How often do you perform maintenance on your car? Do you keep up with oil changes and tire rotations?
Basic maintenance can increase the lifespan of your car, allowing you to drive it for years and even pass it on to your children! It can also prevent more significant problems that can cost a lot of money, and we all want that.
Lindsay Truck & Towing, a towing company in Idaho Falls, helped us put together this list of four car parts you need to check regularly to keep it running well.
Oil Tank
Are you checking your oil regularly? Older vehicles should have the oil changed every 3,000 miles.
Many newer models can go 5,000 to 7,000 miles between oil changes. Check your owner’s manual to see what the recommendation is.
When oil gets old and dirty, it burns off a lot quicker, and your car needs sufficient oil to run. An oil change switches out the old oil with new, fresh oil.
Tires
Tires are just as crucial to your vehicle as oil. Obviously, you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without them – so treat them like you want to make it far.
Check your tire pressure regularly, especially when it’s cold outside. Check to see what the recommended tire pressure is for your car and tires and keep it at that level.
To get your tires to last longer, make sure you also have them rotated on a routine basis. Rotating your tires helps them to wear evenly.
A good recommendation for this is every six months or 6,000 to 8,000 miles.
Battery
The battery is yet another item your car can’t run without. Car batteries don’t run forever, and you may even have to replace yours once or twice during your vehicle’s lifetime.
When you do your annual or biannual car care routine (maybe during tire rotations or your oil change), check the battery to ensure the cable connections are tight and there’s no corrosion.
If your battery is a couple of years old, have it tested to see how much life it has left.
Windshield Wipers
Now, your car could function without windshield wipers, but if you live any place that gets frequent precipitation or has a lot of dust in the air, you’ll want to make sure you take care of these.
Your wiper blades should completely clear the glass when they swipe. If they don’t, then it might be time to replace them.
It’s a good rule of thumb to replace your wiper blades every six months to a year – or as soon as your visibility changes when they’re swiping. The last thing you want is to get in a car accident because of poor visibility during a rain or snow storm.
Also, take care to keep your windshield wiper fluid filled. You can check this when you check your oil.
Just doing these four simple things for your car can make it have a much longer lifespan, saving you money and preventing stress.
As a car owner, you know having your own car is a big step to becoming independent. You may be trying to decide if your teenager is ready for their car.
Here are some of the signs they may be ready.
