To honour Women’s Day, celebrated on the 9^th of August, we at Highway Bakkie Hire have put together an empowering blog for our female readers that includes car tips every woman should know. We want our female drivers to feel capable and safe on the road knowing that they can fix basic car issues and complete a few vital tasks without any outside help. If you would like to see our top car tips every woman should know, take a look at the blog below and let us know your top tips in the comments!

How to Refill Your Windshield Washer Fluid

To kick off our journey, we want to start with something simple yet often overlooked: windshield washer fluid! You don’t want to be stuck with a dusty windshield in bright sunshine without the option to clear it and driving without full visibility is incredibly dangerous.

Firstly, open the hood of your car and locate the washer fluid reservoir – this is usually a translucent container with a windshield wiper and water symbol on the cap. Bonus tip: If your car has a rear wiper, there may be a second reservoir for those wipers.

Next, check the level of fluid currently in the reservoir. If it is full, you obviously don’t need to add any fluid. If the level appears to be low, top it up with some windshield washer fluid until it almost reaches the mouth of the reservoir.

Finally, replace the cap and press down until it pops in place. You are then free to close the hood and go on your way.

How to Change a Tyre

This may seem like an overdone tip, but you cannot underestimate the importance of being able to change a tyre when you’re in a sticky situation. Given that this tip requires a visual aid, we have found an easy-to-understand demonstrative video that you can watch to learn how to change a tyre on your own, safely and with confidence. Click here to watch the video.

How to Check Your Oil Level

The oil in your car is there to lubricate the engine’s internal moving parts and protect them from premature wear and damage. The oil also works to keep your engine clean, prevent dirt from building up, and keep your engine from overheating. Clearly, your oil level is incredibly vital to the performance of your car! As such, we want to guide you on how to check your oil level to ensure that you do not drive your car into danger.

Firstly, make sure that your car is turned off and safely parked on a level surface, then proceed to pop the hood of the vehicle. You will need to locate the oil dipstick, pull it out and wipe it off with a clean, lint-free rag.

Next, insert the dipstick back into the pipe to re-submerge it and obtain a clear indication of the level of oil inside. Follow this up by pulling the dipstick back out and looking at the film of oil on the end of the stick – this indicates how much oil is in your car.

Every dipstick has a way of indicating whether the oil level is high or low, whether it be with two pin holes, the letters L and H (for Low and High), or the worlds Min and Max. It goes without saying that an oil level towards the bottom of the range needs topping up, whilst a level towards the ‘Max’ mark is sufficiently full.

For a more visual demonstration, we recommend you follow this link to a helpful website that includes pictures and further explanation, should you need it!

Have an Emergency Car Kit

Along with your emergency first aid kit, it is highly advisable to have a basic emergency car kit in the boot of your car to help you out of undesirable situations. In conjunction with your medical supplies, we suggest you keep a functioning pair of jumping cables, a pair of pliers, screwdrivers, and wire cutters at hand, in case of an emergency.

A flashlight is incredibly useful for night-time disasters, especially if your battery has died or malfunctioned and your headlights are no longer working. Keeping a roll of insulation tape or another strong adhesive tape is always handy and may help you in more than just car-related incidents! Finally, you can never go wrong with a spare blanket, some drinkable water and non-perishable foods stashed in the boot, as life really is an unpredictable journey, and these simple provisions could save your life in a disaster.

We hope that our female readers can empower themselves with these car tips every woman should know, and go on to feel safer, more capable and more confident on the roads. You can contact us for all your car hire and bakkie hire needs and visit our blog for more interesting and helpful articles!