Nowadays, buying a car, and learning how to drive them is extremely easy. But it can be challenging to maintain a vehicle in its best condition, costing you hundreds to thousands of dollars in repairs alone.
Although you can hire a mechanic or bring your car to an auto repair shop for complex problems like overheated engines, there are some issues you can do yourself, saving you money, time, and your car in the long run.
Here are some of the most common problems car owners should know how to solve on their own.
The Car Is Using Too Much Oil
You need to regularly check and change your car’s oil to ensure a smooth-running vehicle while prolonging its engine’s lifespan. All you need to do is drain the oil by removing its drain plug, remove its filter and filler hole cap to empty its content further, then pour fresh oil and place everything back.
A Flat Tire
Your car’s wheels can go flat every once in a while, especially when you drive often. Fortunately, changing a flat tire is simple enough and can be a lifesaving skill you can learn. Just remove your wheels’ lug nuts, lift your car off the ground using a jack stand, placing the new tire on, then screw the lug nuts back on and lower your car. Double-check the lug nuts, and you’re good to go.
Spark Plugs
Spark plugs are small devices inside a car’s cylinder creating sparks to ignite the gasoline inside and ultimately powering your vehicle. However, they tend to wear out every 10,000 miles traveled. Luckily, all you need to do when this happens is replacing the faulty spark plug with a new one. Make sure to wear rubber gloves to avoid getting shocked during the process.
Dead Battery
Car batteries typically die during the most inconvenient times, and you wouldn’t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere. So, before driving your car, check your battery for any signs that it may need replacement, such as clicking sound when you turn the key, slow cranking, or check engine lights notification starts blinking. When replacing your car battery, make sure to label the cables before removing them for an easier process.
Broken Headlight or Taillight
Having broken headlights or taillights can be inconvenient and very illegal. That’s why you need to change them when you notice they’re starting to fade. To replace these lights, remove their frames, disconnect the electrical connector, replace the fault bulb with a new one, and place everything back.
Brakes Squeaking or Grinding
The brakes are one of the most crucial elements of any vehicle, ensuring a driver’s safety while on the road. Many vehicular accidents result from brake failure, so you need to make sure your car’s brakes are always in perfect condition. However, due to wear and tear, you may hear them squeaking or grinding at some point. When this happens, it’s best to change the brake pads.
You can repair this by loosening your wheels’ lug nuts, jacking the car up, removing its wheels, slider bolts, and old brake pads, then replace them with the new brakes and put the bolts back securely.
Although getting your first-ever can be exciting, your time with it can be short without properly maintaining it. Fortunately, the most common problems many car owners experience like those mentioned are relatively manageable, and you can resolve them yourself — saving you money, time, and more rides with your car.