How to proactively protect your car’s engine

Little thought is given to our car’s engine, we generally rely on the experts to ensure everything is running well at the cars regular routine maintenance checks. Protecting your car’s engine in between the vehicle’s service schedule is important; not only will this keep your car safe on the road, it could potentially save you money by way of costly repairs by removing any avoidable risks.

Here are 5 ways you can proactively protect your car’s engine

Regularly change your car’s engine oil

The most important thing you can do to keep your engine running well is to regularly change the oil in line with the manufacturer’s schedule which you can find in your owner’s manual. For an engine, oil is the most vital component that keeps it running well. It keeps parts well lubricated so the engine won’t overheat when running.

Keep fluids topped up

Your car requires various fluids in order to run well, keeping these fluids topped up is imperative to your car running well. Refer to your owners manual to find out how to check levels for coolant, engine oil and any other fluids your car requires and learn how to top them up and what to top them up with.

Maintain the car’s cooling system

Not only does your car’s cooling system keep you cool on hot, humid days – it works hard to keep your engine from overheating too! Protecting your car’s engine involves making sure that your car’s cooling system is working efficiently. If you spot any signs it may not be, contact your local mechanic straight away as an overheating engine can cause serious damage.

Change air and fuel filters when required

Air and fuel filters keep debris and particles out of your car’s engine and air filter. Once filters become too dirty and unable to function well, they may not be able to keep debris out as effectively which can stop fresh air and fuel being provided to your engine, causing major damage.

Don’t ignore engine warning lights

If you have an orange or red engine warning light appear constantly, or intermittently, don’t ignore it and hope that it will go away! As soon as you see the light, refer to your owners manual to find out what issue it is indicating. It may be something simple, such as a fluid requiring a top up, but if you can’t get to the bottom of it or the light still continues to come on once you think you’ve fixed this issue, contact your local mechanic ASAP to get to the bottom of it.