pannyman: When I was learning to drive, one of the first things I was taught was to check my oil and water first thing in the morning before starting the car. Now that I own my own car I do that three or for times a week. Ideally, it should be everyday.

I have noticed that most drivers take things for granted and never look under the bonnet in the morning with disastrous consequences sometimes. I know how many times my vigilance has paid off, helping me detect leaky poor quality oil filters. Drivers should spare just two minutes and check their coolant and oil levels to avoid rude shocks from their cars.

ZIM DRILL:

once every month is alright depending on journeys you do. eg if you do 2 or 3 long journeys per week then you should check oil and water levels every week, if the journeys are local then once every month is a right

the everyday one means something is wrong with your car if its losing oil or cooliant etc on daily basic

okpara ugo:

I drove my car for the first 2 years without lifting my hood. I did it like once in 3 months and whenever I did, oil and water levels remained same so i never thought it was important. As time went on, car parts wore and got older, my water pump dealt a death blow on my engine and that day the radiator ran empty. I lost that engine 2months later.

Checking it regularly doesnt mean your car is bad. Its a precaution especially if you are driving a used car.

okpara ugo:

I drove my car for the first 2 years without lifting my hood. I did it like once in 3 months and whenever I did, oil and water levels remained same so i never thought it was important. As time went on, car parts wore and got older, my water pump dealt a death blow on my engine and that day the radiator ran empty. I lost that engine 2months later.

Checking it regularly doesnt mean your car is bad. Its a precaution especially if you are driving a used car.

pro01: Well, these days I always check my engine in the mornings - for fear of having rats cause serious damage in the engine if I start the car without checking. There has been an influx of huge rats in my compound of late, and they particularly enjoy the 'cosy' ambience and warmth of the car engines - especially those parked for more than a day or two without use. Just last week my fan belt got damaged when I started the engine with a huge rat stuck within the fan belt. Thankfully though, the intruder got decapitated instantly as fair punishment.

By the way, I was wondering how one can make one's engines less attractive to rodents? I'm tired of their unlawful habitation abeg.

lukkie:

Forget it. Nothing will chase rats permanently away from your car's engine bay - camphor, conc strawberry oil etc, at least not 9ja rats, they'll always come back. You need to take the war to the damn rats - but not with roadside rat poison or glue o. If you live in Lagos, i'll describe where you can get some strong anti-rodent poisons which farmers use. And don't worry about their numbers, even if they're 200, they'll all die off. I had the problem sometime ago but after a lot of wasted efforts & money, all it took was just N200 to get rid of them.

pro01:

Aha. Thankfully, someone else has experienced this problem; I'm at my wits end as far as this issue goes abeg. My neighbours and I have tried everything possible to no avail. I hope those anti-rodent poisons you talked about are not flammable. . .I reckon some of these pesticides can cause a fire in one's engine if care is not taken. Abeg tell me the N200 solution that worked for you oh. . .I go buy you 5 bottles of big stout with Isi-Ewu to express my gratitude if it works for me.