Using a vehicle maintenance log template is the best way to monitor the repairs done to your vehicle. This type of log is usually used by industries that use trucks and others for their business. Also, people use this log to keep track of their car’s functionality.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is Vehicle Maintenance Log?
- 2 What is a car maintenance check?
- 3 Basic types of vehicle maintenance logs:
- 4 Why should you keep a vehicle maintenance log?
- 5 The elements of a vehicle maintenance log:
- 6 When to maintain your vehicle?
- 7 What do you have to do to maintain your vehicle?
- 7.1 Read the owner’s manual of your car
- 7.2 Determine the significance of preventive maintenance
- 7.3 Inspect your own car
- 7.4 Check your car’s fluids
- 7.5 Check and change your oil regularly
- 7.6 Check your vehicle’s battery
- 7.7 Replace your car’s parts when required
- 7.8 Check your tires and alignment regularly
- 7.9 Finally, change spark plugs of your car
- 8 How to use the log?
- 9 How do you keep car maintenance logs?
- 10 Which tools can be used to store a vehicle maintenance log?
- 11 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Vehicle Maintenance Log?
A vehicle maintenance log is a historical record of an individual vehicle that how is it condition and when repair work is done on it. It is used for the purpose of safety, preventive maintenance, and record-keeping. From ranging small businesses to large transport operators commercial fleet owners used it. It can also be used for both maintenance work and general vehicle inspection checks.
What is a car maintenance check?
Keeping your car in proper running and better condition needs a little bit of effort. If you want to keep your car in top-running condition then you should know the basics about what your car needs and when should you perform routine car maintenance. There are three types of car check-ups. The first one is short-term check-ups, the second one is long-term check-ups, and the last one is seasonal check-ups.
- The short-term check-ups include oil and coolant levels, air filter, tire pressure and tread depth, headlights, turn signals, brake, wax vehicle, and parking lights.
- The long-term check-ups include transmission fluid, transfer case fluid, and inspect shocks and struts, coolant fluid exchange, spark plugs, and serpentine belt.
- The seasonal check-ups include replacing windshield wipers, battery performance check, change tires, and check coolant levels.
Basic types of vehicle maintenance logs:
Personal and professional vehicles require daily maintenance. Surely, the former requires less servicing than the latter. Auto maintenance logs prove very useful in various situations. You have to perform daily checks and maintenance of the vehicles. Moreover, you have to keep track of mileage and odometer readings in your log in case you sell used cars. For buyers, this is important to know this information.
In some situations, the regular maintenance is crucial for your safety. You need to make sure your vehicle is running properly if you’re a member of an emergency response unit. Check the log to ensure that a vehicle underwent regular servicing before you use it.
For different situations, you can make different kinds of logs. Let us discuss below common types of logs that you can download or make;
- Commercial vehicle maintenance log
- Daily vehicle maintenance log
- Emergency vehicle maintenance log
- Fire truck maintenance log
- Weekly vehicle maintenance log
Why should you keep a vehicle maintenance log?
Here are the reasons for keeping this log;
- With the help of a log, you can keep track of the services provided for the maintenance of your vehicle.
- You can easily determine the services that your vehicle has undergone.
- It would be easier to create a schedule for the services your vehicle may need in the future.
- The log enables you to calculate the price of services easily rather than doing it manually.
- If something goes wrong with your vehicle then the maintenance log makes it easier to retrieve information and enables you to get better service from the maintenance personnel.
The elements of a vehicle maintenance log:
You may have already tried to keep one type of log in your life. Keeping track of maintenance would help be very helpful if you have a log. To keep track of your equipment’s functionality, you should use an equipment maintenance log. A car maintenance log can be used to monitor the health of your car and so on.
You can download a template online if you need. It’s important for you to include all the relevant components in case you decide to make one yourself. These include the following;
- The battery record
- The brakes
- The lubrication
- The mileage or odometer readings
- The mirrors
- The oil filter and motor record
- The suspension system
- The tires and tire pressure
Also, you should contain the repair records. If your vehicle underwent some extensive maintenance, these are particularly important. You can add as much information as you want if you are creating your own template. You just have to ensure that you add these basics so that you don’t forget anything when performing a check. You may also like vehicle checklist templates.
When to maintain your vehicle?
You have to maintain your vehicle in the following situations;
Own a taxi operation service
The car maintenance log is required as a standard feature for the regular checkups of your service vehicles.
Mileage records and odometer readings
You need a car maintenance log to track mileage, odometer readings, and other details. When you want to sell your vehicle, this becomes particularly important. When buying a used car, this is an essential consideration that potential buyers want to find.
A Formula Race Car service team
You should make a comprehensive maintenance log if you are part of a Formula race car service team. This makes sure better chances of winning. Moreover, for the racer of the car, it can spell the difference between injury, life, or death.
Member of an emergency response unit
You have to maintain your vehicle in case you are a member of an emergency response unit. The log ensures that because of an issue with your vehicle, you don’t end up in an emergency.
What do you have to do to maintain your vehicle?
The best way for you to prevent deterioration is regularly maintaining your vehicle. In case, you are a car owner, then by having daily checks and keeping a lot will be very helpful. By good maintenance, you will save you a lot of money. Also, it makes sure your safety while using your vehicle.
You will definitely know if you’ve already tried working on cars that repairs can cost a lot of money. Therefore, it is better to perform preventive maintenance to grab problems early on. Let us discuss below some other ways that you can employ to maintain your vehicle;
Read the owner’s manual of your car
Your new purchased car always come with an owner’s manual. It will include the suggested maintenance schedule. Manufacturers contains useful information on the manual. This involves how often you should modify the oil, the filters, timing belts, and more. To keep your vehicle running, you will also know what kind of oil to use.
