If you have a teen that’s about to start to learn how to drive, part of teaching your teen about being a good and safe driver includes teaching them how to care for their car and ensure that their vehicle is well taken care of. However, this isn’t something that comes naturally for most teens. Because of this, you’ll have to spend some time teaching them about the inner workings of the car they’ll be driving and the importance of proper car care.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for teaching your teen how to care for their car.
Go Through The Owner’s Manual Together
One of the first and best things you can do with your teen when they first get a car is to go through the owner’s manual together.
For someone who’s just learning how to drive, an owner’s manual can be intimidating. But with you by their side, your teen can start to understand a lot more about how cars work in general and how their specific car needs to be cared for. In the owner’s manual, your teen can learn how often certain levels and parts need to be checked and replaced, where to find specific parts of their car, and what their car is capable of. With this knowledge, you and your teen can set up a schedule for when they should be getting certain maintenance done.
Teach Them What They Should Be Checking On
After looking through the owner’s manual and learning about their car intellectually, you should then go through the car with them so that they can physically see where things are and learn how to check on things like their oil level and tire pressure. If you don’t already have a lift in your garage, you might want to consider getting one to make this process easier.
By teaching your teen where certain things are under the hood of their car and teaching them how to check the level of these fluids, you can help them to recognize if and when something is wrong with these systems in their car. Then, when they aren’t home, they can be sure that they’re getting the proper mechanical help that their car needs.
Teach Them Why They Should Keep An Eye On Things
In addition to teaching them where certain parts of their car reside and how to check the levels or function of these parts, it can also be helpful to teach your teen what these parts do for the car. The benefit of having this knowledge is that if something weird starts happening to their car, they can do some troubleshooting on their own to get the problem fixed before it becomes a big issue.
If you want your teen to be as responsible as possible with their new car, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you learn what to teach them about proper car maintenance.
