Lesson One: Preventative Maintenance (9.1)

All vehicles must meet minimum safety standards.  If your vehicle is below the minimum standard and in an unsafe condition, you can be held liable according to Oregon law. Repairing a vehicle is expensive and very inconvenient. There are several things you can do to avoid costly repairs to keep your vehicle in good mechanical condition.

Maintenance

What are some routine tasks you can do to keep your vehicle in working order?

Whether you or someone else services your vehicle, basic knowledge is a must.  It is strongly recommend that you have basic working knowledge of how to change a flat tire, check the air in your tires, assess the tire tread depth, replace windshield wipers, and check the engine fluids. Your vehicle’s owner’s manual is where you will find vehicle specific information regarding locations of fluid reservoirs and their capacities, fuse boxes, regular maintenance schedules and troubleshooting problems. The owner’s manual is one of the most important documents that you should become familiar with when you acquire a vehicle.

The way that you drive can keep your vehicle in good condition or cause unnecessary wear and damage.  Maintaining vehicle balance and ensuring that motion is smooth and gradual prolongs the life of tires and brakes. Hard stops and starts, excessive steering actions and out of balance conditions cause wear on many vehicle components. This can cause a system to fail or result in a crash.

Help is not always a phone call or text away. Self-rescue skills can prevent you from being stranded.