At 16 years old, your teenager will likely get their driver’s license. They may head out on the road without your guidance to assist them. It’s a terrifying feeling watching your baby drive away for the first time.
As they go off to hang out with friends or do errands on the household’s behalf, you want them to have as much knowledge as possible about their vehicle. If you’re asking yourself whether you should teach your teens how to repair cars, the answer is a resounding yes!
Having automotive knowledge makes people more self-sufficient. In the future, your teenagers won’t have to rely solely on mechanics to tell them what’s wrong with their vehicle. Instead, they might be able to fix small issues themselves.
What Are the Fundamental Repairs You Should Teach Your Teens?
Walking your teenagers through the proper steps of repair is the best way for them to learn. But what repairs should you show them in the first place?
Replacing a Flat Tire
Flat tires are one of the most common culprits of strandings. Your teen could wait for a tow truck and stand alone on a busy street, or they could resolve the issue on their own!
Demonstrate how to jack the car up, remove the tire, and add a new tire or a spare in its place. Now, your teen is on the road again and can arrive home safely.
Rotating the Tires
Every 5,000 miles to 7,000 miles, you must rotate the tires on the vehicle. Many people will take their car in for an oil change and ask the mechanics to rotate the tires at the same time. However, if you teach your teens how to repair this issue on their own, they won’t require help from a mechanic.
Changing the Oil
Changing the oil is another crucial car maintenance task to complete every 7,500 to 10,000 miles. The vehicle relies on oil to lubricate the metal mechanisms and prevent overheating.
Driving with low or contaminated oil is incredibly dangerous! When your teenagers learn to conduct oil changes by themselves, they won’t have to wait for an appointment at the repair shop. They can lift their car up in the garage and start the repair as needed.
Start a Project Together
Children learn the best with hands-on experiences. When school ends for the year and you have more time to spend together, consider starting a project together.
Summer is the best time to repair a transmission, so find an old car to fix up together and let your teen practice their mechanic skills. Try replacing worn-out gears and changing the air filters.
Take a deep dive at the brake system. Consider demonstrating how to replace the brake pads. It’s an easy part to fix that plays a significant role in the vehicle.
Next, you can work on changing the car battery together. Remove the previous battery by disconnecting all connections. Afterward, you can reconnect each wire and screw it to the new battery!
Teaching your teens how to repair cars will strengthen their automotive skills. When they know a little bit of everything, they become someone who is independent and confident in their abilities. Before you know it, you’ll have raised a well-rounded, self-reliant adult.
