5 Easy Maintenance Tips That Will Extend the Life of Your Car
Although you may plan on keeping your car running forever, that doesn’t usually work out. The good news is you can take a few steps in order to extend your car’s life, while also lowering the chance of having any inconvenient mechanical malfunctions. Here are five basic and easy ways to extend the life of your car.
Follow Your Service Schedule
This may seem intuitive, but there are many vehicle owners who pay way too little attention to their car’s maintenance schedule that is displayed in the owner’s manual. You should follow this schedule and not that of the car dealer’s, as they are the ones that built the car and so know the best schedule to follow in order to make sure you car remains in tip top shape. This is especially the case if you have a later model car, as not following the maintenance schedule can result in costly damage to your car.
Check Tire Pressure and Fluids on a Regular Basis
This task takes around ten minutes or less. All you need to do is let your engine cool down before opening up the hood of your car and pulling out the oil dipstick. With a rag, wipe it clean and then reinsert it and take it out again in order to check your oil levels. Keep in mind that oil is the most important fluid for your engine, and so it is crucial that it is well maintained. After this you should check the radiator reservoir level as well as the brake cylinder reservoir. You should also regularly check the transmission fluid level and the power steering fluid level. After all your car’s fluids have been checked, you should then check your car’s tire pressure by using a pressure gauge. This should be done at least once a month if not more.
Go Easy on the Start Up
A cold engine has little to no oil in its moving parts as it has all drained down the oil pan. This means that after starting up your car, you should keep your engine rpm to a minimum for the first few seconds while the engine gets re-lubricated. All your engine needs is thirty seconds before it is nice and oiled up and ready to be revved. If your engine has been off for more than 24 hours than you should give it a little more than thirty seconds to warm up.
Listen For Strange Noises
It is recommended that you turn off your radio every once in a while in order to listen to any strange noises that your car could make. For example, a clicking sound could be that you drove over a nail and it is stuck in your tire. On the other hand, if you hear a screeching sound whenever you break then it is probably time to get new brakes. If you don’t know exactly where the noise is coming from in your car, you should immediately take it to a mechanic to find the source of the problem.
Drive in a Calm Manner
It’s important to go easy on your car when you are driving. This means not pressing too hard on your brakes and not driving too hard. On occasion putting your car in full-throttle acceleration or panic stopping is not going to do any harm to your car, however if it is a common occurrence then it can erode your car’s tires and brakes and significantly lower your car’s time on the road. The same thing goes for shifting gears. You should make sure that your car is fully stopped before going backwards or switching back into forwards.
Finances - 17 Jun, 2014 - No Comments
