Your car is one of your biggest investments, and maintaining it properly keeps it performing like new. While professional servicing is essential, some maintenance tasks are easy to handle on your own.
AVX has rounded up eight fundamental car maintenance skills that every driver should learn. These practical habits not only reduce repair costs but also improve safety, efficiency, and long-term performance.
This blog is your blueprint for learning basic car maintenance skills. These skills reduce service costs and improve your car’s performance.
Article Highlights
The article talks about basic car maintenance skills everyone should have.
- Change a flat tyre.
- Changing car oil.
- Change Spark Plugs
- Change the car battery.
- Change wiper blades
- Replace the air filter
- Replace a headlight
Change a Flat Tyre
Changing a flat tyre is one of the most important vehicle repair skills. The immediate challenge of a flat tyre is that it completely immobilises your vehicle. It wastes your time, which is frustrating. However, knowing how to change a tyre will quickly get you back on the road. The most important thing is to always have a spare tyre and the required tool kit with you, or otherwise look out for a car repair shop nearby.
- Use a wrench to loosen the lug nuts and lift the car with the jack.
- Then, take off the lug nuts and the tyre.
- Put the spare tyre on.
- Put the lug nuts back.
- Lower the car.
Make sure the lug nuts are tight. Improperly or unevenly tightened lug nuts can cause the wheel to seat incorrectly. It leads to vibrations that mimic poor wheel alignment.
Also Read: 7 Signs of Poor Wheel Alignment That Cost You Money
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Change the Oil
Clean oil helps your car run better and your engine last longer. Check your oil regularly by inspecting the dipstick. If the dipstick comes back with gritty or dark oil, it is time to change the engine oil. Moreover, car manufacturers always provide a recommended mileage for changing engine oil, which you can find in car manuals.
Most modern cars using synthetic oil require a change every 9,000 to 18,000 miles (or roughly every 12 months), depending on driving conditions and manufacturer guidelines.
To change the car oil
- Remove the drain plug.
- Unscrew the oil filter and empty it.
- Put the plug back.
- Pour in the new oil.
Change Spark Plugs
Ideally, a car’s spark plug should be changed in about 130,000 km. However, some spark plugs require frequent change. If your spark plug is not functioning properly, you likely notice trouble starting your car, or the check engine light will be on.
Moreover, poor fuel mileage and slow acceleration sometimes indicate the need to change spark plugs. To change the spark plugs
- Find the spark plug.
- Disconnect the spark plug wire.
- Replace the old spark plug with a new one.
- Reconnect the wire.
Get the OEM spark plug for durability, or contact AVX for insurance-approved vehicle repair and get high-quality car repair done by professionals.
Change Car Battery
Check your battery regularly and know how to replace it to avoid the hassle of your car not starting. Changing your car battery is easy.
- Remove the covers.
- Disconnect the negative cables and remove the clamp from the post.
- Disconnect the positive cables and clamp.
- Remove the screws.
- Replace the old battery with a new one.
- Put the cable clamps back.
Change Wiper Blades
Windshield wipers are very important for road safety. In the rainy seasons of the UK, you need perfectly working wiper blades. You should check the rubber and silicon edge of the wiper before starting your drive during the rain. They usually wear out with time, or sometimes the fit is not good, which creates streaks on the windshield. It reduces road visibility and indicates the need for replacement of wiper blades. Changing wiper blades is simple.
- Lift the wiper off the windshield.
- Press the tab to take off the old wiper.
- Put the new wiper blade on.
Lowering the arm carefully is important to avoid dropping it and cracking the glass.
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Replace Air Filters
Air filters are very important for the health of your car engine. They protect the engine from contaminants such as dust. A dirty air filter reduces the vehicle’s acceleration and sometimes causes black exhaust. You should replace the air filters per the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendation or every 12,000-15,000 miles for optimal performance.
To replace the air filter;
- Open the hood and find the air filter box. It is the black box with a large hose coming from its side.
- Open the air filter box and take out the old filter.
- Put the new one in and close the box.
Replace a Headlight
A broken light on your car can be a safety hazard and get you a ticket. Fortunately, it is easy to fix yourself.
- Remove the screws connecting the frame of the light to the bracket.
- Disconnect the wires powering the bulb.
- Replace the old bulb with a new one and put everything back.
However, headlight restoration is enough if the light is only worn out and turned yellow or hazy. AVX is London’s trusted auto repair shop, providing reliable and quick headlight restoration services.
Fix Scratches
Removing scratches from the paint can be expensive unless you do it yourself. However, you can only repair minor scratches at home, and you can opt for SMART repair services from AVX.
You will need fine-grit sandpaper, rubbing compound, car polish, and car wax to repair a scratch at home.
- Carefully sand out the scratch.
- Polish it with rubbing compound.
- Wax the panel area.
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Conclusion
Understanding basic car maintenance skills is important for every driver. Knowing and performing regular maintenance, like changing engine oil or wiper blades, keeps your car performing well. On the other hand, skills like changing a tyre will keep you moving on the road. Every driver should learn these skills to save time and money on car repairs. These skills ensure road safety and keep you ready to manage unexpected breakdowns.
However, these skills can not help you with major repairs. For high-quality services, you should always choose a trusted auto-repair shop like AVX. We can help you with insurance-approved vehicle repairs, which will save you money and keep your car running like new.
Frequently Asked Questions
You should check your tyre pressure at least once a month. You should also check the tyre pressure before long trips.
You should always check your tyre pressure when the tyres are cold — i.e., before you make any journeys that day or at least after 3 hours of finishing your journey.
You should rotate your tyres every 6,000 to 8,000 miles or with every oil change. This helps them wear evenly and extends their lifespan.
You can tell if your battery is old by checking the voltage level. A healthy battery should have a voltage of 12.6 or higher. If your battery falls below this, it’s time to replace it.
If your Check Engine Light is on, it means your car’s onboard computer has detected an issue with the engine or emissions system. To prevent potential damage, you should have it checked by a reliable auto repair shop as soon as possible.
Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) removes minor dents and dings from a vehicle’s body panels without sanding, painting, or filling. It preserves the factory paint finish.
AVX auto body shop has specialised tools for paintless dent repairs. Our experts carefully massage or pull the metal back into its original shape.
Book your Car Repair Today!
If a problem goes beyond a simple fix, don’t risk damage. Visit AVX Auto Repair today to book guaranteed, professional car repair and servicing.
