Teaching Kids About Car Maintenance

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FRAMFresh #CollectiveBias As homeschoolers, I like to involve the kids in my daily to do list so that they can learn various life skills that they can use once they move out on their own. When my vehicle needs maintenance I like getting the kids involved because it’s great to see them learn something new and once they know how to do it, it’s a task you can pass off to them, ulterior motive? Yes. There are certain projects that can take on yourself like ensuring all of your fluids and oil levels are good, some tasks are so easy it doesn’t make any sense to have someone else do them.

Teach Kids About Car Maintenance to teach kids life skills and save money

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Car maintenance ideas to teach your kids

Add the fluids and lubricants
Oil level checks and oil changes
Prepare an emergency road side kit
Check tire pressure
Change lights
Change air and engine filters – will demonstrate below

Safety Procedures

Always ensure that your child follows all safety procedures, we also discussed how we shouldn’t leave the door open so siblings can’t climb in and get stuck in hot or cold weather. We want them to wear safety glasses so their eyes are protected and preferrably clothes that they don’t mind getting dirty, as if they ever mind. We don’t want to work on a hot engine and gloves should be worn if they need to touch parts that may be heated. The cabin air filter is ventilates the air conditioner and heating which catches dirt and airborne bacteria. You can save money and buy your own filter to a replace them yourself. Doing so saves you at least $20, it would cost $50 and up to have it done at a shop. The engine air filter, depends on your environment, sucks in more pollution as you drive throughout the city. It helps acceleration and improve engine life. FRAM recommends changing your air filter annually or every 12,000 miles or 19,300 kms. However, follow the recommended change intervals as noted in your vehicle owner’s manual.

Air filter supplies

FRAM Air Cabin Filter
FRAM Engine Air Filter
Philips Screw Driver
Safety Glasses (to be safe, just in case)

My son used the screw driver to unscrew the 3 screws that led to the cabin air filter compartment. You can lift the roof of the compartment and pull out the old filter. It was pretty disgusting to see all of the dirt that the old filter had picked up. To think that the air that is circulating through your car is catching all of it, it’s gross.

Not sure where to get your filters from, I got mine a Canadian tire, right in front of the automotive section, you have to look up your make and model in the binder behind me and find the appropriate filter.

My son was able to change out the FRAM engine air filter on his own, he opened the engine filter compartment using the two clips, took out the old dirty filter and replaced it with a new one, then he closed it back up. It took less than 5 minutes, easy peasy.