Car maintenance is a task that many people don’t take very seriously. Since this can be a costly procedure, people tend to avoid it and try to strength their maintenance schedule as much as possible. However, this is bad, not only for the condition of the car, but also for the longevity of your car as well.
There are some maintenance tasks that are just beyond the person who has no experience with fixing cars whatsoever. However, there are many easy, minimal and stress-free maintenance tasks that anyone can do and they can do it without any experience.
Sometimes, these little things can cost you a lot of money in the form of service charges and fuel costs. You don’t have to worry about them at all because these are very minor and easy tasks that you will do for free. All that is needed from you is your time and your determination and that is it.
With this, you will be able to save a lot of money and you will have the satisfaction of taking care of your vehicle with your own hands. If you take care of these things on your own, you will be able to save money on regular car maintenance costs as well.
You don’t have to be an expert to be able to do these simple things, in fact, men and women of all ages can perform these tasks on their own. Here are some very easy car maintenance tasks that you can do at you home in stress-free manner.
Changing Cabin Air Filters or Engine Filters
Your car’s engine filters and cabin air filters need to be changed regularly, if not, this can be a very dangerous health hazard. The new cars that are sold in the UAE have both cabin air filters and engine filters. Both of them are equally important and you should not wait for your car’s maintenance schedule to roll in before you tackle them.
The cabin air filters ensure that the air you breathe inside your car is safe and healthy for you, while the engine filters ensure that your engine breathes properly as well. The good thing is replacing both of these filters is very easy and you don’t have to do much about it.
If your car has clean filters, you will breathe more freely and your car will function properly. You will know that it is time to change the filters when the car cabin smells very foul or your car is running out of fuel very often.
However, there is nothing to worry, you can change the filters yourself. You will first have to open the filter box, take out the old filters, place the new filters in the empty space and close the box. However, there is one thing that you need to be careful about; you need to make sure that you purchase the right filters and to do that you will have to check the owner’s manual.
The owner’s manual will have the appropriate part numbers, how often these parts should be replaced and which air filters are the best for your vehicle. This applies to both kinds of filters, so make sure that you check your owner’s manual before you purchase the new filters.
There is no need to take your car to a mechanic and spend extra money on your car. The next time your car smells foul, check your car’s air filters first before you take your car to a mechanic.
Also read: Things to Do When Your Car Breaks Down!
Replacing Car Batteries
Your car batteries are one of the most important part of your car, this is that par that runs your car. If it is not in the right condition, you need to replace it instantly or else, you may have some very serious repairs on your hands.
The good thing about this is that you don’t have to take your car to a professional to be able to do that, you can do it yourself. To do this, you will have to have a battery tester so that you can tell if you need to replace your car batteries or not.
As long as you have a battery tester with you, you should check your car battery regularly (once a month) and check its health. When the batteries lose their performance and their efficiency, you should think about changing them.
The buildup of corrosion is not good for the health of your vehicle and you should consistently grease them for a battery that lasts longer. If the battery is about to die or if it is not working any more, you should replace the battery at once.
Always check the owner’s manual to see what kind of battery you should choose for your car. Once you have the new batteries, you should disconnect the old battery by taking off the leads. Clean the leads with a cloth and set them aside.
After that you should place the new battery in the place of the old battery and connect the battery with the now cleaned wires. Always make sure that the battery and the wire is cleaned from all dust and debris before you connect it with the car.
If your car has Anti-Theft Alarm System, make sure that you disengage that before you take out the battery.
Also read: Tips for Preparing your Vehicle for a Long Road Trip in the UAE
Changing Car Bulbs
This is a very quick and inexpensive fix that you can do on your own without having to worry about anything. For this easy car maintenance task, you will just need some bulbs that you will replace the old ones with and you will need a screw driver.
How do you know that it is time to change the bulbs in your car? First of all, you will need to know where you should look. You will find bulbs in your turn signals, head lights and tail lights. So, if you turn signals flicker or don’t turn, this means that you will have to change the bulbs in them.
Also, if your headlights, fog lights or tail lights are burnt out, they are dimmer and they flicker and they simply don’t provide enough visibility in bad conditions so you should consider changing these lights as soon as possible.
Before you go to the market to get the new bulbs, you need to check a few things. First, you will have to check what kind of bulbs your car has so that you can take the burn out bulb and find a replacement for that. However, if you don’t find any company or brand name, you can take your owner’s manual and see what that says about the bulbs.
As soon as you have the right bulb, you can go ahead and change the bulb. All you will need to do is take your screw driver, open the case, take out the old bulb, and replace it with the new one reseal the area with the case. It is that easy and you don’t have to pay a mechanic to do it for you.
Conversely, there is one thing that you need to be careful about. When you take the bulb out or when you are changing the bulb, make sure that you don’t touch the bulb with your bare hands. If you touch the bulb with your bare fingers, you will leave the natural oil on the surface of the bulb and reduce its life span.
If you live in the UAE, you should consider changing your vehicle’s head lights and taillights with high output bulbs or add a high intensity discharge kit. These are easy repairs and easy to install as well. They become necessary especially when you are driving in bad weather conditions like flooring, raining and dust storms.
These are some easy yet money saving car maintenance tasks that you can do on your own and without the help of a professional and expert. Since these are small tasks, even women and men of all ages can do it. These are such tasks that you can even trust your teenager with. So why should you pay money to a mechanic when you can easily do it yourself.
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