Please Teach your Daughters Basic car maintenece.

[earlyre]

I'm probably Preaching to the Choir here, but Today I was working a shift at the Gas Station, and this young (mid 20's) Girl in Scrubs Comes in asking where/how to put air into her Tires. I go out to hep her, thinking it would be showing her how to turn on the compressor, etc.

nope.

She had absolutely no concept of how to actually add air to the tires. almost like she was afraid to even touch the tires.

her Outfit (scrubs) says to me that she probably works in some sort of medical office, and has probably had some post secondary education, IE not a dummy who can't learn stuff.

and the car wasn't too shabby either, Jaguar S-Type R. (not sure of the year, but it wasn't cheap)

Couldn't find the Decal stating the recommended pressures(wasn't in the standard US location, inside the Driver's Door frame) but set them all at about 35psi(up from the about 22psi she rolled in with)

I guess My point is that things like Checking Pressures/adding air to tires, Checking oil levels, and even changing a tire, are all basics that all Drivers should know how to do.
This Girl's father(or father figure) clearly did her a disservice, by not making sure she could handle these small things.

so please, Men, Fathers, Step Dad's, Uncles, Grandpa's, what ever you are, Please take the time to make sure your Girls know how to do these simple things. heck teach 'em to change Their own oil while your at it.
they'll be better off for the Knowledge, and you'll both be better off for spending the time together.

-end Rant.

sorry folks just had to get that off my chest.

 

[tomcat27]

at least she knew enough to check the tires and to ask for help.. teach your sons also! or at least teach your kids that if they are not interested in learning, to at least make sure they find someone to help them!

 

[earlyre]

I'm thinking they were just low enough that the TPMS light came on the dash. b/c the way she was acting, I don't think she would know how to use a tire gauge.

 

[SuzukiGoat]

Daughters nothing...half of the adult "men" I know are completely inept.

Kind of like the viagra or cialis commercial where the really confident old guy dumps ice cold water into boiled over radiator.....

 

[Mystic]

Man do I agree with that! I laughed when I saw that commercial! You have a guy dumping ice cold water into an overheated radiator and that is supposed to fix something!

Even with a car that old they still had radiator coolant mixed with water. Instead the guy just buys some bottled water.

Water by itself is better than nothing but anybody who has worked on cars at all knows coolant (radiator fluid-of the correct type) needs to be mixed with water. And I would try to mix it with distilled water myself.

And if the guy is so capable and all of that why did the car boil over in the first place? Maybe he was not maintaining it-checking fluid levels and all of that?

That commercial was sad!

 

[Mystic]

And I should add here I guess that I know of a 'professional' mechanic who did not know enough that you are supposed to mix coolant with water. He was the opposite of the guy in the commercial. He was putting straight radiator coolant into the radiators of customers cars. Read the directions on the bottles of coolant-you are supposed to mix with water. That 'professional' mechanic also almost killed himself in the wintertime running a car in a closed garage in cold weather with no exhaust pipe running out of the garage.

I told a guy I knew about this. This guy could be expected to know something. Heck, he drove around in a large off road four wheel drive SUV. I couldn't believe that this guy said he also put straight coolant into the radiators of his vehicles. He did not mix coolant with water either.

This is basic stuff. It should not be necessary to cover this stuff in the first automotive maintenance class at the nearby two year college. But I guess they do need to cover stuff like that in Class 101.

 

[Sam2000]

Originally Posted By: Mystic
Water by itself is better than nothing but anybody who has worked on cars at all knows coolant (radiator fluid-of the correct type) needs to be mixed with water. And I would try to mix it with distilled water myself.


Coolant does very little to raise the boiling point of water. It is the pressurization of the system that has the biggest effect. And once you go over 60% coolant, you're negatively affecting the cooling capability of the mix.

So for the short term, the guy adding water is doing a better job than the mechanic adding straight coolant and any overheat condition is likely due to a loss of pressurization rather than not enough coolant in the mix.

Originally Posted By: Mystic
And if the guy is so capable and all of that why did the car boil over in the first place? Maybe he was not maintaining it-checking fluid levels and all of that?


Ummmm it's not reality so I think you're reading too much into it.

If anything, if his coolant is bursting because of excessive pressure, maybe he's had too much medicine.

 

[Merkava_4]

If I had a daughter, I'd teach her more than just airing up tires; I'd teach how to install the spare tire and do all the basic maintenance like changing oil and changing coolant. I'd teach her how to replace brakes too.

 

[Falken]

I have seen little Acuras owned by office women that had only 1 Litre of oil in the sump.

Well, they knew well enough to eventually get an oil change.

