A 7-part series
Car Owner Essentials
The car skills every driver should know. None of them require a mechanic.
We wrote this series because we spent years paying people to do things that take five minutes. Tire pressure, flat tires, oil checks, jump starts. They sound intimidating until someone shows you. These guides are that someone.
What you'll learn
- ✓ How to check and adjust your tire pressure
- ✓ How to swap a flat tire on the side of the road
- ✓ How to change your own oil (and when to just pay someone)
- ✓ How to check your oil level in 60 seconds
- ✓ How to jump start a dead battery safely
- ✓ How to parallel park on the first try
How to Check Tire Pressure
Check and adjust your tire pressure with a gauge and the number on your door jamb, and learn why the dashboard warning light comes on late.
How to Change a Tire
Change a flat tire on the roadside. Pull over safely, loosen the lug nuts before you jack, and stay inside your compact spare's speed limit.
How to Change Your Oil
Change your engine oil at home, from warming the engine and draining the old oil to fitting a new filter and taking the used oil for recycling.
How to Check Your Oil
Check your car's oil level on the dipstick, read what the oil's color tells you, and top it off to the right mark without overfilling.
How to Jump Start a Car
Jump start a dead car battery safely with jumper cables and a second car, in the right cable order, then drive long enough to recharge it.
How to Parallel Park
Parallel park step by step. Line up beside the car in front, back in at about 45 degrees, swing the front in, and finish 6 to 12 inches from the curb.
How to Use Jumper Cables
Connect jumper cables in the safe order, ground the last clamp away from the battery, start the dead car, remove the cables in reverse, and drive 30 minutes to recharge.