Morning Routines To Make Your Car Last Longer

Just like your body needs daily washing to stay healthy, there are certain things that you should do for your car if you want it to serve you longer. Quite often, we get really frustrated when our vehicle suddenly breaks down in the middle of the road, but the truth is, sometimes these incidents could have been avoided if only we did the right thing. Cars generally require routine maintenance to keep performing optimally. Just before you set out each morning for your daily activities, set aside a little time to perform these morning routines in your vehicle. Doing these morning routines will make your vehicle last longer:

Check And Clean The Filters

As part of your morning routines for your vehicle, endeavour to check the engine air filter, oil filter, and cabin air filter. Your car’s engine requires a mix of fuel and air to function effectively. If the air filter is clogged by debris or dirt, it will affect the smooth running of your vehicle. Therefore, always check it, clean and replace it if necessary. If you carry on with a dirty air filter, it would damage your engine and also lead to increased emissions, reduced horsepower and fuel efficiency. 

Also, your car needs oil to lubricate the moving parts to prevent friction that causes quick wear and tear. The oil filter serves to remove diets and other impurities from the oil that could damage your car. The oil filter can get clogged with these impurities which will impede the free flow of oil to the engine and other moving parts. This is why it is necessary to regularly check the oil filter to clean out the dirt. If necessary, you might have to replace the oil filter. 

Cleaning The Car

This might look like a no-brainer, but then, you would be amazed how many drive around dirty cars on Nigerian roads. Daily cleaning of your car is beyond just making your car look good, although that’s important too. Daily cleaning of your car serves to remove dirt, grease or other impurities that could lead to quick rust of some car parts, fading of your car colour and even preserving your health. Regularly inhaling a car infested with dust and other impurities will breed microorganisms that could be harmful to your health.

Cleaning your car does not necessarily take all of your time. You can start out by taking out the garbage in the car, cleaning the interior (dashboard, floor mats, seats etc), and cleaning the exterior (body panel, windscreen, wipers etc). When cleaning your car, ensure to use it to clean water and detergents that are not corrosive or hazardous to the car.

Inspect Your Brakes, tyres, and Belts.

Many accidents could have been avoided if many people practised this morning routine to make their cars last longer. Inspecting your brakes, tyres, spark plugs, hoses and belts is a must-do routine if you want to preserve your car and your life. You need to check these parts to know if they are properly fixed, in good condition or damaged due to wear and tear. 

Check out your brake system including the pads and shoes if they are in good shape. You should do this if you don’t want to experience sudden brake failure on the road that could lead to fatal accidents. In addition, your car tyres must be inspected. You don’t want your tyres to become deflated on the highway or suddenly burst. 

Check The Fluid Levels

It is important to routinely check the fluid levels in your car every morning before you set out for work. Every car uses fluids to work efficiently, these include engine oil, automatic transmission fluids, radiator coolant reservoirs, power steering, windscreen washer, battery, brake, and clutch fluid. Regularly check all these fluid levels to know if you are running low or it’s dirty, then fill it up to the recommended gauge. Doing this regularly will ensure you never suddenly run out of fluid on the road. It also lets you know if any of the pipes are leaking and hence need replacement.

Inspect The Spark Plugs, Wires And Warning Lights

Another morning routine you must not overlook’d you want your car to last longer is to inspect the spark plugs, wires and warning lights. Common signs to know if you have a faulty spark plug are that you have trouble starting the car, low acceleration, energy surge, or unusually high consumption of fuel. If you find replacing your car’s spark plug a challenge, you can engage the services of a mechanic. 

It’s also necessary to observe if your headlights, and taillights are functioning. If not, you might have to replace the bulbs. Also, inspect the warning indicator lights on your cars such as your engine light, oil warning light, electrical fault light, and brake warning light. These warning lights need to be in the right condition to alert you of issues with your car.

CONCLUSION

Performing these morning routines stated above would ensure your car functions optimally and of course, last longer.