Maintaining Your Car: Tips to Keep Your Vehicle Running Smoothly
Maintaining your car is essential to keep it in good condition and ensure its longevity. Regular maintenance not only helps to prevent breakdowns and expensive repairs but also improves the safety and performance of your vehicle. Here are some tips to help you maintain your car and keep it running smoothly.
Brakes
Check your brake discs for signs of uneven wear and keep an eye on how much wear is left on the brake pads. Any strange noises from your brakes are usually a sign of worn pads. A spongy brake pedal could mean worn pads or discs, low brake fluid or air in the system.
Oil
Check your car’s oil regularly by first warming your car up, then turn it off, open the bonnet, allow the oil to settle, and then remove the dipstick.
Clean it with a paper towel or cloth and re-insert into the engine then remove to check your oil level.
There will be a minimum and maximum level and ideally, you want your oil to be in the middle or slightly above. But don’t overfill as this can be as damaging as too little oil in your engine.
Windscreen
Chips or cracks on your windscreen can mean an MOT fail but if caught early they can be repaired before the crack starts to spread.
Windscreen Wipers and Washer levels
If your windscreen wipers are leaving water behind or smears check them for signs of wear, tears or rips and replace them.
Also, keep your windscreen washer reservoir level topped up with a mixture of water and cleaning additive that has an anti-freeze agent.
Lights
A faulty headlight will provide poor visibility and can be dangerous to oncoming traffic as you may be mistaken for a motorbike and it will also draw the attention of the Police.
Carry out a regular visual inspection of all the lights – side lights first, then dipped headlights, main headlights and fog lights. Turn on your hazard lights to check the indicators and use a reflection or ask a friend to press the brake pedal so you can check they are working.
Battery
A healthy battery is essential, and during winter it is put under a lot of pressure. The tell-tale signs of a battery becoming weak is when you turn the key and the turnover is laboured or your lights look dim and your wipers move slowly. Although this can also be a sign of a faulty alternator.
Car Cleaning
Keeping your car clean is not only good for the bodywork but will maximise your resale value. Car care kits can be picked up cheaply but invest in a good quality car shampoo and wax or polish. It’s a good idea to have two buckets, one for hot water and shampoo and the other for clean water.
You might also like our blog on making sure you have the right car seats in your car, or how to change a tyre safely in less than 15 minutes.
CRASH Services are NI’s leading accident management company. If you’ve been in an accident, CRASH Services can take care of everything at no cost to you. Our services are completely free to you.
Please speak to one of our specialists from our claims team today. Or call us now on 028 9066 0244
CRASH Services can arrange vehicle recovery, collision investigation, organise repairs, provide a replacement vehicle, liaise with insurance companies and offer legal and medical assistance.
