Recomended Weekly Checks On Your Car
Invest 15 to 20 Minutes
Assuming that the owner has access to the correct materials the regular vehicle checks and top ups should take no more than 15-20 minutes to cover the following; tyres, battery, brake fluid, engine oil, engine coolant, windscreen wipers/washers, lights, fuel. These are in no particular order but obviously some of the above are located in the same general area and can be checked alongside their neighbours. Again in no particular order we can look at each in turn detailing maximums and minimums.
Check Your Tread Depth
Check Your Tyres Pressure
Battery Checks
External checks on the battery consist of making sure that it is secure and the positive and negative connections are clean and tight, by clean and tight I mean free from the build up of corrosive salts and tight, sufficient to resist a wriggle test. Without going deeper into the battery subject, there is nothing more to do within the scope of weekly checks
Brake Fluid Level Check
The next port of call is the brake fluid reservoir and providing the level of fluid inside can be seen all that is required is a visual check ensuring that it sits no higher than the maximum and no lower than the minimum. The maximum and minimum marks may take several forms including lines, arrows or words and if you are in any doubt refer to the vehicles handbook or ask at a reputable garage. Most fluid reservoirs are fitted with some kind of level warning sensor which when activated should operate a dashboard warning light, this is no substitute for routine and regular physical checks it is there merely to worn the driver of a sudden loss of fluid during a journey. On the subject of level, as the brake friction material wears away during its service life the level in the reservoir will very gradually drop and providing the level does not drop suddenly, indicating a leak, topping up to the maximum is fine.