Maintaining your vehicle ensures it’s safe for you and your passengers, as well as other road users.
How to maintain your vehicle
Regular maintenance not only makes your vehicle safe for road use, it also helps your vehicle run more efficiently, reducing smoky emissions that can potentially affect our health and environment.
Key vehicle parts to check and maintain
Faults such as worn steering components, defective or bald tyres, spongy brakes or faulty headlights may make a vehicle dangerous to the driver, passengers or other road users. It’s important to ensure your vehicle is regularly checked, maintained and serviced.
Items that need to be checked regularly include:
- brakes
- lights
- steering
- structural rust
- tyres.
Common indicators of faults
| Item | Check |
|---|---|
|
Brakes
|
Check brake fluid levels are correct and get help from an automotive professional if they feel spongy, need to be pumped, or pull your vehicle to one side when applied. |
|
Coolant
|
Check that your coolant levels are correct, according to the vehicle manufacturer's specifications.
|
|
Oil
|
Check that your engine oil levels are correct, according to the vehicle manufacturer's specifications.
|
|
Lights
|
Check that your lights work, don’t have cracked lenses and are correctly aligned.
|
|
Steering
|
If your vehicle wanders, has excessive play in the steering or needs continual correction, seek help from an automotive professional.
|
|
Tyres
|
Check your tread depth is 1.5mm or more, the tyre pressure is correct, and there’s no damage to the tyre body.
|
|
Windscreen washers
|
Check that your windscreen washing bottle levels are correct, according to the vehicle manufacturer's specifications. Windscreen wipers should be checked regularly to ensure they are in good condition and provide clear visibility in wet or hazardous driving conditions.
|
Environmental advice
Visit vehicles and the environment for more information about how vehicle emissions affect air quality, our health and the environment.