Complete Guide to Car Maintenance

Car maintenance plays an integral role in extending the life of your car. It is believed that 5% of the total car failures are caused due to car maintenance neglect. There are many car owners who ignore the worth of keeping their cars in a maintained condition and risk their own life. This is because sometimes this negligence may even cause a fatal accident. Therefore, maintain your car to ensure safer operation and safer driving.

Here is a complete guide to car maintenance:

Engine Oil
Make sure that you check the engine oil once in every fifteen days. The best way to check the oil is by using the engine oil dipstick that is available with every car. Wipe the dirt from the dipstick and insert it down into the oil tank. Then, pull out the stick and check whether the reaches the ‘Full’ mark in the stick or not.
If in case you find that the level is low, add more fuel to bring it to the perfect level but ensure that the fuel used is of the same type and brand. Also check the condition of the oil. If it’s too black, change the fuel, if it’s dark-brown, you can still go on another few miles without changing. If in case you find the oil to be white in colour it shows that the engine coolant has got mixed with the oil. In such a situation, you need to get your car checked at a service station and resolve the internal engine problem.

Engine Coolant
Check for the level of car engine coolant. The level should be between ‘Low’ and ‘Full’ mark. If it’s below the ‘Low’ mark, top it up by adding more coolant and get your car checked at an authorized service centre. This is because low level of engine coolant leads to overheating and if there is no overflow of the coolant, then definitely there is a leakage somewhere in the engine. Never try to open the coolant overflow tank when the car engine is hot.

Car Tyres
Car Tyres are an integral part of a car without which the car cannot be driven. Therefore, it is very important to take good care of the tyres. Check the tyre pressure periodically to ensure appropriate amount of pressure. Both under-inflation and over-inflation of tyres may cause premature tyre failure. Over-inflation may even cause tyre jumping, which in turn may lead to a serious accident. The required pressure is mentioned in the Owner’s Manual.
Tyre rotation is also very important as this will help uniform wear of the tyre. It is believed that tyres should be rotated after every 5000 km or when a uniform wear is noticed on the surface of the tyre. There is a safe limit of the tyre tread wear and if this limit is crossed, it becomes unsafe to drive the car. Wheel balancing and wheel alignment is also important as improper balancing and alignment damages the tyre components and results in poor handling. Improper alignment may even cause your car to skid if the road is wet.