If you've never popped the bonnet on your own car before, this is for you. You don't need to be a mechanic to keep a car running well, just a handful of simple habits and knowing where to look. Here's a genuine beginner's guide, explained step by step rather than assuming you already know your way around an engine bay.
Summary:
- Five simple checks form the core beginner routine: oil, coolant, tyres, lights, and screenwash.
- Your handbook always wins. Oil types, coolant requirements, tyre pressures, and where things are located all vary between cars, so follow your specific manufacturer's instructions over any general guide, including this one.
- A falling fluid level is a reason to investigate, not just top up repeatedly. Especially with brake fluid, where a low level can point to worn components or a leak.
- Two further checks, brake fluid and the air filter, are worth knowing once you're comfortable, though both come with genuine caveats worth understanding first.
- A five-minute routine once a month, plus a quick glance before longer journeys, covers the basics properly.
Before You Start: The Basics
Find your bonnet release lever first, usually a small handle low down inside the car, often near the driver's footwell or beneath the steering wheel. Pulling it releases a catch under the bonnet, which you'll then need to find and lift, sometimes with a second safety catch to release too. Your car's handbook shows exactly where both are if you can't find them straight away.
Once it's open, look for a metal rod or bracket, the bonnet stay, that holds it open safely. Always check your car on level ground, with the engine switched off and cold, and the handbrake firmly on. Checking a hot engine risks burns, and a warm engine gives inaccurate fluid readings anyway.
One principle matters more than anything else in this guide: your handbook always wins. Oil specifications, coolant requirements, tyre pressures, dipstick locations, and where each reservoir actually sits all vary between makes and models. If your handbook says something different from what's written here, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Check 1: Engine Oil
Oil lubricates the engine's moving parts, and running low genuinely risks serious, expensive damage. Look for the dipstick, a thin metal rod with a brightly coloured loop handle, usually yellow or orange, sticking up somewhere on top of the engine.
Pull it out, wipe it clean with a cloth or paper towel, push it back in fully, then pull it out again. The oil level should sit between two marks near the bottom of the stick.
If it's below the lower mark, you can top up through the oil filler cap, another brightly coloured cap, usually with an oil-can symbol on it, adding a small amount at a time and rechecking rather than guessing.
Check this monthly, and always before a longer journey.
Check 2: Coolant
Coolant stops the engine overheating. Look for a plastic reservoir, usually translucent so you can see the liquid level inside, marked with "min" and "max" lines, different from the oil reservoir, coolant is typically pink, blue, or green rather than the amber-brown of oil.
Give the level a quick visual check regularly and before longer journeys, topping up with the correct coolant type for your car if it's low. If the level keeps dropping after you've topped it up, don't simply keep refilling it, have the car checked for a leak instead.
Never remove the coolant cap when the engine is hot, since the system is pressurised and can cause a serious burn.
Check 3: Tyres
Tyres are the only part of your car actually touching the road, and checking them properly is one of the most important habits to build early, deserving its own proper explanation. Our guide on how to check tyre tread depth covers it fully, including the simple 20p test you can do with no tools at all.
Tyre pressure is worth checking separately from tread, ideally when the tyres are cold rather than straight after driving. The correct pressure for your car is usually printed on a sticker inside the driver's door frame, or listed in the handbook. Don't forget your spare tyre too, it can lose pressure over time just like the others, even sitting unused.
Tyres also wear unevenly depending on their position on the car, so having them rotated every 5,000 to 10,000 miles helps them wear more evenly and last longer overall, genuinely a garage job rather than a beginner DIY task, and often included as part of a routine service anyway.
Check 4: Lights
Walk around your car with the engine running and someone helping if possible, testing each light in turn: headlights, indicators, brake lights, and reverse lights. Turning on your hazard lights checks both indicators at once. A failed bulb is usually simple and cheap to replace yourself, and your car's handbook shows exactly which bulb type each light needs.
If you're not confident doing this yourself, most auto stores and garages will replace a bulb for a small fee.
While you're doing this walk-round, check your wiper blades too. Run a finger along the rubber edge feeling for cracks, and watch for streaking or juddering next time you use them. A worn blade is cheap and simple to replace yourself, most auto stores sell the right size for your car if you tell them the make and model.
Check 5: Screenwash
Screenwash keeps your windscreen clear, and driving without any is both dangerous and against the rules if your washers can't clear the screen properly.
