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Dad Field Manual · Field card 17 · ChoresIdea · not yet tested

Check tire pressure and oil with your teen

Forty-five minutes in the driveway with a tire gauge and the owner's manual. Your teen walks away knowing the three checks that keep a car safe between shop visits, and owning them every month.

Time
45 min
Cost
About $10
Ages
14 and up
Where
Driveway

What you need

  • Tire pressure gauge
  • The car's owner's manual (or the maker's website version)
  • A penny
  • Paper towels or a clean rag
  • Paper and pen to write the numbers
  • A flashlight

Before you start

  • Engine off, keys out, car cooled down. Engine parts and oil get hot enough to burn. The tire check needs a cold car anyway.
  • Flat ground, parking brake on. No jacks and no crawling under the car. Nothing in this plan needs either.
  • Hood on its prop rod or struts before anyone leans in. Tie back long hair and keep sleeves and hands clear of belts and the fan.
  • A bad tire is a stop sign. If the tread fails the penny test, or you see cuts, cracks or bulges, NHTSA says stop using the tire.

Steps

  1. Find the right number. Find the recommended cold tire pressure on the label on the driver's door edge or post.
  2. Check all four tires cold. On a cold car, press the gauge on each valve, read it and write it down.
  3. Let air out or add it. Let a little air out if high; if low, note the missing psi and add it at a pump.
  4. Penny test the tread. Penny in the tread, Lincoln's head down; if you see the top of his head, replace the tire.
  5. Find the dipstick in the manual. Use the owner's manual to find the oil dipstick and its checking directions.
  6. Read the oil. Pull, wipe, reinsert, pull again; the oil line should sit between the two marks.
  7. Make it a monthly job. Set a monthly phone reminder; your teen checks and reports the numbers.

If it stalls

  • If the gauge reads zero or the valve hisses, press it on straighter and faster. A hiss means air is leaking around the gauge.
  • If the front and rear numbers on the label are different, that's what the maker wants. Fill each tire to its own number.
PSI: LF __ RF __ LR __ RR __ · Oil OK?
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date