Knowing where to find certain vehicle features and how to maintain them has become an integral part of the driving theory test and the practical driving test. Therefore, it is essential that you know your stuff.

Being able to tell the difference between your car battery and your car hood will be significant when answering the test questions and taking the road test.

In your theory test, you might be asked a question about a vehicle battery. Would you know what to do if the battery is dead to get the car to start again?

Before beginning your practical driving test, the instructor will raise the hood of the car and randomly select two characteristics that you will need to identify. Your instructor might ask you how to check the oil level, so it is certainly worth having knowledge about vehicle maintenance.

Basic vehicle maintenance

The first part of this series covers basic vehicle maintenance. Any number of questions may come up in your theory test related to vehicle maintenance, but here is a list of the most common topics covered in the exam regarding vehicle maintenance:

Lights

Brakes

Address

Exhaust systems

Seat belts

Demisters

Windshield Wipers Washers

What you need to know

How all lights and indicators work

How the windshield wipers and windows work

How to monitor exhaust emissions

Know how to check seats, seat belts and head restraints

In addition to the above items, you should also familiarize yourself with all the warning displays on the instrument panel of your vehicle. It is not uncommon to find theory test questions related to a vehicle’s dash panel.

When starting a car, if there is a problem with the vehicle, its instrument panel will indicate the source of the problem. For example, it could be a low oil level, so as part of your theory test and driving test, you would need to know how to add oil to a vehicle.

Tires are also another common topic when it comes to vehicle maintenance. Knowing tire pressure and being able to identify when a tire is so worn that it needs to be changed could make the difference in passing your theory test and your driving test.

For example, do you know what the legal tread limit is for a tire that is used on a car that is driven on the highway? Well now is the time to find out …

You will also need to know what impact the damaged tires could have on the rest of the vehicle. For example, over-inflated or under-inflated tires will affect steering performance and braking capabilities.

This concludes the first part of this series … Watch this space for the second part!