The Basic Car Checks You Need To Do Before Starting a Journey

Let me ask you before you go on a journey in your car do you check that everything is working as it should and that it’s safe to drive?

Most people will do one of the checks below, but you should do them all every week or so. The 10 minutes it will take for you to do them will help to prevent your car from breaking down (and few things piss us off more, right) and they just might save you from a huge repair bill.

Here are the basic car checks you should do every week or so.

Fuel

This is the one that pretty much all of us do. If you don’t do this one before setting out on your journey and you run out before you get there – well, it’s a bit embarrassing.

Check you have enough fuel, to complete your journey or that these enough to get you to a filling station. Don’t wait until the “low fuel” warning light comes on, that’s just asking for trouble.

Lights

You should check ALL of your lights. Are they all working? Checking your headlights is simple enough – switch them on and walk around your car to make sure they’re working. And don’t forget your HighBeam either. And make sure you check your fog lights too.

For your direction indicator lights switch your hazard lights on and again have a walk around. Doing it this way means you don’t have to check the left and right sides individually.

If you have someone with you they can walk around the back when you check your footbrake, to make sure ALL your brake lights are working (it’s a legal requirement to have them all working). And whilst they’re there then check your reversing lights are working a well. If you don’t have anyone with you look for a reflection of the lights in a garage door or a window, or anything that gives you a view of the lights working or not when you operate them.

Also, check all the lenses for cracks and make sure they’re clean. If you find any issues with your lights or lenses get them fixed before you set off.