No matter if you’re driving a Maserati or a Mazda, cars need care to run their best. If you find … [+]
Like millions of people, you may have suddenly found you have some unexpected free time on your hands while the coronavirus pandemic has its way with us. Everyone at Forbes hopes you’ve taken action to protect yourself and your loved ones. But once you’ve got your situation handled, made sure you’re healthy, homeschooled the kids and/or binged enough Netflix/Amazon/Disney/HBO etc. for a lifetime or two, may we suggest you turn your attention your humble mechanical servant: your car (or truck). Here are ten things you should do to make sure your vehicle is happy, healthy, and ready for action (and fun) once the crisis passes.
Take Inventory: Cars are made so well today that they don’t need much if any day-to-day attention – until small problems become big ones and then they need major (and expensive) attention. So now is either a good time to check your ride’s vitals, or learn how to do it if you never have before. With the engine OFF, check your oil, check your transmission fluid (if any), check your wiper fluid, check the steering fluid, check the engine belts, check the brake fluid, and check for anything leaking. Don’t know how to check all those things? It’s in your manual, and now’s a good time to find it and bone up on the basics of caring for your car. Don’t have your manual? Google your car and see if it’s online and can be downloaded. Still puzzled? Go on YouTube and type in what you want to check and more than likely, someone made a quick video on how to do it. Then make a list of everything that needs a refill, change or mechanical check for when the world gets moving again.
Lighten The Load: As we drive our vehicles and the years go by, stuff accumulates in our cars. Open every door in your car and empty out every cubby, seat back pocket, storage spot and hidey hole. Open the trunk and get everything out – even the spare tire. Never used it? Now’s a good chance to check the pressure (it’s specified on the sidewall) and also to learn how it goes in and out of its storage spot. Find the jack and all the other parts needed to change a flat. Pull out all of the floor matts. But mostly, just get all the stuff out, including those old CDs, baby toys under the seats, empty wet wipe containers, tools, lawn chairs, garage sale finds and so on. Hey, you might even find a few bucks in change hiding in there. You may be surprised at how much dead weight you were hauling around with you all of the time. Getting rid of it improves gas mileage, reduces wear and sharpens up handling.
Scrub It Down: Next, get some hot water, car-friendly suds, some clean towels and maybe a sponge or two with a rough side to it. Don’t forget some window cleaner and if you want to go to the next level, some interior shine spray to spiff up surfaces. Roll down the windows a bit and clean that dirt line just below the top of the glass. Nice. If you have a shop vac or a vacuum with a hose attachment, clean those carpets and scour out all those old Cheerios and taffy wrappers from that beach trip in 2018. Use an old toothbrush, a small scrub brush or a detail brush to get the caked-on yuckiness out from between dash dials, buttons and crevices. And hitting high-touch surfaces (door handles and seat belts!!) with some disinfectant is a good idea both now and in the future.
Wax On, Wax Off: Most of us know how to wash a car. If not… And if you use the drive-through car wash, that’s fine as well. But waxing a car is another thing, and it’s worth learning how to do it right. It doesn’t take as long as you might think and it can also help protect your paint from sun damage. Plus, a freshly waxed car (done right) looks great. Not sure how to do it? Again, YouTube is your friend.
Check The Pressure: Your tires are where the rubber literally meets the road, but most of us let the tire shop put them on and then do nothing until one goes flat. Understanding your tires will help prolong their life, saving you money and improving your car’s performance. Use an accurate tire gauge to check your tire pressure. Typically, each tire should be the same pressure, but check your manual or your driver’s door info panel to be sure for your vehicle. Most passenger cars and SUVs recommend a tire pressure between 28 and 32 psi. More pressure makes the tire more firm (and increases gas mileage due to less rolling resistance) but that also lowers the tire’s traction abilities a bit. I typically run mine at about 32psi. The ride is a bit firm (which I prefer) but the car still handles well and I saw a slight uptick in mileage. All tires have their maximum air pressure listed on the sidewall – it should only be at that level under maximum load (again, see your manual for specifics). Truck tires usually run much higher pressure – 80 or 90psi depending on the truck and tires – so be sure to check your manual for guidance. Look for unusual wear that could indicate a suspension problem or alignment issue. And remember to check that spare! Add any issues to your to-do list.
