Greetings, readers, Chris here, and thank you for tuning in today. In today’s blogpost, it’s going to be a mechanic’s guide to maintaining your SUV. As with any vehicle, tyres are critical, and in an SUV in particular, they are very critical. SUVs are heavy, not to mention these tyres are expensive, so if these things start to wear weird, it’s going to cost you. So keep your eye on them.

It requires a special fluid and has a car servicing Northampton interval for that fluid change. Your vehicle may have a different type of differential and use different fluid. Make sure you use the proper fluid, fill it to the proper level, and follow the proper procedure for changing that fluid. Where can the information be found? Owner’s manual. Good job.

Towing

One of the things you might want to do with your SUV is tow stuff, and if you’re going to be towing things with your SUV, you want to make sure that those components that attach the tow hitch to your vehicle are securely attached. You want to make sure that those things are not rusted out or anything and don’t look like they’re going to come loose.

Let’s get a look at this connector, and as I suspected, there’s some corrosion down in here. You want to check this during maintenance so that when you go to hook up a trailer, you get a good electrical connection to that trailer and the trailer lights work.

The way you can do that is you can spray some electrical contact cleaner down in here and maybe even get a little wire brush and clean this up. I actually have one that’s this size that I can go in here and clean this stuff up with. But if you do this during maintenance, you don’t have to worry about it when you’re out somewhere hooking up a trailer.

Another thing that you want to consider is how much weight your vehicle can tow, and you do not want to exceed that weight limit. The way to find that weight limit, or where you can find that weight limit, is where, people? That’s right, the owner’s manual.

Lighting

Another important thing to check while maintaining your SUV is the lighting. I check the headlights, high beams, low beams, turn signals, and reverse lights, front and back, to make sure everything is working so, one, I don’t get pulled over, and two, I can see in the dark and be seen as well.

Don’t forget to check the fog lights too. Another important thing while maintaining your SUV is to check for leaks. If you find any leaks, you want to be sure to address them, because in my experience, they usually don’t get better.

One of the ways that you can test for leaks is to take a piece of cardboard, slide it under the vehicle, and leave it there overnight. Come out the next morning, remove it, and look to see if there’s anything on it. If there is, there are likely leaks in your vehicle that you need to address. If there isn’t, you’re good to go.

Driving

You can maintain your vehicle just by driving it and paying attention. Listen for noises as you steer. Smells? Are there any strange smells as you drive? These are little problems that turn into big problems down the road. That’s what you want to do during maintenance: you want to catch these little problems before they become issues and leave you stranded along the side of the road.

That’s the entire point of maintenance. So when you’re maintaining your vehicle, pay attention to all those little details. They could add up, and well, they could save you from being stuck on the side of the road.

Maintenance

SUV maintenance is not like automotive maintenance. It’s a lot more expensive, and there’s a lot more stuff to consider, especially if you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle. So if you have an SUV, look through that owner’s manual, as I’ve said several times in this blogpost, and find out what things need to be addressed during regular maintenance on your vehicle. Another suggestion from one of my viewers, Mike Choi, came in.

He goes to his local mechanic and asks them what are the common issues that happen with this car. You can do the same thing with your SUV, and if you do go visit your local mechanic and do this, I suggest you buy them lunch or bring them baked goods, and they will probably be happy to share information with you. You can also do a quick Google search or something like that. Make sure to inspect your SUV before going for the MOT Northampton.

There are also some additional upgrades that you can do to your SUV to make vehicle maintenance easier. On my truck, for example, I replaced the transmission pan with one with a drain plug, and that makes changing the transmission fluid that much easier. I also changed the rear cover on the differential that now has a drain plug in it to make that fluid change that much easier.

So if your SUV is also four-wheel drive, and it has a front differential, you can also put a new cover on that. The point is, making your maintenance that much easier makes it more likely for you to do it, and the more maintenance you do, the fewer breakdowns you have. I promise you this.

Owners Manual

Several times through the course of this blogpost, I have mentioned, refer to the owner’s manual. The owner’s manual was created by the manufacturer, and it has everything you need to know about when and how to maintain your SUV properly. Well, I went looking for the one for my 2003 Honda Pilot, and I can’t find it.