What kind of maintenance for a car

A leak with any of these fluids can affect the way your car drives. If you spot a leak, you may be able to identify the fluid by its color. This can help you and your mechanic determine where the leak is coming from. It can also help speed up the repair process. A broken or burnt-out bulb is a safety hazard and might get you a ticket.

Learn how to thoroughly inspect each bulb on your car. If a bulb is out, take your car to an expert to determine whether it's the bulb or the fuse that needs replacing. Headlights are key safety lights on your car. Consider taking a few extra steps to help keep them shining bright, such as cleaning the lenses and replacing bulbs as they start to dim. If your wipers aren't working like they used to, don't let the problem linger. Damaged or worn out blades can reduce visibility during a heavy rain or a snowstorm.

Knowing how to inspect your wiper blades regularly and replace them when necessary is one way to help keep your car safe. A dirty engine air filter can allow dirt and other particulates into your car's engine and reduce its efficiency. Inspect your car's air filter once a year and replace it as needed. Some routine car care tasks can be done at home, but others require trained technicians. Take your car to a technician if the check engine light comes on. A qualified repair shop will also be able to inspect and replace other core components like the alternator and the wheel bearings.

Scheduling regular tune-ups will help ensure that your car gets other maintenance items repaired as well. Your car's brake pads also require regular inspection. While driving, listen for any brake noise and pay attention to shuddering or vibrating from the brake pedal. If any concerns arise, consult a service center as soon as possible. Blades are simply made of rubber and will wear out over time and exposure to the elements.

Old wiper blades will leave streaks that are difficult to see through and can even scratch your windshield. Expect to have to replace your blades at least once a year, possibly twice, depending on how much you use them.

You should also take the time to learn how to change your wiper blades. Every engine needs regular oil changes.

The oil is responsible for keeping the different components of your engine moving cohesively with minimal friction. Over time, oil gets dirty and needs to be changed to keep your engine healthy. Most modern cars suggest oil changes between every 3, to 5, miles, but some engines can go for 7, miles or more between changes.

Your tires are perhaps the single most important factor in how your vehicle drives down the road. Your tires keep your vehicle connected to the road, allowing you to turn, accelerate, and brake safely.

To change the air filter, look under the hood of the car and locate the air filter box. Look for clips or a latch to open the box, remove the old air filter and replace with a new one. Spark plugs are vital to your car's engine running properly. They ignite a fuel and air mixture in the combustion chamber, which drives the piston down, turning the crankshaft.

Your car has several pistons that work together to fully turn the crankshaft. Timing is essential, and even one spark plug misfiring or not working properly can dramatically affect your car's performance, such as a loss of power, poor acceleration, misfires and it can even affect your ability to start the engine.

Changing spark plugs is a little more involved than checking fluids or replacing an air filter, but it can still be done at home quite easily. In most cases, you'll need one plug per cylinder, but some vehicles require two per cylinder. Check your owner's manual for the correct number and types of plugs. Also, take note of the required gap. You might want to pick up a gapping tool while you're at the store, since this can be inadvertently bumped in transport and should be measured and corrected before installed.

To replace spark plugs, first let the engine temperature cool. Then change spark plugs one at a time by gently removing the wire from the spark plug. Use a spark plug socket and torque wrench to remove the old spark plug.

Measure the gap and install the new spark plug. Some prefer to use antiseize lubricant with new spark plugs, but it's not necessarily required and some spark plug manufacturers recommend not using it. Reconnect the boot and repeat the process for each spark plug. If something electronic on your car randomly stops working, like the lights, stereo or power windows, chances are it's a blown fuse. Fixing a blown fuse is one of the easiest repairs you can do yourself.

Most modern cars have two groups of fuses in panels, one typically found beneath the steering wheel and the other under the hood. One of them being your brake pads. Again, the schedule varies from circumstance to circumstance — some last longer than others. Expect to perform brake pad maintenance every 40, km-or-so. Mechanics will typically charge you per axle when changing your brake pads. The transmission allows your vehicle to shift gears. Flushing the fluid at least once a year will keep your transmission in top shape and prevent bigger, and more costly, issues from arising.

However, most mechanics actually suggest otherwise, saying every 50, to 80, kilometers is a good time to bring it into the shop. Manual transitions require a more regular transmission fluid flush. Though it is a pricier maintenance cost, it will ensure your gears are shifting properly while stopping and starting your vehicle. A timing belt makes sure the different components of your engine fire at the right time. The rule of thumb used to be to replace your timing belt every 60, to 80, kilometeres.

However, the longer you put it off, the more it could cost you. Spark plugs are an essential part of the ignition process, creating, as the name suggests, a spark to ignite the fuel in your engine to get it up and running. Different manufacturers recommend different frequencies, and the gap between the suggested minimum and maximum number of kilometers is quite wide, ranging from around 30, km up to as high as 80, km.

Spark plugs are cheap, but the labour to install them takes up the bulk of the costs. You should aim to put a new battery in every 3 to 5 years. That being said, you may have to change it before that. If your lights appear to be more dim than usual or your vehicle is having trouble starting, it may be time for a replacement.

You can check out many of the following items yourself or have a professional perform an inspection during your next oil change. But others might require a little more expertise. The make of your vehicle has a direct impact on how much you can expect to spend on car maintenance. Luxury brands such as BMW or Jaguar require higher quality materials and fluids to run properly, and thus, will cost more to service than other vehicles. Whereas with brands like Honda or Kia, you can get away with servicing using more baseline materials.

Here are the average annual vehicle maintenance costs for all 15 Birchwood Credit brands, according to Repair Pal :. And to top off the car maintenance guide, we wanted to bust a couple car maintenance myths before you hit the ground running. Sometimes vehicle maintenance is made out to be much worse than it actually is. Let us clear a couple things up for you before you go:.