Extending a Car’s Life with 15-Minute Monthly Checks
Pop was fond of reminding his kids and grandkids that if they took care of their car, it would take care of them. For the most part, he was right - save for a particular Italian-branded machine which dripped oil with the same vigor it dripped charisma. Sage advice from elderly rural North American grandfathers doesn’t always apply to cars built in Italy.
That quirk aside, there are a number of actions an owner can take to help ensure their car won’t fail in the moment it is most needed. Anyone old enough to have played the original Police Quest game on PC will remember that the character sometimes couldn’t continue a mission until they had literally performed a walkaround on their police cruiser.
While most of us rolled our eyes at this necessity (while silently cursing Jim Walls, the game’s tech advisor and real-life cop who imbued the game with several cubic acres of real-life procedural minutiae), it helped prove a point - quick checks can catch small problems before they become big issues.
[Image: DedMityay/Shutterstock.com, Standret/Shutterstock.com, Nitto, RoadX Tires, Anatoliy Cherkas/Shutterstock.com, SofikoS/Shutterstock.com]
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Tires
Sure, just about every modern machine is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system these days, flashing an angry amber light on the dash when a hoop’s psi reading drop below a certain threshold. What that system doesn’t do is warn of tread life, a measure upon which a dose of visual inspection is still required. Giving your car’s tires a once over every thirty days or so can help identify worn-out tread, a problem which could cause a dangerous situation in tough driving conditions.
Tires
That quick inspection may also identify suspension problems and the like. If a tire is worn to the cords on its inside shoulder but nearly new on the outside, alignment problems may be at play. Wear in the center of the tread might indicate overinflation, while so-called ‘cupping’ can be another kettle of fish altogether. These can provide clues so you know the questions to ask after bringing the car to yer trusted mechanic. At the very least, identifying worn tires might give you the chance to save for the next set instead of having to splash out four figures unexpectedly.
Fluids
The era of a full service gasoline station attendant popping out to check a car’s oil and other fluids is long gone, though there were no shortage of stories about unscrupulous workers surreptitiously poking a flathead screwdriver through a coolant hose in order to drum up business on a hot summer’s day. Tall tales aside, that’s the long way of saying we’re largely on our own these days for keeping an eye on our car’s vital fluids.
Fluids
Engine oil for those of us running internal combustion engines is arguably the biggest one, since a lack of that stuff can lead to Expensive Noises. There’s no shortage of make-and-model specific online tutorials about how to perform this check, from finding the dipstick to reading what is (or isn’t) on it. While you’re under the hood, have a glance at the washer fluid, coolant levels, and brake fluid for good measure.
Lights
This one’s easy, especially now that most cars will throw a dashboard warning if a major bulb has expired. A quick walkaround (thanks, Officer Walls) can uncover a blown light that one is unlikely to see with their own eyes from behind the wheel because, y’know, yer in the car. It is true that some modern headlamp assemblies aren’t serviceable, which can be a headache. Still, it’s a problem which would need to be corrected. And we know you have a remote key fob now, so hitting the lock/unlock button can be a timesaver when checking for burnt-out bulbs.
