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Advice & Tips - Under the bonnet

Looking under the bonnets of the modern motorcar can be very daunting and intimidating.

The manufacturers have a habit of shrouding over the engine bay, and this doesn’t help you to carry out some important maintenance checks yourself.

Some owners can be under the impression that regular checks by themselves aren’t required, as their vehicle is regularly serviced, or that they may believe that as everything is sealed, nothing needs topping up or looking at.

Unfortunately that’s not true, there are still fluid levels that can be seen and accessed in most vehicles.

Using your vehicle handbook is a good place to start, especially in the case of opening the bonnet and keeping it up, which can be tricky to do, especially if you don’t know where the bonnet release or bonnet stay is.

Your handbook should also be able to tell you what levels you can find and also where to top them up.

Care must always be taken when adding fluids, for example waiting until the engine is cool before checking or topping up the engine coolant, and making sure you are putting the correct fluids into the correct places.

Some engines tend to use engine oil between services and failure to maintain a good oil level can result in a lot of expense.

Regular checking of levels is important and excessive topping up of brake fluid, engine oil and coolant can also be helpful in letting you know, that there may be a problem occurring.

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