Vehicle ownership comes with a lot of responsibility. Often times, that responsibility comes down to knowing when you should take your vehicle into the professionals to keep you and everyone traveling with you (and besides you on the road) safe, but there are some things every vehicle owner should know how to do for themselves. As your auto body shop, we’re going to run through the basics you should have under your belt to help you make informed decisions about your vehicle and to keep it in the best condition possible.
Understanding Tire Pressure
Keeping your tires in the appropriate pressure range seems like it would be easy. If it looks flat, it needs air, right? Well, yes, definitely. But there are more nuances to it than that. A tire that doesn’t look flat might still be low on tire pressure, and it’s important to know not only what constitutes low tire pressure for your vehicle and tires, but also what the right range to stay in is, as well. This information should be in your manufacturer’s guide, or you can consult your favorite mechanic, but it’s important to know that an over-pressurized tire is just as, if not more, dangerous than an under-pressurized tire.
How to Change a Tire
We’ve all seen the movies. The one where a couple or a group of friends or a family winds up stranded on the side of the road because they blew a tire. It’s never a fun situation, but it’s even less fun when you don’t know what to do to get back on the road and out of the borderline-beginning-of-a-horror-movie scene. Knowing how to change a tire is not as difficult as it seems, but it’s worth learning to do correctly. Check YouTube, or again, ask your favorite mechanic, and make sure you do a practice run (or 5) before you find yourself in a situation where you need to execute the tire change quickly and correctly.
Checking Oil
Everyone should be able to check their own oil. Relying on the sticker from the oil change place isn’t always going to cut it. Those stickers run off a standard system that isn’t universally applicable to all vehicles. Some vehicles use oil faster than others. Learning your vehicles’ tendencies may take some time, but understanding how to pull the dip stick and check it for your oil level is one of those things you should do regularly. Keeping your vehicle with the proper levels of oil is an important step for overall vehicle maintenance.
Decipher the Lights
All those fancy lights on your dash that pop on and off? They mean something, and half the mystery of being a vehicle owner is figuring out what that is. Each of those indicators exist to keep you and your vehicle safe, so ignoring them is not the answer! But being able to decipher which need immediate (read: reroute to the mechanic’s shop) attention and which can wait until you can schedule an appointment should be on your to-do list if it’s not already something you know inside and out.
There are many other things vehicle owners can learn about their cars, vans, trucks, SUVs, and more that will help in varying degrees, but knowing these basics creates the perfect foundation from which to learn more (or not) depending on your interests!
