Before You Give Your Kids the Car, Teach Them These 10 Things

Car Basics Every Driver Should Know

This is Part 1 of 2. Read Part 2. 

It will soon be back-to-school time, and your young driver will be headed off to college or high school in their first set of wheels. You might feel proud and a bit nostalgic to give your son or daughter the car. But does your pride and joy know what to do with a flat tire? In the case of an accident? If a warning light comes on the dash?

Whether your young driver is going to college in another state or is just using the car to get to high school or an after-school job, driving a car is a big responsibility. We all remember the excitement and the freedom that having your own car brings, as well as the intoxicating feeling of driving fast. Even if you’ve gifted your kid a new car, flat tires, accidents and car problems are likely to happen.

Tips for Teen Drivers

As a parent, what are you to do? Give your son or daughter the gift of car care basics. Even if they never have to use this knowledge, who knows? It might save you (and/or them) from a terribly expensive repair or get them out of a dangerous situation.

You’ll want to discuss not only maintenance issues but the basics that every driver should know.

There are a couple of easy “cheats” that can help save you headaches when you give your kid the car, so let’s start with these…

Get AAA

If your teen is close to home and you can easily help them if they lock their keys in the car or have a flat tire, then AAA might not be necessary. However, AAA can be worth its weight in gold for college-bound kids who will be some distance away or if you won’t be able to always come to the rescue.

There are other roadside assistance programs, but we mention AAA because it is in every state. This inexpensive service provides so much more than just changing a flat tire or towing your car. AAA can:

• Bring a stranded driver a few gallons of gas, in case your kid “thought they could make it” to the gas station.
• Help to open the car if they lock their keys inside.
• Refer or tow their car to an AAA-affiliated service facility, which is helpful when you don’t know any mechanics in their new town.
• Provide other services, including deals on rental cars, discounts on parts from participating NAPA stores and registration assistance without going to the DMV.

Be sure to explain to your new driver how the card works and what it can be used for. This service alone can bring you real peace of mind when your young driver is far from home.

Make Sure They Understand Tire Basics

Teaching basic tire maintenance will save both you and your child tons of future headaches. Start by buying them a pressure gauge and showing them how to use it, how to find the recommended psi for the vehicle’s tires, and how to inflate a tire. While most modern cars have a warning light for low tire pressure, gas station gauges are terribly inaccurate. If they know how to keep their tires at the correct pressure, it will prevent tire wear.

Next, explain how they can inspect their tires for wear. Use Google to find and show them pictures of tires with bubbles or excessive cracking. Talk to them about uneven wear and the penny method of when a tire should be replaced. If the car doesn’t have a “low tire” warning light, ask them to set an “appointment” on their phone to check the tires every month—including the spare.

Teach Them How to Change a Flat Tire

Before you let your teen or college-bound student drive away with the car, we highly recommend teaching them how to change a tire. You never know when they might have a flat and be out of cell phone range or when helps is miles and hours away. Although this is a dirty job that no one likes, it’s a basic skill that any high schooler or college student can manage. To make it less dirty, put an old rug and a pair of gloves in with the spare tire. This helps knees, pants and hands to not get quite as dirty.

Teach them tricks like checking the spare first to make sure it has air in it, not jacking up the car until they’ve loosened the tire lug nuts just a bit, and stepping/standing on the lug wrench to loosen or tighten a lug. Consider adding a four-way lug wrench or adding a “cheater bar” to the lug wrench. These are long, hollow metal pieces that go over and extend the length of the lug wrench. This increases its strength, making it easier to loosen and tighten the lug nuts.

If the wheels have locks, be certain the key is someplace where it won’t be lost or forgotten. Most people store them in the glove box or with the spare tire and lug wrench. Also, make sure your kid knows how to position the jack on the car for each tire. If you have the owner’s manual, they might complain about it, but have them read the section regarding tires. If they forget anything, they have the manual to refer to.

In a Pinch: Use Fix-A-Flat

As a backup to changing a flat tire, we recommend the “fix-a-flat” in a can remedy. If you have never used one, they are available at every auto parts store, discount store (like Walmart) and even in some grocery stores! They are generally less than $10 per can. Be sure to buy the correct size can for the vehicle (bigger SUVs need larger cans), and put two in the trunk. (Move them inside the car in the winter months. Otherwise, they’ll freeze and take a long time to thaw if needed.)

These cans have a hose that screws onto the valve stem of the tire. Pressing on the top of the can, it dispenses a sealing “glue,” which will plug all but severe leaks. When the can is empty, you drive the car slowly for a mile and it will self-inflate. These are terrific options in case the car ends up with more than one flat tire, if the spare is flat or when help is hours away.

Always instruct your son or daughter to have the tire repaired as soon as possible. Although people have been known to drive for quite a few miles after using a fix-a-flat, we don’t recommend it. Also as an fyi, before a shop repairs the tire, they’ll have to remove it from the rim and clean out all the fix-a-flat foam from inside. They may charge you more to do this.

It might be a good idea to demonstrate, letting the air out of a tire and helping them use the product. These take about 5 minutes to go from flat to drivable and are super handy. However, they won’t work every time. If the cause of the leak is too large to seal or the valve stem itself is the problem, you won’t be able to use fix-a-flat. Help your kids understand the difference.

Want to have your young driver’s vehicle inspected before it goes off to school? Schedule an appointment now.

Ready for Part 2? Read it now.