If you buy a car, then you need to be ready to be responsible for that car. Not only should you be responsible for your own safe driving, of course, but you should think about the car itself and what you can do to make sure that you keep it running to its best ability. In particular, you might want to think about the things that can cause it to fail, and what you can do to fix or prevent it.
Your tires
A tire blowing out or going flat is a very common problem indeed. You should always make sure that you have a spare tire in your car ready to go, as well as things like a Ken-Tool tire change kit to make sure that you can make use of it. However, you can prevent this from happening in most cases by ensuring that your wheels are aligned and your tires have the right air pressure. If you feel your car pulling towards one side when you’re driving, get it checked out before your tire gives out on you.
Your spark plugs
These little things play a very important part in the combustion process that turns fuel into the fire that keeps the car going. However, they are also one of the most commonly worn-out parts of any car. You should make sure that you change your spark plugs roughly every 30,000 miles. Old spark plugs will lead to less efficient driving, first, and can eventually cause your car to slow and break down if left unattended.
Your battery
A very common problem is a battery that has died or discharged all of its juice. This can happen due to leaving your electricals on for too long, defective parts like an alternator, and so on. It’s a good idea to keep jump cables to start your car with the help of a passer by but if there are no clear causes of failure, then you should be able to charge it up again with the help of tools like LiFePO4 battery chargers. Of course, this is for lithium batteries, so you need to be sure that you know what types of batteries you have and if you can acquire a charger for them.
Your engine
There are a plethora of problems that can affect your engine but, the one you are most likely to encounter, especially now that we’re getting into the summer, is when it overheats. The moving components inside an engine as well as the combustion process create a lot of heat. For that reason, you should make sure that filling up on coolant is a frequent part of your car maintenance and check for coolant leaks every now and then to ensure it’s not dripping right back out of your car.
Of course, you can’t predict every potential point of failure with your car. The tips above can help you be ready for those that most commonly see people pulling over to the side of the road.