Dial In Your Tunes: When I bought my (used) truck, I needed to use it as a work vehicle ASAP. Sure, I listened to the radio a bit and some podcasts via Bluetooth, but it wasn’t until a year or so later that I really dove into the stereo’s menus to see what it could really do – and it could do a lot. For one, it was a Bose system with a hidden subwoofer, and while it’s not on par with someone rocking some 12s at the car show, it can dig pretty damn deep and get really, really loud. I could even move the “center image” of the music – the sweet spot – to any seat in the truck. Amazing! After tweaking settings and playing around with tone controls and other options, my otherwise work-a-day pick ‘em-up truck is now a veritable rolling concert hall. What can your stock car stereo do? Probably a lot more than you think. Enjoy a driveway concert while you make it sound just the way you want. Check your manual for features that may not be obvious.
Have A (More Comfy) Seat: Most drivers, especially in cars they share with others, quickly find a seat position with enough legroom, adjust the backrest and call it good. But when I started driving rideshare a while back, a veteran cabbie told me to really focus on my seat settings. Great advice. In my SUV, I found some strange dials and buttons on the lower part of my driver seat – things I’d never adjusted – and looked them up in the manual. They adjusted lumbar, seat bottom tilt and leg support, so I ran them through their ranges to find that perfect setting. I also moved the seat up a tiny bit and raised the backrest just a single click. It all made a world of difference, and it made driving more fun. I can now drive for hours on end in comfort when before, those same hours would often make my back hurt. And making small adjustments with the seat controls on a long night of driving helps mix things up a bit and restore comfort. That’s what those controls are there for. Try them all out and learn to use them. There is no one perfect seat position.
Build A Prepper Kit: If this epidemic has taught anyone anything, it’s to focus more on being prepared for the unexpected. I drive a crossover SUV, and under the rear deck where the spare is, the carmaker included a fairly large storage space. I keep several bottles of water, a water purifier straw, a box of granola bars, jumper cables, a tow cable, tow hooks, a water-bottle size fire extinguisher, tire gauge, LED flashlight, LED flares, a roll of duct tape, a small first aid kit, a multitool, a small towel, some useful bigger tools and yes, a roll of TP. It’s all snugged into the space with room to spare. It’s easy to get to, but it’s also out of the way, and takes up no cargo space. And in my truck, I have more of the same as well as blankets tucked under the rear seats. Drive prepared.
Install A Dash Cam: I don’t know about where you live, but where I drive, it seems like most people paid off the driving instructor to pass the test, because there are some seriously bad drivers out there. Signs and signals seem like mere suggestions to a lot of drivers these days, so when I started driving rideshare, one of the first things I did was install a dash camera, or dashcam. I took the time to run the wires in under the headliner and so forth (it’s easy to do), so it’s a clean, unobtrusive and automatic on/off setup that includes a swiveling rear camera that can look either out the back window or into the car. So far, I haven’t had any dashcam moments that have been Russia-worthy, but I’ve caught several close calls and a few drunk drivers on video. Even a basic $50 dashcam does a good job of capturing HD video these days, and you can get 4K models now as well. Some insurance companies will give you a reduced rate for using a dashcam; I say it’s worth it many times over if some idiot mangles your pride and joy and then claims it’s your fault. Oh yeah? I have your running that red light on video, buddy. See you in court.
Read Your Manual: I’ve made reference to reading your car’s manual numerous times here, and that’s no accident. Most car owners hop in and just start driving because… why read the manual? I get it: Cars and trucks are so easy to operate now that most anyone can drive them for years and never crack the manual. I’m not suggesting you sit down and page through the thing like War and Peace, but knowing what button does what, what that dash light means, how to check your oil and where the jack and spare are are important things to know at all times. Walk around your car with your manual. Don’t know what something is or never been able to get something to work? It’s in the manual. And if it isn’t, it’s probably on YouTube.
When you learn more about your car, you might find it can do things that will surprise you. For now, let’s all keep close to home if possible and drive only as needed. But when we’ve gotten past this crisis, you’ll feel better driving a car you know more about and have gotten better prepared for the next big road trip.
