Maintenance Checklist – Tyre Pressures

Particularly if your vehicle is left unused for a long time or in cold weather, your tyre pressure may likely drop, or flat spots appear. It would be a good idea to take action sooner rather than later before it gets to a point where you can easily see your tyre is flat. When the tyres are cold, you can do a manual check on them, including; checking your tyre pressure looking for visual damage like cuts, bulges, or cracks.

Furthermore, if you’re not planning on driving anytime soon, it would be beneficial to elevate your car on axle stands to prevent getting flat spots on your tyres. If it gets to the point where your tyre is flat, you would need to either change it yourself, call a mechanic, or call your breakdown provider (if you have one).

Maintenance Checklist – Oil Level

Motor oil contains additives and chemicals, and if your car is disused for a long time, it can damage mechanical components. A maintenance tip to decrease the chance of deterioration and damage is swapping out for some fresh Oil. Also, switching on the engine to let the oil circulate allows your car to run more smoothly. Also, this lubricates all the parts if the oil has sunk to the bottom of the reservoir.

Maintenance Checklist – Air Conditioning

Have you ever turned on the air-con and been hit with an unpleasant smell? That could be the result of a build-up of moisture, dust and even mould in the vents. This is most likely to occur if you don’t regularly use the air conditioning in your car, which stops it from working correctly and effectively. A maintenance tip for keeping the air-con vents and air filter in good condition is simply turning the air-con on when you go for a drive or running the engine on a regular basis, even in the winter..

Maintenance Checklist – Car Batteries

As you likely know, infrequently using your car or even just going on short journeys can cause an extensive range of problems. For example, this will drain the car battery, ultimately resulting in a flat car battery. Although it is more at risk if your car is older, the batteries of newer cars can still drain if left unused for long periods. 

The car owners manual will tell you how much charge your battery should have, usually 12-13 volts. Here are a few ways in which you can maintain the health of your car’s battery:

• Avoid starting the engine on and off again, multiple times.

• When the vehicle isn’t in use, unplug anything that isn’t in use and uses power, such as your dashcam.

• If you have access to more than one car, try to switch it up for drives a bit further away.

• Avoid shorter car journeys.

How often do you need to go through this maintenance checklist?

To help keep on top of your car’s maintenance, we recommend going and checking all over your vehicle once a month and running it regularly. This will ensure that your vehicle stays in top condition and runs smoothly. Therefore, you will save money in the long run, as you won’t need to worry when your car goes into the garage for an MOT or service.

A quick and easy way to remember most of the critical maintenance tips is – the ‘FLOWER’ acronym:

• Fuel

• Lights

• Oil

• Water

• Electric

• Rubber

You can trust that your car will be in the best hands at Motorserv UK Service. Our on-site Service & MOT Centre has all the latest diagnostic equipment, and our fully trained staff can help with any of your requests. Head down to MotorServ UK’s award-winning garage today for your free annual battery checkup, £15 MOT and all your vehicle maintenance needs.

MotorServ has a diverse variety of services on offer so that you can keep your vehicle operating at its optimum performance and increase the lifespan of your car. Contact the team today to book your vehicle for necessary maintenance!