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DIY Car Maintenance + Car Maintenance Log

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DIY-Maintenance-log
A month before we got married my husband’s parents and my parents presented us with a very generous wedding present: a car! This car was purchased used and came with an awesome car maintenance log in a  notebook from the previous owners. We have kept up our habit of tracking our car maintenance, repairs and purchases and wanted to share our method in case you would also like to track your car data.

I have found with the day to day of life, kids, work, friends and everything else, I don’t always accurately remember when we got new tires, when we had an oil change or when we changed the air filter. The car maintenance log is an easy and convenient way to track these things and help you keep a schedule for suggested maintenance.

Screen Shot 2016-05-22 at 9.44.20 PM
Feel free to print this free version of our car maintenance log. Print out several copies so you’ll be good to go for a while. Put it in a binder. Behind the log, keep a sheet protector for the receipts you want to keep. Often times when you get work done on your car the receipt is a full page, simply punch some holes it in and add them to the binder as well.

Printable-Car-Maintenance-Log
My husband and I often say we are “payers not doers” meaning we don’t really have the skills to do work on our home or on our car. We pay people to do these things that we cannot do ourselves. Luckily, there is this awesome thing called YouTube and it can teach you how to do some things. My husband has discovered he can fix quite a few things with our car with the help of YouTube. One of the easy fixes is replacing the air filter in our cars. The whole process is so easy from buying to installing.

Walmart-Air-Filter
At Walmart there is a huge book full of every make and model of car. Search this book for the car you are buying the air filter for. Once you find the year, make and model, the book will let you know which filter to purchase. For our 1999 Toyota Corolla (yup, our car is old and still kicking, probably thanks to our scheduled maintenance!) we need a FRAM 5466 filter. Air filters are the engines first line of defense and increase overall engine performance, so we make sure to change these on a recommended schedule.

FRAM-Air-Filters
There are tons of filters to choose from. It was easy to grab the one I needed. In my Walmart, the air filters are on the very first aisle outside of the Car Center and there are tons of FRAM air filters to choose from.

How-To-change-Filter
Replacing this filter in the Corolla is so easy.

  1. First, put the car hood up.
  2. Find the filter housing.
  3. Unclip the two clips.
  4. Remove the dirty filter and replace it with the clean filter.
  5. Re-clip the clips to secure the filter.
  6. DONE!

Air-Filter-Process

It was so simple it is installed in 5 minutes and I’m confident next time I could do it alone. Now to learn how to do it on my van and I can always replace the air filters! That would be so cool. Now we will put this information in our car maintenance log so we know when it’s about time to replace the air filter again. FRAM recommends changing your air filter annually or every 12,000 miles, however, you should follow recommended change intervals as noted in your vehicle owner’s manual.

So there you have it, you can now change your own air filter in your car and keep track of all your car’s maintenance, repairs and replacement parts.

Can you do any car maintenance yourself? Tell me what you know how to do, I’d love to know!

Comments

  1. Morgan says

    This is a fantastic idea. Maintaining your car and giving it all the proper care it needs is key to sustaining your vehicle. This is a great way to keep track of what measures you take to keep your car happy and healthy! Thanks so much for sharing this!

  4. Brian says

    Great advice. It’s important to keep your car working well and a log is a great way to keep track of what repairs have been done when.

  6. Rey Barbosa says

    This is a really great idea for every car owner to adopt. If you ever want to sell you car, you will be able to show all the work you have put into maintaining it. Great advice!

  7. Allisen Martin says

    Hello Stefanie,

    This is a great way to maintain our car. Car log maintenance is really amazing and also help us to keep updated about the last maintenance date. just like we need energy and power to keep working same as our cars need.

    Your post is amazing. Thanks for writing up this information for us.

  8. Tracy says

    Thank you for sharing! Self-maintenance vehicles are essential, to reduce costs, and understand your car more. The experiences you share are wonderful. Thank you

  9. old school car parts says

    Very helpful. But for those first timers, you should stick to the manual or youtube it. But if you still don’t have any idea, go to your local auto shop to prevent more damage.

  10. Anna Zelda says

    These tips are really amazing and also help us to keep our car safe and secure. By following these tips we can also save some money in our maintenance log.

    Thanks for sharing these useful tips.

  11. Carlo Smith says

    Thanks for sharing these amazing useful tips for saving money on car maintenance log. The maintenance sheet also a good thing which you have shared with us.

