I will classify these things in some categories further.

1. Necessary documents:

If you are roaming out in your car anywhere, you should have the following documents.

RC (Registration Certificate) book
Driving License
PUC (Pollution Under Control) Certificate
Insurance papers

These all must carry without saying…! ????

2. Technical products for breakdown emergencies:

All the important things listed below will help you in your crucial situation if you are carrying these, of course.

Owner’s manual: This is the basic helping guide for your particular vehicle make and models. You can get lots of technical information and also learn how to perform certain things like jump-starting the car, tire changing, recommended tire pressure, etc. in a safe manner. You should always keep it in the glove compartment of the car to make it handy anytime. In case someone lost it, one can get it through the authorized dealer or in some cases online, too. Don’t forget to put a pen and paper along with that. You will thanks me later ????

Tire changer Kit: One of the most important things to carry if the tire changing kit. It should include lifting jack, spare tire with enough tire pressure, socket wrench to remove-refit the tire, hand gloves, wheel chocks to prevent the vehicle rolling, puncture repair kit for a safe side, and tire inflation pump with pressure gauge if you can afford. To know, how to replace a punctured tire with a spare wheel, you can refer to the owner’s manual.

Emergency Triangle: In case of any breakdown, this is very important that other road user can easily get to know a car breakdown to prevent any accidents. Carry emergency reflective triangle that is visible at any time of the day and night.

Jump cables of Jumpstarter: In two cases either a car is parked without started for a longer period or user left some electric consumer on when left in parking, the battery will be drawn partially or complete. In this case, the user can not be able to start the car at his/her own. At that point, a jump cable or jump starter is required. If a user can’t afford a jump starter, he/she must buy and carry jumper cables. The thing is that another vehicle is needed to jump-start a dead battery car with jump cables.

Aqua Can: Aqua can mean water can, can be useful to fill up the windshield washer fluid or in the coolant tank as well in case of a leaking cooling system. Users can reach a safe place by filling water in the coolant system as frequently as required if the cooling system is leaking.

Tow Hook: Tow hook is required when no option is left except towing of car. Whether a car is towed by a towing van of any other vehicle, tow hook is much needed. User can also carry a strong towing cable if can afford.

Fire extinguisher: All above this was the important thing and fire extinguisher is also includes in that. A car is having its own powerhouse as well as many electrical components including lots of wiring harnesses. Due to many reasons, fire can occur. A good quality fire extinguisher can help the user in this type of accident. An owner should also keep the eyes on the refill or expiry dates while having one.

Duct tape: Duct tape can be used in a car to temporarily repair any kind of damage. Duct tape is a durable tape with a sturdy backing that resists water. Hence along with some plastic repairs, It can fix a coolant leakage hose, too. Having a good quality duct tape can be useful in some crucial situations to fix something in the car.

3. Things for health and safety:

Along with the necessary documents and a few technical things, a car user should also carry a few things for health and safety while traveling. Here I describe each of them.

First Aid Kit: First and most important health companion is a good first aid kit. God knows when you are going to need it! Users should carry a good one which is having Antiseptic bandage & cream, cotton, cleaning & disinfecting liquid i.e. spirit, and other creams for rashes and burns. That’s it. And always keep eyes on the expiry date of the kit.

Hand Sanitizer: If you were not carrying a hand sanitizer until today, you should start carrying a good one (Which contains at least 60% alcohol). As everybody knows the whole world is going through a critical condition due to the COVID19 pandemic, hand sanitizer should be one of the key products to include in our daily routine. Keep it handy in your car and use every time you get in.

Torch: A rechargeable torch helps when you stuck anywhere in remote areas during the night time, finding the cause of breakdown under the engine hood, finding something under your seat any many more.

Umbrella: It’s not necessary to always carry one umbrella but in monsoon for sure. A wet yourself will make the car interior wet and that is bad for your’s and the car’s health as well.

These were my ultimate suggestion for the things which should every car owner carry along with, most of them every time. And I also assume that all the cars in the market nowadays, have enough space to take them with. According to budget, requirements, applications, you can change yours from within.

The post 21 Must-have essentials to carry in a car appeared first on Auto Blogist.

Due to this lock-down period, We all are advised to stay indoors and isolate ourselves. And so our beloved vehicles, too.

Nobody knows that for how long, this situation will continue and therefore it is extremely necessary to take care of our isolated vehicles. Because if you don’t do so, you will potentially end up paying larger repair bills in the future.

So I would like to share here a few ultimate tips in my own pattern to follow with which you can take care of your car in this lock-down period very well.

1. Start, charge and lubricate

Start your car daily to avoid battery getting discharged. If not possible to start daily, start your car once in 3-5 days and remain negative of the battery disconnected. Starting the engine will also help to lubricate all moving parts of the engine for batter life.

One can also use the trickle charger to charge the battery. Basically, trickle charger allows to charge of a fully charged battery at the rate equals to its self-discharge rate while not in use for too long.

2. Safe parking

Choose parking space wisely. Possibly park your car inside your premises. Do not park under any tree to avoid bird poop as it damages car paint. Secure parking of your car helps to avoid dust and foreign objects in the atmosphere to gather onto your car. The use of a body cover is a great recommendation.

3. Yes to gear- no to parking brakes

When you park your vehicle for a longer period, use parking with a gear engaged instead of parking brakes. This is just because when you use a mechanical parking mechanism, due to rusting, the parking brake mechanism becomes stuck.

4. Avoid getting flat spot

If you do not move your car by inch for a long period, a flat spot produces on the tire due to the continuous load of the vehicle. Flat spot reduces tire life. To avoid flat spots, drive your car once a week. Also do not forget to check and correct the inflation of all the tires including the spare wheel to the recommended PSI.

5. Clean, ventilate and avoid bad smell

Before you put your car in isolation, thoroughly clean the interior to eliminate the remaining food particles and other contaminated bacteria if any. Once in a week ventilate your car by roll down all the windows for at least five minutes.

By doing these steps, you would feel any bad smell in the interior even after long isolation days.

6. clean and shine

Regular clean and wash your car to make it shine like forever. If you don’t do this, the paint becomes dull and lost its shine which potentially lowers the look of the car.

7. Keep rodents away

Rodents can damage your car. It can damage any of the wiring harness, interior or any other important part of your car.

Use rodent repellent around your car to keep them away. Once in a week, open your engine bay and inspect all the areas and components for rodent bite marks to avoid any system failure. Even keep your eyes on the interior.

8. Pull up wipers

Wiper blade rubber stuck to the windshield or to the rear glass when they are used for a long period. This can damage your windshield and wiper blades both. To prevent this, just pull up wipers away from the windshield when it’s isolated.

So, these were few tips to maintain your car’s health during isolation in this lock-down period or whenever your vehicle is parked for a long while.

I hope you will like this and if any feedback or suggestion is there, let me know in the comment section below.

See you in the next article, Till then #Stayhome #Staysafe

The post Ultimate car care guide during the Corona Lockdown appeared first on Auto Blogist.