As a caring car owner, opting for preventive maintenance is the most essential thing you can consider for your car. Regular maintenance is like going to the doctor for regular checkups. However, going for preventive maintenance is like visiting a doctor before anything happens. Such checkups prove beneficial in the prevention of major breakdowns. Preventive measures are a great way to save huge bills on car maintenance and retain the most original performance of a car.
Preventive maintenance helps prevent costly repairs like car battery replacement and tyre alignment. It includes a set of tasks like minor repairs, regular services, and detailed inspections. Activities like adjustments, tightening, lubrication, cleaning, replacement, and testing of worn parts are covered as a part of this maintenance. Proactive car owners largely benefit by going for preventive car maintenance regularly either on the basis of miles traveled or time before last maintenance.
Before going for preventive car maintenance, it is essential for car owners to explore and list all the aspects to be considered for maintenance. This can help owners in understanding what goes behind the scenes and take note of what is essential and what is not. The preventive measure checklist mentioned below is common for all vehicles. With that said, here’s all you should take care of during preventive maintenance:
1. Coolant and oils
Fluids play a crucial role in keeping a car running for hundreds of miles on the road. They can help prevent expensive repairs, for example, changing car battery. Fluids like coolants are essential to prevent any kind of overheating and prevent heat-based damage inside the cars. Having less to rare coolant levels inside a car can turn out to be hazardous for cars. Coolant gets consumed and hence, needs to be filled regularly.
On the other hand, oil doesn’t get consumed but is worn out over time. Assessing a car manual for oil-related guidelines can inform car owners how frequently oil needs to be changed. Additionally, each car accepts a different kind of oil, and that oil goes in different parts like filters, engines, and so on.
2. Tyres
Of all parts present in a car, tyres are regarded to be one of the most damage-prone parts. Despite a car is driven or not, they tend to wear out due to their chemical nature. Checking car tyre treads is one of the easiest ways to determine if they need to be replaced or not. Since tyres bear the entire body weight of a car, they must be prioritized in preventive maintenance.
Apart from wearing treads, tyres also suffer from alignment and rotational problems. Hence, a car owner must also go for a tyre alignment and tyre rotation if they are found to be improper upon inspection. A tyre alignment can help boost the life of a car tyre by aligning it back to an angle that is optimal for best use case scenarios.
3. Belt
A car is usually fitted with two belts, namely Serpentine and timing belt. These belts too wear over time and need to be replaced regularly. While the serpentine needs to be replaced every 40,000 miles, the timing belt needs to be swapped every 60,000 miles. This replacement is an average value of most generic vehicles. Referring to the car manual can give an exact idea about the exact range they need to be taken care of.
The serpentine belt is interconnected across the car. The air conditioner, Power steering, Water pump, and alternator are usually connected with each other with this belt. With so much to handle at a time, it is essential that is regularly taken care of. It is also prone to cracking and breaking. Breaking of a belt can also lead to additional costs coming from a car battery replacement due to a bad battery.
4. Spark plugs
Spark plugs are responsible for electric duties inside a car. Therefore, they need to be inspected and changed regularly. Failing to replace them on time may prevent a car engine to work seamlessly as expected. Therefore, the plugs need to be replaced every 30,000 miles or as per the guidelines stated inside a car manual.
5. Battery
The battery is the most essential part that any car has. When it comes to diagnosing a car battery, a car owner may only need to check the charge indicator to determine the health of the car battery. Car batteries have a 2-terminal construction. These terminals are mostly red and black in color are called as positive and negative terminals.
If the tip and contact points of these terminals are found to be accumulated with a greenish-white colored solution, then it may point towards a car battery replacement in the near future. Keeping the terminals lubricated with quality materials such as oils and grease can greatly help in preventing the action of changing the car battery.
Additionally, one must also keep a check on electrolyte levels inside the battery to prevent unexpected battery discharge. Apart from all this, a car owner must insist on keeping the car battery devoid of dust and other garbage deposits. A car battery lasts for about 3 to 5 years, depending on how it’s used. Since car batteries are a critical element, one must always consult with a service expert before going for a car battery replacement and other battery-related services.
6. Cleanliness
Keeping a car devoid of dust, garbage and other wastage is essential for the car to keep running optimally. For example, one must insist on replacing wipers if they aren’t able to clean the windshield properly. Similarly, it is essential to keep the exteriors clean as well. This ensures that the vehicle keeps performing seamlessly without any kind of breakdowns.
Some of the aforementioned checklist activities such as car battery replacement and tyre alignment may sound expensive and tedious, but they are well worthy of the improvements they bring to the car. After all, it’s better to be a proactive car owner instead of being reactive and running to the repair shops only when the car breaks down. Taking the car for preventive maintenance paves way for seamless, undisturbed drives and saving a lot of resources as a part of an effective and precautionary process.