---
title: Car Maintenance Basics
description: This topic covers routine automotive upkeep, including checking fluids, replacing filters, and inspecting belts and hoses. You will understand how to perform essential preventative maintenance to extend vehicle life and prevent costly mechanical failures.
category: trades-crafts
subcategory: automotive
difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced
url: /subject/car-maintenance-basics
---

# Car Maintenance Basics

This topic covers routine automotive upkeep, including checking fluids, replacing filters, and inspecting belts and hoses. You will understand how to perform essential preventative maintenance to extend vehicle life and prevent costly mechanical failures.

## Available Resources

2 Books • 3 Websites

## Websites

### 1. r/MechanicAdvice Wiki

Subreddit wiki maintained by working mechanics, collecting answers to recurring questions: maintenance intervals, diagnosing common symptoms, reading OBD-II codes, choosing a shop, and which repairs are realistic for a beginner to attempt.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/wiki/index

**Tags:** car-maintenance, auto-repair, diagnostics, diy-mechanics, community-wiki

### 2. AutoZone DIY Guides

Free step-by-step repair guides and maintenance tips, often recommended in r/cars

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.autozone.com/diy

**Tags:** car-maintenance, auto-repair, diy-mechanics, how-to-guides, vehicle-service

### 3. repairpal.com

RepairPal is a car maintenance and repair resource offering maintenance schedules, how-to guides for common issues, and transparent cost estimates, plus access to a network of certified repair shops.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://repairpal.com

**Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, automotive

## Youtubes

### 1. How to Replace Brake Pads and Rotors (Complete Guide)

**Author:** Chris (ChrisFix)

A 14-minute step-by-step disc brake job: lifting and supporting the car, removing calipers, brackets, pads and rotors, cleaning the hub, greasing guide pins and pad contact points, and torquing bolts to specification.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RQ9UabOIPg

**Tags:** brake-pads, brake-rotors, disc-brakes, diy-car-repair

## Books

### 1. Auto Repair For Dummies

**Author:** Deanna Sclar

Wiley's illustrated manual to diagnosing and servicing a car: engine, brakes, cooling, electrical and fuel systems, plus oil changes, tire work and reading warning signs. After it you can handle routine maintenance and describe a fault to a mechanic accurately.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764550896?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, automotive

### 2. How Cars Work

**Author:** Tom Newton

A short illustrated primer covering 250 automotive parts and systems: engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, steering, fuel and electrical. Drawings and plain explanations let a complete novice follow what happens when a car starts, shifts, or stops.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0966862309?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, automotive

---

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