7 Easy DIY Car Maintenance Tips for Better Vehicle Care

Cars, like people, thrive on a little extra care every now and then, don’t they? With today’s advanced automotive technology and manufacturers’ commitment to top-tier aftersales service, it’s easy to forget that your vehicle thrives on a bit of hands-on care. This guide offers a collection of simple, at-home maintenance tasks that can keep your car in top shape while saving you some hard-earned money.

The most critical benefit of maintaining your vehicle? It ensures your car remains a safe companion on the road. Even a quick visual inspection—a walk around your vehicle—can uncover issues that need attention before they escalate.

Of course, complex maintenance should always be left to skilled mechanics, but there’s plenty you can handle on your own. With just a few easy checks, you can keep your car running smoothly and steer clear of those unwelcome repair bills down the road.

Inspect Automatic Transmission Fluid Level

Whenever your car undergoes its yearly inspection or maintenance, it’s essential to have the transmission examined for any potential issues or defects. While automatic transmissions are generally dependable, you should consult your owner’s manual if you need to check the fluid level.

Manufacturers often recommend checking the fluid level when the transmission is at its operating temperature, which might necessitate driving the car for up to 20 kilometers.
Before checking the automatic transmission fluid, ensure the vehicle is parked on a flat surface and the handbrake is engaged.
Refer to your owner’s manual for guidance on locating the dipstick, checking the fluid, and identifying the appropriate oil grade.
If you find the fluid level is significantly low, requires frequent top-ups, or if the oil appears dark with a burnt or sugary odor, it’s advisable to consult a mechanic or a transmission specialist.

Check Tire Wear

Every tire features built-in indicators to measure tread depth. These indicators are small rubber blocks that stick out from the lowest part of the tire channels. When the tread approaches these indicators, it’s time for a tire replacement. Many tire manufacturers suggest changing tires when the tread depth reaches 3mm. While the legal minimum is 1.6mm, replacing tires before reaching this limit is advised.

Also, keep an eye on tire wear patterns. Inspect both the inner and outer edges of the tire, as well as the center. Excessive wear on the inner edges might indicate sports performance setup or misalignment issues. To check the inner edges of your front tires, turn the steering wheel fully to reveal the inside edge. If the tire shows significant wear or is below the legal limit, it should be replaced. Keep a tire pressure gauge in your car and maintain optimum tire pressure to avoid irregular wear.
For older vehicles or those with infrequent use, tire rubber can develop cracks over time. Seek professional guidance to determine if a replacement is needed. Additionally, if you notice any bulges, cuts, or nicks on the tire’s side, it’s crucial to replace it. Such damage compromises the tire’s integrity and raises the risk of a blowout.
Monitor your wheel alignment while driving. Does the car veer to one side on a straight road? Is the steering wheel off-center? It’s wise to have your wheel alignment checked to ensure optimal tire wear.

Change Wiper Blades

First of all, the slightest and easiest job is to change car wipers’ blades. The wiper blades can get cracked or torn out due to excess use in fall and winter. According to glass.net, worn blades can scratch or chip your window, leaving you in need of repair, so don’t put it off. We often stop by a mechanic shop to get them changed and obviously when you get some services, you will be paying some amount. We are posting the right technique to change your wiper blades yourself easily and effectively. First of all, you need to make sure that the new blades are of same size as you are already having. In some of the vehicles, right side blade is slightly bigger than the left one. You have to pick up the accurate set of wiper blades.

Lift up the blades, same as you do when you are washing your car’s screen
Remove the old blades paying attention that how the existing old blades were fixed to the bracket so that you can do them correctly when you are putting new ones.
Most of the models come with a tab to push and then remove old wiper blades.
Be careful, do not bend the wiper arms too much or you will break them, fix the new blades to the right place.
Make sure that blades are tightly firmed at the place.

Do not worry if you have forgot how you removed the old blades and where exactly the new ones are to be fixed, you can see the instructions on package.

Replace the Air Filters

Second thing that you can do yourself are the Air Filters. It takes only ten minutes to replace the air filters and about $20 to buy them.

Find the rectangular box which has metal clips on side, under your car’s hood.
Simply open the casing and carefully examine that which way the old filters are fixed to the box.
Remove the old ones smoothly and slip in the new air filters.
Do not forget to close the metal clips which are placed on the sides of box when you are done changing the filters.

Just a simple 10 minutes of work and you are all set to have a clean and fresh air in your car without paying any extra money to the mechanic.

Change Spark Plugs

Another type of service which you can offer to your car is to change the spark plugs which need a bit of practice. But do not worry, we are here to tell you how to deal with spark plugs. Mostly they need to be changed after 30,000 miles but it can be different in different vehicles. If you feel like you should change the spark plugs, you will need to,

Locate the spark plugs, it is quite easy as they are attached with the thickest rubber wires.
It depends upon the cylinders of your car that how many plugs do you need.
Keep one thing in your mind, do not unplug all the plugs at once, remove the first one first because all of these filters are connected in a specific order.
It needs a spark plug socket and a holding extension to unscrew the plug.
Now screw in the new plug. Do it with your hang first and then tighten it with the screw.
When all the plugs are replaced, reattach the plug wire and you are all done.

Change Oil and Filter

Now come to the oil and oil filters. You will be needing a funnel, oil pan, oil filter wrench and ratchet to do the job. It takes a maximum of 45 minutes and as you are doing it yourself, it will take only between $50 to $100 to complete it. It is better to know that when is the right time to change your car oil. The experts say that we must do it after every 3000 miles. When you are about to do it, keep a few things in your mind.

Never do it when your engine is hot. Remember that if you want to do it effectively, take a round or two on your car so that the oil is heated up and easily removed from the car.
You have to use a jack for this job so make sure you can easily handle a jack.

After all the safety measures, you need to be a quite messy doing the oil change.

Locate the oil pan of your car.
By unscrewing the drain plug, pour all the oil in the oil pan.
From engine, remove the oil filters carefully.
Make sure to grease the rubber gasket with the new oil filter with few drops of new motor oil.
Fil it with about 2/3 oil.
Screw back the new oil filter. Do not use any screw driver, tighten it using your hands only.
Use your funnel to fill engine with some new oil.
Discard the old oil filter and carefully recycle the old oil.

Battery Maintenance

Now come to another important service which is battery maintenance, another simple task you can easily do at your home.

Keep one thing in your mind that while removing the battery terminal, always remove the negative one first.

Keep a solution of baking powder and water beside you.
Carefully detach terminal and dip them to the solution.
After that use some old brush to clean them.
Put them to a rough cloth and let them dry.
Attach them back.

By doing all the things given above, you can save a lot of money so try to be a bit confident about your skills and do everything at home, atleast till the limit you can easily handle.