Don't know how to top up oil, coolant, etc?

[thisisthend]

I just passed my test and bought my first car. No one in my family knows anything about cars. How often does oil, coolant, break fluid, and washer need topping up and do people tend to do this themselves? I'm scared I will mix the tanks up. Any advice.

What car do you have? Check your car's manual as a start point. If you dont have a manual for your car, get yourself a Haynes manual for your car's model and year of manufacture, and have a look through the routine maintenance guide in it. There will be a picture of the engine labelled and a list of what oil and fluids are recommended for your car in the first chapter. There are also tonnes of YouTube videos which will walk you through what needs to be done.

As a rule I tend to check the levels of the various fluids and my tyre treads, pressures etc every other month or so, at the change from summer to winter and back again, and a day or two before any long journeys. You wont always need to top them up, and if you're having to top up frequently that can be a sign of a problem. If you have your car serviced regularly, the service mechanic will also check them for you then. Most people have their car serviced once a year, but you do need to be checking in between services.

It will all be on You Tube telling you how to do it.

Generally, if you get your car serviced every year, things like the break fluid will be done as part of that. I've never had to do the break fluid.

I tend to give my car a good check over every few weeks. I get fuel, check the air pressure, oil etc and get it cleaned. It does also depend how much you're traveling. Most cars nowadays have warning lights on the dashboard to let you know when there's a problem with something.

Check the manual, failing that google will generally lead you to a YouTube video!
For me, my car has warning lights for the air in tyres but I would check before a long journey
Washer fluid is easy, mine has a little picture which looks like a spray on it and a blue cap
Oil - I am bad and don't check this often but you should occasionally especially in an older car, the dipstick is usually easy to find and keep an eye on the floor where your car is parked for oil leaks
Coolant - same as oil

They will generally all be checked when the car is serviced, I work at a main dealer so I sometimes stick mine in for a health check. Have a look if anywhere offers this as they will check your brake pads/discs, tyre wear and if you ask nicely the fluids and tyre pressures and it's often free
Halfords do one for £15 and you could ask to watch and they will show you https://www.halfordsautocentres.com/car-care/10-point-check

Ask your driving instructor!

Mine showed me all the different parts of the engine and how to change everything necessary :)