Determine the significance of preventive maintenance
The experienced car users have idea that car repairs can cost a lot of money. The sad thing is that in the first place you could have done more to prevent the problems.
Inspect your own car
It is recommended that you should learn how to do an inspection of your own vehicle. Whenever you do so, you should ensure that to write down all your findings in your car maintenance log. You can do it at any time as this is a basic procedure.
When you check your car, you will become able to discover anything that’s out of the ordinary. You should perform inspection of your lights, your tires’ air pressure, your car’s mileage, and more. In addition, bring your vehicle to the shop immediately if you discover anything strange.
Check your car’s fluids
Of course, you don’t know how to change your car’s fluid. But, you must learn how to check it. You can sometimes check the fluid’s level directly. However, there are dipsticks or gauges in some cases that you can pull out. By doing this, you can see the level of your car’s fluid. Again, to find out how you can check the different fluid levels, go through your vehicle’s manual. Add more or have the tanks filled when you see that your car’s running low on fluids. Have your vehicle checked immediately in case you see any leaks.
Check and change your oil regularly
Also, it is important for you to know how to check the oil. The difference between clean oil and muddy or murky oil, you must know. You will save you a lot of you money by knowing this. Furthermore, this will also provide you an idea in case something’s wrong with your car’s engine.
Check your vehicle’s battery
Nowadays, most batteries don’t require much maintenance. However, it is still essential to have knowledge where you car’s battery is. You should inspect the batter once in a while in order to ensure that there aren’t any leaks. Additionally, to see if there’s any buildup, examine the contacts. Clean it off if you find anything using a battery cleaning brush.
Replace your car’s parts when required
There are specific parts of the car you may have to replace on daily basis. At first, you have to replace your windshield wipers. Doing this is crucial particularly when they make streaks on your windshield. It may seem not relevant but you have to keep in mind that visibility is key when driving. Wipers are easy to replace and they are also quite cheap.
Check your tires and alignment regularly
Again, check your owner’s manual to know information on how often you should have these checked. This is an essential section of preventive maintenance. You have to ensure that your car’s tires wear evenly to make sure that it drives smoothly.
Finally, change spark plugs of your car
The spark plugs may get worn out or get covered in buildup as time goes by. Your engine won’t work as efficiently when this happens. It is also a fairly easy task to check and change your engine won’t work as efficiently. But, you can always go to your mechanic if you don’t want to change them yourself.
How to use the log?
Consider the following tips to use the maintenance log;
Only include important details
Include relevant vehicle details so that it would be a lot easier to navigate your vehicle maintenance records. You should include the following details;
- The make and model of your car
- Insurance details
- The VIN
- Details about maintenance, repairs, and inspections
- The person who performed these
- The date when they occurred
- The mileage readings
- Repair costs
- Replacement parts and damages
Schedule regular maintenance
When you make scheduled vehicle maintenance inspections daily, this makes sure that you collect details regularly. Make a register for all the vehicles that you have for your business. After that, make a maintenance schedule for each one. It is also important to specify the inspection frequency and the individual who performs the inspections.
Take pictures for proof
Photographs are the greatest evidence of your vehicle’s condition. In the case of poor repairs or maintenance, pictures can help support your insurance claims. It would be recommended to reference your photo proof to the particular vehicles. The time when you performed the inspection, include it.
How do you keep car maintenance logs?
Following are the 4 ways to keep a car maintenance log;
- Firstly, begin a paper trail. Write down the dates and details of the car maintenance service that your vehicle undergoes. However, you can also type information on your computer or print it and keep it in a folder. But still having an easily accessible paper trail is a common and practical way to keep a car maintenance log.
- Next, download a car maintenance app. There are many apps that will allow you to keep a track of your car.
- Another way is to keep a track of car maintenance is MS Excel. You can use a car maintenance log template to keep track of the dates you have your car serviced, what was done, and how much it was.
- And the last method is to keep a track of the car maintenance log is a reputable and reliable auto repair shop.
Which tools can be used to store a vehicle maintenance log?
Here are the tools that you can use for storing a log;
Paper-based methods
It may seem outdated to keep a physical copy of your maintenance log. But, this method is practical and reliable to record and organize your vehicle’s maintenance history. It is an excellent option to use a printable template for making a detailed record of your car’s maintenance details. It enables you to keep track of the following details in a well-structured manner;
- Maintenance work done
- Service dates
- Costs incurred
Digital tools
It can be a convenient and efficient method to use digital tools to store and manage your vehicle’s maintenance records. Car owners are allowed to download customizable apps to input basic details about their vehicle such as;
- Make and model
- Access Statistics
- Graphic charts
- Reports about their car
Hybrid methods
To manage your vehicle’s maintenance records, the hybrid method combines both paper-based and digital tools. Using MS Excel is a good option. It provides a spreadsheet template that makes you able to record service dates, maintenance work done, and associated costs. By using this method, you can easily access and manage your maintenance details because it gives the flexibility of having both physical and digital copies of your records.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Vehicle log maintenance can be formidable. It’s very difficult to keep the schedule of oil changes and brake jobs with so many things going in your life. So, the only thing that helps you to keep the track of your vehicle with regular maintenance reminders, service records, fuel-tracking, and much more is maintenance apps. Here is the list of some maintenance apps;
1- CARFAX CAR CARE
2- Drivvo
3- AUTOsist
4- My Car
5- Fuelly
6- Simply Auto
7- Openbay
8- Auto Care 1
Routine maintenance is compulsory in order to keep a vehicle running properly. You have to daily maintain the following components of your vehicle;
1- Inspect HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)
2- Inspect suspension components.
3- Check the tires
4- Oil changes and air filters
5- Check the brakes.
6- Inspection of the engine.