Smoke out of the oil fill hole!

 

[NHGUY]

Or the one with the 2WD vintage Dodge pickup pulling a horsetrailer straight into mud.If that guy was so smart (and the blood hadn't run out of his cranium) he would have known to punch the gas before going into the pit or to drive around it.Or next time get a 4x4.

 

[KD0AXS]

When you take your test to get your drivers license, you should have to perform a full vehicle inspection including a check of all fluids, tires, lights, etc. You should also have to demonstrate how to change a tire. These are basic things that anyone who drives a vehicle should know, so they should be included on the driver's test. You have to do a pre-trip inspection to get a commercial drivers license, there's no reason you shouldn't need to do the same to get a regular license.

 

[Rick in PA]

Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
When you take your test to get your drivers license, you should have to perform a full vehicle inspection including a check of all fluids, tires, lights, etc. You should also have to demonstrate how to change a tire. These are basic things that anyone who drives a vehicle should know, so they should be included on the driver's test. You have to do a pre-trip inspection to get a commercial drivers license, there's no reason you shouldn't need to do the same to get a regular license.


I like that idea. All things required for safe operation of a motor vehicle.

 

[Kira]

When I first went to Europe in 1981 I saw miniaturized, detailed automotive chassis in driving schools' storefronts in Germany and Sweden.
Perhaps they were used in other countries too but those were the only ones I saw with my own eyes.

They were teaching aids to instruct new drivers.

Gotta love it. Kira

 

[Eddie]

I taught both my daughters and watched them do: A tire change,how to put air in and check pressure, how to check oil level and how to check underhood fluids levels (coolant, brake and power steering level)

 

[Danno]

I have 3 sons and they all participate in their oil changes annual tire swaps and any other maintenance (example: sway bar link replacement).
My niece needed new rotors and pads on her Cavalier. I made an offer that if she paid for parts and she helped, the job would cost zero labor. If she chose to have me do the job, it would be parts plus $100 labor.
She chose to help and came away with a better understanding on how brakes work, what to look for and how to avoid future scams.

 

[Benzadmiral]

My father was a bookkeeper, and he knew how to get a pretty good deal on a nearly-new car -- he'd wait until the new models were about to hit the dealerships, then make a deal on a new example of the outgoing model.

As for maintenance, though, all I ever saw him do was bring the car to a garage across the street from our favorite grocery store. He'd leave it off while we got our groceries, then pick it up after. And he always used full-serve gas stations (not that we had many self-serve places in those pre-OPEC days). So anything I learned about taking care of cars I picked up from the owner's manuals, from library books, and from friends who actually worked on their cars.

 

[supton]

I have high hopes to teach my kids this stuff. So far my son hasn't been very interested, and my daughter loves to help, but is honestly a bit too young. All in due time...

 

[racer12306]

I fully intend to teach both of my daughters the basics. Changing a tire, checking air pressure, changing the oil, checking the various fluids, etc. My wife even insisted I do this because she doesn't know how to do any of it.

I've got a while though, they are almost 3.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
When you take your test to get your drivers license, you should have to perform a full vehicle inspection including a check of all fluids, tires, lights, etc. You should also have to demonstrate how to change a tire. These are basic things that anyone who drives a vehicle should know, so they should be included on the driver's test. You have to do a pre-trip inspection to get a commercial drivers license, there's no reason you shouldn't need to do the same to get a regular license.


This!

I went to an agricultural high school. I was in the mechanics program and part of that program involved operating tractors and other heavy machinery. The shop teacher taught us about "pre-operational checks". This check included things such as checking fluids, tires, lights, wear items, etc. I still do a quick walk around of my Jeep before I start it every morning, and check the lights and fluid levels once a week.

My sister had a 2001 VW Jetta with 100k miles that consumed 1 quart of oil a week. My dad taught her how to check the oil level and add oil, and she wasn't allowed to drive it for the day until she checked it. My sister isn't the best driver (6 flat tires in 4 years, numerous off road experiences) but she is pretty good about being aware of the car and when to pull over.

 

[racer12306]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
When you take your test to get your drivers license, you should have to perform a full vehicle inspection including a check of all fluids, tires, lights, etc. You should also have to demonstrate how to change a tire. These are basic things that anyone who drives a vehicle should know, so they should be included on the driver's test. You have to do a pre-trip inspection to get a commercial drivers license, there's no reason you shouldn't need to do the same to get a regular license.


I like that idea. All things required for safe operation of a motor vehicle.


There's a lot that should be required to get a drivers license that isn't. I never left the parking lot road course when I got my license 13 years ago and that is absurd.

But I fully agree, this should be on there.