Car maintenance is not to be taken lightly. As a safety measure, car owners, especially first-time owners and new drivers, should be aware of their car maintenance for their safety and other road users.
Hence, in this article, Bjak will share 7 car tips that new drivers should know to avoid any untoward incident.
Check car tyres
Tyres are crucial components of a car. Failure to keep your tyres in good condition can risk you and other road users.
One of the essential tyre maintenance tips is maintaining the tyre air pressure specified by the manufacturer. If the tyre air pressure is too high or too low, it can cause your tyres to crack and break easily. In addition, the surface of your tyres can also wear out faster.
You can check your tyre wear level by looking at the mark at the centre of your tyre tread. Ensure that the tyre tread is not below the mark. Meanwhile, if the tread is above the mark, it is no longer safe to use the tyre, so you have to replace it.
Check your tyres once a week, and ensure that the tread is not below or above the mark.
Replace car battery accordingly
There are two battery types for a car: dry and wet cells. To identify your car battery type, you can check the surface of the battery.
Unlike a dry-cell battery, a wet-cell battery has a fill hole to fill distilled water.
A car battery typically lasts for 18 months to 2 years. However, frequent car usage may cause the battery to run out faster. Some batteries can last as long as 4 years, but the prices are higher.
If you cannot start your engine, your car battery may have run out.
Replace engine oil as scheduled
Engine oil is essential for smooth driving.
For your information, you have to change car engine oil according to the period of use or total distance travelled. Semi-synthetic engine oil can be used up to 5,000 km or 3 months, while fully synthetic engine oil can be used up to 10,000 km or 6 months.
Do not let the oil in the engine exceed the limit, as this can leave sediment that will stick and thicken on the inside of the engine. This condition can cause other problems with the engine later.
You can check the level and viscosity of the engine oil using an engine oil gauge, better known as a dipstick.
Additionally, we recommend changing your oil filter each time you change engine oil.
Check your brake pad every 15,000 km
You need to check your car brake disc and its layer every 15,000 km. However, you should check it more often if your brake starts making noise or pulling to one side.
If the pad layer wears thin, almost reaching the backing plate, you need to replace the brake pad.
The allowable thickness of the brake pad liner is at least 2 millimetres (mm). If the brake pad’s thickness is less than 2 mm, the end of the clip will rub against the brake disc. A sound coming from it shall indicate that you must replace the brake pad immediately.
If you do not replace the brake pad, problems that will arise include a lot of scratches on the brake pad, a burning brake disc leaving a bluish-black mark. Your car brake system will also be less effective.
Change your air filter every 20,000 km
Make sure your car air filter is changed every 20,000 km to ease the filtering of outside air intake into the injection.
Learn how to jump-start your car
Take some time to learn how to jump-start your car battery. Additionally, keep a jumper cable in your car.
If you are unsure how to jump-start a car, follow the steps below:
- Ensure that the engines and switches of both cars are turned off
- Ensure that both cars are parked near each other
- Connect the red jumper cable clips to the positive terminals of both car batteries
- Connect the black jumper cable clip to the negative terminal of the other car and another to the “grounding” of the car with the depleted battery
- Start the engine of the other car
- Start the engine of the car with the depleted battery
- Let both engines run for 5 to 10 minutes
- Unplug the jumper cable
- Test drive your car for about 30 minutes to charge your battery
Keep your car insurance hotline and mechanic’s number
Finally, you should keep your insurance hotline number and a mechanic’s contact number for emergency assistance while driving.
If you have to drive alone, you can quickly contact your insurer and mechanic to get immediate assistance.
Stay safe on the road
We hope that our car tips will benefit new drivers who may have less experience handling a car.
Knowing the essential car maintenance tips will help reduce the risk of accidents and make your driving safer.
You can check out other articles on Bjak’s blog for more car tips.
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