Basic Car Maintenance: Part II

As promised, here is the second part of our two-part post on basic car maintenance. In this post, we’ll give you a couple more basic tips about how to maintain your car and be aware of any mechanical issues that could pose a threat your safety. Remember, like we said before, if you are unsure about anything then make sure you speak with a professional mechanic.

1. Battery – All electronic components of your car are powered by the car’s battery. This is usually located under the hood and is connected to positive and negative terminals. The connectors on the battery should be secure at all times. If the connectors begin to corrode, they should be replaced to prevent the electronic system from malfunction. Sometimes trouble starting the car be caused simply by a poor connection to the battery even though it may be fully charged.
2. Alignment – A car’s suspension system allows it to smoothly absorb bumps in the road while you are driving. This system also keep the wheels straight and makes it possible for the steering to respond quickly and accurately to your input through the steering wheel. If you start to notice your car pulling to the left or right while you are driving straight, or if you have to turn the wheel slightly just to keep the car moving straight; your alignment may be off. Take your car to a service center and they can easily realign it.
3. Regular Inspection – To underline all of the tips that we mentioned previously, it is important to note that taking time to regularly inspect your vehicle is the best way to notice is anything is going wrong and address problems before they become a safety issue. Especially if you are about to go on a long road trip, check your tire pressure, oil, fluid levels and so on. Small checks like this could prevent you from running into trouble down the road.

We hope that these car maintenance tips have been informative. We all need our vehicles to get around, so knowing how to take care of them is important. To make sure that your regular maintenance is up to date, keep a vehicle log and get your mechanic to make notes regarding any work that was done to the car.

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