How to Perform a Monthly Checkup on Your Car

Video Transcript

"Good afternoon, my name is Tom Brintzenhofe, certified master mechanic from Redding, Pennsylvania and today we're going to talk about how to perform my monthly checkup on your car. The biggest thing that you want to do on a routine basis is make sure all your fluid levels are up to where they need to be, your engine, your transmission, your brake fluid, your radiator fluid, your antifreeze, your washer fluid, and the other thing you want to check is your tire pressure. It's real simple. Make sure your engine is off. Pull your dipstick out and make sure you're up to your full mark which is right there. If it's a little low, you might want to put yourself a little oil in there. And that goes right in the top of your motor, usually you'll see a little oil cap just like that and that's where you want to put your oil in. As for your transmission fluid, you'll want to start the car up, make sure it's nice and hot, watch your fan blades when you're sticking your hand in here, but while it's running, you're going to pull your dipstick out here, remember it's got to be nice and warm and it's the same thing as your oil dipstick, you'll have marks on it and just make sure it's all the way up to your in your hot range. You have a cold range here and a hot range here, they're all marked by little holes and usually stamped cold, hot, make sure that's where it needs to be. The other thing is your washer fluid over there. You're going to pull your cap off and make sure that's full. You'll have marks on your master cylinder over here and you see it from where you're at right here. And on the side you'll have a minimum maximum mark, just make sure it's somewhere in between that range. Your overflow bottle for your radiator, make sure that that again too is marked on the side, your add and your full mark, just make sure that's up to your full mark. If that's low, you might want to check your radiator here first, take your cap off, fill this up then fill your overflow bottle up. If it is low, you might want to start looking around for a radiator leak or whatnot. But the other thing is your air filter, take that out, take a good look at the underside, make sure it's not dirty. And as for your tires down here, just make sure you got the proper air pressure in them and that's basically all you need to look over for your monthly checkup."