Maintaining your
vehicle
Maintaining your
vehicle is essential to help ensure that it is roadworthy, safe to drive or ride,
fuel efficient, less polluting and not a danger to passengers, pedestrians and
other road users. Vehicle maintenance ranges from cleaning your vehicle and conducting
weekly checks through to full servicing and repair.
New practical
driving or riding test
The new practical
driving or riding test now requires you to know how to carry out basic maintenance
of your vehicle. Candidates are required to answer questions on basic safety checks
to ensure the vehicle is safe for use.
Weekly checks
for all vehicles
- washing and cleaning
your vehicle, particularly in winter, to ensure the windows, lights and door mirrors
are clean
- checking and topping
up fluid levels such as engine coolant, engine oil and brake fluid
- checking the condition
of the vehicles tyres for damage, air pressure and tread
- checking that
all lights work and light correctly
- ensuring wiper
blades are in good order and the windscreen washer fluid bottle is full
- checking the exhaust
system is in sound working order
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Weekly checks
for motorcycles
In addition to
the above, motorcycle owners should:
- check for chain
wear, correct tension and rear wheel alignment. Tension should be adjusted as
specified in the machines handbook. Drive chain should be lubricated to ensure
excessive wear does not take place
- correct tyre pressure
settings which can be found in owners manual
- handle bars should
be free to move smoothly from full left lock to full right lock without any control
cables being stretched, trapped or pinched and without any snagging between moving
and fixed parts
Check the owners
manual for your vehicle
Information on
how to perform these tasks is contained in the vehicle owners manual supplied
with the vehicle. This manual will also cover any other additional maintenance
activities that are recommended for your vehicle.
Servicing your
vehicle
The manufacturers
routine service intervals. These vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and vehicle
to vehicle, depending on type of vehicle and type of engine. Full details of the
service requirements are normally detailed in the owners manual supplied with
the vehicle.
MOT your vehicle
Taking the annual
MOT test or goods vehicle test will ensure that your vehicle over a certain age
is checked at least once a year to see that it complies with key roadworthiness
and environmental requirements.
Environmental
issues
After performing
maintenance on your vehicle, you will need to consider how you will dispose of
engine oil, other fluids, batteries, tyres and so on. Careless disposal of these
items can cause pollution to the environment. Many local councils or authorities
operate recycling facilities where oil, fluids and batteries can be collected
and recycled. Contact your local authority or visit their website to find out
your nearest recycling centre.
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