Look for a reservoir with a windscreen-and-water-jet symbol on the cap, usually towards the front of the engine bay. Top up with screenwash fluid from any auto store or petrol station, diluted with water if it's concentrate, following the instructions on the bottle.
Useful Checks Once You're Comfortable
The five checks above cover the genuine core beginner routine, and these next two are worth knowing about too, though each comes with a real caveat worth understanding before you start.
Brake fluid transfers the force from your foot to the brakes themselves, and it's worth a quick visual check every few months. Look for a small, usually white reservoir, with dark fluid visible inside, marked with min and max lines like the coolant.
If the level sits below the minimum mark, don't simply keep topping it up. Low brake fluid can indicate worn brake components or a leak, so have the system checked by a qualified mechanic instead. If you notice any unusual noise when braking, the car pulling to one side, or it taking longer than normal to stop, get this checked immediately too.
The air filter stops dust and debris getting into your engine, and a clogged one can quietly reduce performance over time. Some cars make it genuinely easy to inspect and replace, a plastic box under the bonnet with simple clips, while others need considerably more dismantling.
Check your handbook before opening anything up, and if you're at all unsure, this is a perfectly reasonable one to leave to a garage rather than guess.
Warning Signs Worth Knowing
A few specific symptoms are genuinely worth recognising early, since they usually mean something needs professional attention soon rather than waiting for your next service.
Spongy or squealing brakes. A brake pedal that feels soft rather than firm, or a squeal when braking, both point to something worth checking promptly rather than ignoring.
Puddles under the car. A small, clear puddle is usually just condensation from your air conditioning, genuinely harmless. A puddle that's brown, pink, or green is a different matter entirely, oil or coolant leaking, and worth investigating rather than dismissing.
Steering wheel vibration. A wheel that shakes or vibrates, particularly at speed, can point to a tyre or wheel balance issue worth having checked rather than getting used to.
What to Leave to a Garage
Genuinely, most things beyond the checks above are worth leaving to a professional, and there's no shame in that.
Brakes, suspension, anything involving the timing belt, and diagnosing a warning light you don't understand all need proper training and equipment. For a full explanation of what your dashboard warning lights actually mean, and which ones need immediate attention, see our guide on dashboard warning lights explained.
Sticking to your car's manufacturer service schedule matters more than almost anything else you can do yourself, and it's genuinely the easiest way to catch small problems before they become expensive ones. Our guide on car service history explained covers exactly what a service actually involves.
A Quick Word on Your Battery
If you notice significant corrosion, a crusty white build-up around the battery terminals, have it cleaned or inspected rather than ignoring it, particularly if the car is becoming difficult to start. If your car sits unused for weeks at a time, a trickle charger keeps the battery properly topped up rather than risking it going flat, then failing permanently.
An Easy Way to Remember
If you want a simple way to remember the beginner routine, think Fluids, Tyres, Lights, Dashboard, the exact order this guide has actually walked you through.
A Simple Beginner's Routine
Once a month, check your oil, coolant, and screenwash together, it takes about five minutes once you know where everything is. Once a week, or before any longer journey, give your tyres and lights a quick visual check too. That's genuinely enough to catch the vast majority of problems before they become serious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any special tools to check my car's basic fluids? No, everything covered here needs nothing beyond a cloth or paper towel for the dipstick, and the fluids themselves if you need to top up.
Is it safe to check my oil and coolant myself as a complete beginner? Yes, provided the engine is off and cold, and you're on flat ground with the handbrake on, among the safest, simplest checks you can actually do.
How do I know if something needs a garage rather than a simple top-up? If a level keeps dropping again after you've topped it up, that points to a leak worth having inspected properly rather than continuing to top up repeatedly, and with brake fluid specifically, a low level is always worth having checked by a mechanic rather than simply refilled.
What if I can't find my bonnet release? Check your car's handbook, usually kept in the glovebox, which shows exactly where the release lever and bonnet stay are for your specific model.
How often should a genuine beginner check these things? Monthly for oil, coolant and screenwash, weekly or before longer journeys for tyres and lights. That simple routine covers the essentials properly.
If you're new to driving or buying your first car, our guide on the best cars for first-time buyers is worth reading alongside this one, and every car sold through Car Planet comes with clear documentation from day one.
