Car maintenance checklist
Carrying out simple but regular checks on your car can literally save £1,000’s of pounds of repair and recovery charges. Lets examine some straightforward checks you can carry out on your own vehicle
- For safety reasons when carrying out checks under the car bonnet, always keep the car keys in your pocket and don’t leave them in the ignition, unless of course the checks you are doing requires the ignition or engine to be on. If the ignition/engine has to be running make sure you tuck loose clothing out of the way of moving parts, also prior to starting engine familiarise yourself with the location of moving parts, fans, drive belts etc as these can be hard to see when spinning quickly and result in many accidents!
- Replace worn wiper blades and always have plenty of washer fluid on hand to combat summer’s dust/insects and winters grit and grime.
- If the car temperature gauge stays at a high reading and the engine lacks power, or if steam rises from under the bonnet, the engine is overheating. Either engine coolant is leaking from in the cooling system or coolant isn’t circulating because of a faulty alternator belt, electric fan or water pump.
- When filling your car with fuel, make sure you are using the right pump. If you do use the wrong fuel (ie diesel in a petrol engine), call for assistance and don’t try to restart or drive the car as the system may need to be drained checked, generally speaking if you realise your mistake and have only put in a small amount of the wrong fuel you will probably be safe if you then fill the tank to the brim with correct fuel - thereby diluting your mistake! However if this happens to you do not feel embarrassed, phone for help, the RAC alone get 400 calls a day from customers using wrong fuel.
- Carry the following at all times: Spare tyre, Tow rope, Breakdown warning triangle, Spare bulbs and fuses, Torch, Windscreen wiper fluid, De-icing scraper and soft cloth, First aid kit, Car jack, Tyre pressure gauge, Screwdrivers, Spanner / socket set, Pliers, Cloth and a mobile phone.
- If the car will not start, the possible causes include damp or condensation in the ignition parts, especially in wet or foggy weather, engine flooded with fuel, flat battery, faulty ignition components or a faulty starter motor. If the starter turns over slowly it may be an idea to try a jump start - If your car has an automatic gearbox, don’t try a jump start. Otherwise, ask one or two strong helpers to push the car. Depress the clutch pedal firmly, engage second gear and turn the ignition on. When the car is moving at a reasonable pace, release the clutch pedal sharply and press accelerator. As soon as the engine starts, depress the clutch fully and keep it running with throttle.
- Check and repair faulty lights and bulbs as soon as soon as possible. It is an offence not to have side and tail lights, headlights (main and dipped), indicators, stop lights and the rear number plate light in working order, if you do not check lights regularly you could find the car undrivable one evening just when you really need it.
- Drive belts - Inspect belts and hoses monthly. Replace worn, shiny or frayed belts. Tighten them when more than 1cm of slack can be depressed between the pulleys.
- If you suffer a puncture or flat tyre change a wheel as soon as possible. A soft or flat tyre can affect the steering and handling, particularly under heavy braking. Driving even a short way on a flat tyre causes damage, a few hundred yards on a flat tyre can mean the difference between a £10 puncture repair or a new £50 tyre.
- Flush and refill the cooling system (radiator) according to the manufacturers service manual.
- If your car has to be towed, use a thick length of rope, preferably purpose-made with looped ends that is between 3 and 4.5 metres long. Tie a white marker, such as a piece of cloth, round the middle of the rope to make it clearly visible to other drivers. By law, the distance between a towing and a towed car should be no more that 4.5 metres.
- Remember, the RAC attended to more than 2.5 million breakdowns in 2003. The most common faults by far were caused by a lack of maintenance or understanding of the car’s systems!
- RAC top ten breakdowns for 2003
The top ten car breakdown faults for 2003 and % of total callouts 1. Battery (flat or non-serviceable) - 17.51%
2. Tyre(s) - 9.20%
3. Engine - 4.63%
4. Lockouts - 3.32%
5. Alternator - 2.76%
6. Fuel - 2.71%
7. Starter motor - 2.28%
8. Cylinder head gasket - 1.94%
9. Clutch - 1.66%
10. ECU - Engine Management System - 1.43% - If there is squealing or juddering when you are braking, there may be dirt or grit in the brakes, the brake discs may be warped or scored, or there may be a stone lodged against a disc brake. Harsh grinding when you brake indicates worn brake pads and all these noises could indicate serious brake failure or damage, obviously any of these problems need to be checked ASAP.
- Consider taking out breakdown cover, the costs nowadays are very reasonable for a comprehensive level of cover - less than £40 per annum on some plans, weigh this cost against the cost of recovery from a breakdown!
Read your owner’s manual and follow the recommended service schedules, skipping oil/coolant changes is a false economy and simply leads to expensive repairs and inconvenient breakdowns further down the line.
Engine oil - If your car engine doesn’t have the right amount of oil, it could be seriously damaged, sometimes beyond economical repair. Checking engine oil: Check the level at least once a week, when the engine is cold and the car is on a level surface. The dipstick usually sticks out from one side of the engine. On more modern cars it may have a coloured handle: usually red, orange or yellow with an oil can symbol on it. Remove the dipstick, wipe it clean with a rag, return it to the full extent, pull it out again and check that the oil level is between the upper and lower limits marked on the dipstick.
If you hear a sudden, unusual engine noise investigate it straightaway but first check that it is not caused by something rolling around in the boot, a loose door or bonnet or the car’s underside scraping the ground under a full load.
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