Car Maintenance and Cleaning

A well-kept car is a safer car, and a few of the basics are also the difference between passing and failing a roadside inspection. This section collects the practical guides on keeping a vehicle in good order, written for drivers rather than mechanics.

The maintenance articles cover the things that matter most for safety and for avoiding a fix-it ticket. How to check tire pressure and tread depth, when to replace windshield wipers, how to restore cloudy headlights so they meet the legal brightness standard, how to check and change transmission fluid, how to choose the right motor oil, and how to spot rust before it becomes structural. Each guide explains what the task involves, what it costs to have done, and when it is worth doing yourself.

The cleaning guides are here too, from cleaning the inside of the windshield so it stops fogging to caring for seats, carpets, interior plastics, and wheels. Clean glass and working lights are not just cosmetic. Reduced visibility is a contributing factor in a large share of California collisions, and a cracked or obstructed windshield is itself a citable violation.

Best Online Traffic School publishes these guides because the same drivers who take our course ask us about them. If you do get an equipment or moving violation, the course is DMV-licensed and accepted in every county, and finishing it keeps an eligible one-point ticket off your insurance record.