Car Maintenance Jobs to Do Yourself

Cars are complicated pieces of machinery made up of so many parts, so when things go wrong it’s often best to leave it to the professionals rather than having a go yourself. That way you get some real peace of mind that everything is actually functioning as it should, and won’t end up breaking down and putting yourself in a dangerous position. But there are plenty of smaller jobs to maintain and look after your car which you can, and in some cases should be doing yourself. There’s really no reason to wait until your service or MOT is due for these (it’s easy to forget otherwise). These jobs will keep everything ticking over and keep your car running smoothly. Here are a few things you’re able to do yourself.

Topping up fluids

Coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, engine oil and windshield washer fluid are all car fluids that are easy to top up yourself, if you passed your driving test in more recent years then you would have been required to learn all of this anyway. It’s one of those things people really do forget about once they’ve passed. Every couple of months, or at the start of any long journey, give them all a quick check. Aside from oil which you check with the dipstick, the other fluids will have a minimum and maximum line on them so ensure the level is between the two. You can buy these fluids from any auto centre or car parts retailer, and actually even most supermarkets stock them now.

Changing a tyre

Good, well maintained tyres are so important for safety when it comes to cars. The’yre the only part that touches the road so if they’re worn or not inflated properly it can lead to some serious accidents. If you have a tyre blow out or go flat while you’re on the road, would you know how to change it? It’s a useful skill to have in life, so it’s usually well worth learning even if you hope you never need it. But changing your wheel to the spare if needed is something you could do yourself, and it really does save you calling out your breakdown company!

Replacing a car key battery

Even if you’re not comfortable with doing a car battery replacement yourself, changing your car key battery is usually simple enough. A lot of people tend to go straight to somewhere like Timpsons and have them do it when it starts warning low battery. But no need to pay, in most cases, you just need to insert new batteries within a certain number of minutes to avoid losing the coding on the key. It’s usually more straightforward than people expect (especially if you’ve done it once before). If you’ve ever changed a watch battery then you’ll know the drill.

Changing wipers

Wipers are fairly long lasting, but they won’t work forever and over time the rubber can wear out, and either fall off entirely or stop cleaning your screen properly, which can actually become dangerous quite quickly. If you’re driving in heavy rain, the windshield not clearing could obstruct your vision.