Basic vehicle skills

Learning some basic automotive skills will make you feel more confident about going in for auto service. The service writer or service manager will instantly recognize this confidence.

A consumer that understands the vehicle and how the auto service business works is usually passed over when it comes time to apply the rip offs and scams.

Just like a lion out hunting the shop goes after the weak for an easy kill. But also like the lion when the shop gets hungry enough it may attack even the strong.

This is when we will break out everything we have learned and make the shop sorry they came after us.

In this chapter my goal is to teach you about the technical aspects of the automobile.

In my research about the subject and how to deliver the information I found two FREE premium websites that let you learn as much or as little as you want.

You can learn at your own pace as in the material is in bite size sections. The links to these sites are to follow in this chapter.

When I went through the material I noticed two key factors were missing.

So before I provide the links to these web sites I want to hit the basic principal of opening your hood and what you will see when the hood is open.

It very important to demonstrate this ability to you repair shop to change the way the shop thinks of you during the service procedure

The number 1 essential skill is to learn how to open your hood. Your owner’s manual explains how to do this in detail. But the basics are that there is a primary and secondary latching system.

This is to prevent the hood from flying up into the windshield while driving.

If the primary release is triggered or fails the secondary latch will catch the hood striker and hold it down.

To open the hood both the primary and secondary latches must be released.

The primary release is inside the vehicle usually to the left of the driver and down toward the foot well.

The secondary release is harder to find. In most cases the hood will have to be lifted up slightly to see the secondary release and is usually located towards the center of the hood.

Again your owner’s manual will give exact details to the location and operation of the latches.

You could also roll in to your local brand dealership and ask a sales person to show you how to open the hood (even if you didn’t buy the car there).

When you get the hood open take your time and look around and get familiar with the easy stuff first.

Things like fluid reservoirs are clearly labeled and marked. Your owner’s manual has a detailed break down of the location of these critical fluid locations and instructions on how to confirm proper levels.


Find your washer fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid; coolant reservoirs engine oil dipstick and transmission fluid dipstick.

On the next page is a picture of a modern engine out of the vehicle so things are easier to see. This is an example of what engines look like these days.

Inside the vehicle things can get hard to see because they really pack the engine in on the latest models.

You may be able to find pictures of your exact engine in your vehicle by going to google and searching for your model vehicle plus the key words engine picture.

Come see my new Automotive and car repair web site