Practical Life & Self-Reliance · Foundation

Car Basics

Most car trouble gives notice first: a warning light, a soft tyre, a noise that wasn't there last month. This course explains how a car works (engine or motor, battery, brakes, tyres, fluids and lights), the checks an owner can make and the law on roadworthiness in the UK and the US side by side, what to do at a breakdown or a flat, how electric and hybrid cars differ, and how to deal with a garage, a service and an MOT or state inspection. It treats jacks, batteries and high-voltage systems with the caution they need and says which work to leave to a mechanic. It follows Home Repair and Maintenance in Term 3.

What you'll learn

• Explain how the main systems of a petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric car work, and what each of the owner's checks protects
• Carry out the owner's routine checks (tyres, fluids, lights, wipers, battery) by the handbook, and decide what each dashboard warning light calls for
• State, as general information, what the law requires of a car's condition and its periodic test in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and a range of US states, and who is responsible
• Decide what to do when a car fails on an ordinary road or a motorway in the UK or the US, and when to jump-start or change a wheel and when not to
• Choose and deal with a garage, read a service schedule, a quote or a bill, check for recalls, and use your consumer rights in each country