It is easy to take your car for granted, but once it breaks down, you will appreciate it more. To avoid frequent inconveniences, you need to perform regular maintenance checks on your vehicle. Some are simple tasks that you can handle yourself to save on costs. Some of the essential car maintenance tasks you can do yourself include the following.
Changing Oil
To ensure your vehicle runs smoothly, ensure to check your oil regularly and change it often. This is one of the most basic tasks that help extend the life of your car’s engine. The process can be found in your car manual, so be sure to follow the steps to the latter to avoid oil spills. Once you incorporate this routine check into your lifestyle, you will find that you have fewer engine problems to worry about.
Changing a Flat Tire
A flat tire can happen to anyone, and the causes are many. It can greatly inconvenience your movement, but this does not have to be the case. Learning how to change a tire is a lifesaving skill. In the U.S., there are 5.5 billion car accidents every year. You can avoid accidents caused by flat tires by changing them yourself. You will need a jack, wrench, and spare tire. Always keep a spare tire with you, as you can never predict when a flat tire will occur.
Changing a Car Battery
Car batteries are an essential part of your car to keep it moving. A car battery failure can leave you stuck in one position for hours. Unfortunately, car batteries tend to die every now so often, and when they do, you need to replace them. If you notice your battery exhibiting signs that it may need to be replaced, you need to follow a simple DIY method. You will need to disconnect the negative and positive cables, unscrew, and replace the old with a new one by reconnecting the cables again to their corresponding labels. A car battery can be drained from using your car stereo a lot. Unlike the olden days, the car stereo today consumes a lot of energy. The first car stereo introduced in 1930 only played in AM and likely used less battery power.
Jumpstarting a Car
Sometimes, your car can fail to start. If you are not familiar with cars, you may think this is a time to visit the mechanic. However, your mechanic could potentially charge you a lot for simply jumpstarting your vehicle, something you could have done yourself. To jumpstart your car, you will require jumper cables and another car. Ensure that both vehicles are in a neutral position and the ignition is off. Attach the red clips to the batteries’ positive terminal and the same to the positive terminal of the other car. The black clips should be attached to the negative terminals of the battery and the other end to the metal surface without paint on your vehicle. Try starting your vehicle, and you can move again!
Replacing Wipers
Windshield wipers are commonly ignored, as their functions are limited to the rainy season or during special situations such as snowfall or fog. Created in 1903, windshield wipers have come a long way from the small brushes moving up and down to help clear your vision in times of a storm. Common windshield wiper problems include faulty blades. If you notice any issues with your wipers, you need to replace them. You can follow online tutorials to replace them.
Car breakdowns are inevitable. That said, you can easily bypass some of the inconveniences with simple DIYs. It is critical to equip yourself with the basics of a car when it breaks down to avoid spending unexpected expenses. With the tasks outlined above, you should perform the basic car maintenance tasks and keep your car moving smoothly.
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