  17. Cynthia Coleman says

    As a car owner our first & foremost duty is regular maintenance of the car. We must learn some basic car maintenance tasks to do on our own. Because while on a road trip, if our car requires an oil change or tire replacement and there is no auto repair shop near by ,we can perform it ourselves. Thereby we can save our wallet also. But if some major maintenance tasks has to be performed like transmission repair, engine repair or windshield replacement etc. you have to contact a reputed auto repair shop for this you may visit:
    https://santacruzeuropeanauto.com/hayes-european-santa-cruz-ca/.

  18. Rosa Paula says

    Every car owner wants to see his car look like gorgeous & shiny after driving for years. This is possible partly due to proper maintenance of their vehicle. As a owner of the car we must possess some fundamental knowledge regarding car maintenance. This knowledge will help us in worst situations. Suppose we are on a road trip,and our car tire becomes flat suddenly or car needs an oil change .We can do this on our own, there by saving our wallet. But for major issues like engine or transmission repair you need the help of a professional from a certified auto repair center and for this you may contact:
    https://www.star-motors.com/contact-us/.

  19. Samantha Smith says

    Whether it is new car or an used one, we have to properly maintain it. Proper maintenance increases the car’s shine,efficiency. Sometimes it looks like a brand new car. It is not the fact that we should always depend upon car mechanics to perform the repair work. Some minor maintenance tasks such as oil change, checking tire pressure etc, we must do on our own. We must learn how to do these things on our own. But for major maintenance issues like engine repair, transmission repair etc., we have to depend upon experienced car mechanics.

  20. Marcus Coons says

    I loved when you mentioned how you should take the time to replace the air filters of your car. It is important to understand that choosing the right one for your type of vehicle can help you find the best one for your type of car. As I see it, taking the time to compare several car part stores can help you find the best one that can provide you with the best quality parts.

  21. Sam Gibson says

    Stefanie, I love your point about how you’re payers and not doers. I also find myself needing to pay a professional to work on my car for things I can’t do, which is most things. My neighbor said he’d help me work on my vehicle this weekend, I just need to get some good quality ring and pinion parts. Thanks for sharing your tips on DIY and car maintenance.

  25. Joanne C. Sutton says

    May I just say what a comfort to uncover somebody that genuinely knows what they are talking about over the internet. You certainly understand how to bring a problem to light and make it important. A lot more people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you’re not more popular since you most certainly have the gift.

  26. Patricia Roth says

    Thanks for highlighting the importance of regular maintenance. The car required regular maintenance to run smoothly for longer time periods. Maintenance is the key to keep the vehicle in working order. Fluids used in the vehicle for the various purpose should be inspected regularly to evaluate the condition of such fluid. Apart from this, filters used in the car should also be inspected regularly and clogged filters should be replaced with suitable substitutes protect the vehicle against different types of contaminants. Engine oil plays important role in the performance of the vehicle. So, the condition of the engine oil should be inspected regularly and burned engine oil should be replaced with suitable substitutes. Readers may like to visit https://carbahnautoworks.com/bmw-mercedes-oil-change/

  27. Zoey Scott says

    I agree that vehicle needs regular maintenance for a prolonged lifespan. Different types of filters used in the vehicle for the various purpose is often ignored by the car owner which could influence the performance of the vehicle in a very adverse way. Such filters protect different components of the vehicle from different types of microbial contaminants. However, clogged filters couldn’t do so and should be replaced with suitable substitutes to get better results. For proper maintenance of the vehicle, visit https://www.revolutionautomotiveservices.com/scheduled-maintenance/

  28. Emely Page says

    Undoubtedly, properly maintained vehicle could last long. The vehicle is one kind of huge investment which needs regular maintenance. Some people ignore the importance of car maintenance which could have a significant influence on the performance of the vehicle. Regular inspection of the vehicle helps to identify and fix minor mechanical issues associated with the vehicle to prevent any major problem. For more information, readers may like to contact https://www.completeautomotivesystems.com/contact/

  31. index says

    A small investment in tools and supplies, plus a few minutes of your time can prevent that. Your owner’s manual is the best source for how often to change the oil in your particular car, as well as the type of oil to use.

  33. Rickyland says

    Thank you for sharing! We auto car maintenance is essential, in order to reduce costs and help your vehicle is always working with the best performance. The experiences you share are wonderful. Thank you

  38. thontiest says

    Lightning injuries, involving extremely short but very high voltage electrical energy, are associated with an electrical current flowing through the individual s entire body paxil or priligy 5 g 68516 5216 2 100 mL 25 g

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