If you’re a university commuter, you’re certainly not the only one. According to data from the 2018 census, over half of the students in New Zealand get to school either by driving themselves or by riding in someone else’s private vehicle. There’s a certain amount of stress involved in commuting to school, though, because you need to be absolutely certain that your car will start every morning when you turn the key. If it doesn’t, you’ve got a serious problem on your hands. Some professors aren’t very kind when it comes to unplanned absences – especially on exam days.
You want to be as sure as you can be that your car will work as it should throughout the full school year, and the best way to do that is by taking care of some necessary routine maintenance before school starts.
If you’re fortunate, you might have a little help from your parents when it comes to maintaining your car. Either way, however, money is likely to be a little tight because university isn’t cheap. The thing about owning a car, though, is that a little preventative work is always cheaper than fixing the bigger problems that arise because you skipped routine maintenance. Let’s get your car ready for the school year, so you’ll have one less thing to worry about when it’s time to go to class.
Get the Oil Changed
Changing the oil in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommended service interval is probably the most important thing that you can do in maintaining your vehicle. Many modern cars use hybrid synthetic oils with a recommended replacement interval of about 12,000-16,000 km, but you should confirm this by asking a mechanic or referring to your car’s instruction manual. If you’re a light driver, you should still change your car’s oil at least once a year. Most catastrophic engine failures happen because of old or low oil, so there’s really no excuse for not doing this.
The mechanics at a typical oil-change facility will perform a short inspection on your vehicle while replacing the oil, so they may actually do some of the things mentioned in this guide. It’s still valuable to know how to do those things yourself, though, because the inspection process is sometimes so quick that the mechanics may miss a few things. One of the things that the mechanics at an oil-change facility may not do as part of their standard inspection is check your engine air filter – so ask them to remove the filter and show it to you. If it’s dirty, ask them to replace it. A dirty air filter reduces your car’s efficiency and may lead to elevated engine temperatures.
Check the Tyre Air Pressure and Tread Depth
If we had to guess, we’d say that the most common problem that can happen with a car is probably a flat tyre. The good news is that, aside from road hazards, this problem is usually easy to avoid as long as you keep an eye on the condition of your tyres. Check the air pressure before going back to school and make sure that the tyres are inflated to the correct level. You’ll find the recommended air pressure on the side of each tyre.
You should also check the tread depth on your tyres. All modern tyres have wear indicators, which are the low bars positioned between the rows of treading. If the tread is level with the wear indicators, the tyres are no longer safe to use. You can also check the tread depth by placing a 20-cent coin in the groove with the “20” facing down. If you can see the whole “20,” it’s time for new tyres.
Don’t forget that to ensure even tread wear, you should have your tyres rotated once or twice per year. Often, the place where you purchased the tyres will do this for free.
Check the Windshield Wipers and Replace Them if They’re Old
Some car accidents happen because of poor maintenance or reckless driving, and you can often avoid those situations by simply making the right decisions. Poor weather, however, is one thing that you can’t avoid – so you should make sure that you’re ready for it. If your windshield wipers are old and cracked, you’ll know it because they’ll leave streaks behind when you use them.
If it’s been more than a year or so since the last time you installed new wipers, it’s time for a new set. Ezywiper is based right here in New Zealand, and they have a perfect fit for nearly any vehicle. They also guarantee that you’ll love your wipers, or they’ll refund your money.
For extra security in poor weather, you should also consider applying water repellent to your windshield. Water repellent adds a layer of silicone to the glass that encourages the water to bead and run off of the glass rather than forming sheets that hamper visibility.
Test the Battery
How long has your car’s battery been in use? If you’ve been using the same battery for more than three years or so, it’s probably time to start getting it tested yearly. This is a service that many mechanics and auto parts stores will perform for free because it only takes a couple of minutes. During the testing process, the mechanic connects a device to the battery’s leads. The device sends a load through the battery to check the battery’s internal resistance. If the resistance is too high, it’s time for a new battery. Replacing your battery is a lot more convenient than waiting for a jumpstart because you can’t get your vehicle started, so it’s important to have the battery tested regularly once it starts to get old.
Check the Fluid Levels
Your car provides easy access to check the levels of most fluids, including the oil, coolant/antifreeze, windscreen wiper fluid, power steering fluid and brake fluid. When you have your car’s oil changed, the mechanics should check all fluid levels. It’s still helpful to do this yourself, though, because oil-change mechanics may miss some things as they try to get through their checklists as quickly as possible.
If you find that any of your car’s fluids are low, you should top them off in most cases. However, there are two things that you need to know.
- If the oil level is low – and you’ve changed the oil recently – it could be a sign of an oil leak. You should have this checked because, as we mentioned above, a low oil level can lead to catastrophic engine failure.
- If the brake fluid level is low, don’t add brake fluid unless the fluid is below the “Min” line. Low brake fluid could be a sign that your brake pads are due for replacement, so have your brakes inspected. No one enjoys paying for new brake pads, but replacing your brake pads costs much less than the full overhaul that’ll be necessary if you let the pads wear down until they begin to grind the rotors away.