Things You'll Need:
- Tire gauge
- Paper towel or rag
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Step 1
Decide what your child should know about simple car maintenance. Checking the oil levels, tire pressure and water in the radiator are the most basic and important things for a child to know how to do.
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Step 2
Teach them to check the oil level. Open the hood of the car. Find the cap with the picture of an oil can on the top, it will probably also be labeled, engine oil. The top of the cap will also have the grade of oil you should put in the car written on top, such as SAE 5W-30. Remove the dipstick. Wipe the dipstick clean with a paper towel or rag. Put the dipstick back into the oil reservoir, then remove it again. At this point check the end of the dipstick to see if the oil comes up to the acceptable fill line that is printed on the dipstick. If the oil does not comes up to the acceptable fill line, then the proper grade of oil should be added to the reservoir until the dipstick shows the oil is at the appropriate level. If there is not enough oil in the reservoir this will cause the motor to "lock up" and result in an extremely costly motor replacement.
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Step 3
Check the air pressure in the tires. On newer model cars the suggested amount of air pressure for the tires will be printed on a sticker located somewhere on the drivers side door jam, even a very small child can be instructed to find a sticker and tell you which numbers are printed on it. To check the air pressure in the tires remove the valve stem cap, depress the tire gauge over the valve stem until the numerical stick pops out of the gauge telling you how much air is in the tires. If you do not have the approximate recommended amount of air, you should then add some air and test again until you have enough.
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Step 4
Check the water in the radiator. There is a mark on radiator indicating how high the water should be when the car is cool, and there is a mark for when the car is hot. Add water if needed. This will keep the motor from burning up. This simple bit of car maintenance costs nothing to perform and can save you thousands of dollars in costly repairs. Do not remove the cap to the radiator when it is hot, let it cool down or the water will boil over and cause injuries. A small child should learn to perform this maintenance step watching from a distance until he is significantly older.
