How to Perform a Tune Up: Car Care 101

Performing a tune-up is an essential step to keep your vehicle running right.

Although the steps have changed slightly since new cars came with distributors and carburetors, the at-home tune-up isn't dead. It's just different.

In this video, we'll show you how to do a basic tune-up on your modern daily driver. This means paying attention to wide range of vehicle system—from the ignition systems to the brakes. We’ll start under the hood by inspecting the plugs, coils, and wires and replacing as necessary. Our tune-up also includes a check of all the essential vehicle fluids—oil, brake, and transmission.

You’ll also want to examine your brake and transmission fluid and flush as necessary. Here’s what to look for when inspecting your brake and transmission fluid: [Justin provide info] If a flush is necessary, you may want to do this at home or opt to have a professional shop do the job.

What about your tires?

You should check your tire pressure to ensure it’s within the manufacturer’s recommendations found on the sidewalls. Look over your tires excessive or uneven wear patterns. Wear patterns can tell you a lot about whether your car is misaligned or your tires are over or under-inflated.

Check out the video for our complete tune-up guide!

Tools Featured in this Video:

[chucktaylor]

Assumption is the mother of all screw-ups

[annadorn]

Very helpful overview for the novice car mechanic Thank you.

[santosnavarro]

When checking spark plugs never assume all of them are ok. Always check them all because even if they have all been recently changed the valve cover gasket may be leaking into the spark plug in which case the gasket will need to be replaced.

[johnbehneman]

Thank you so much. With summer road trips around the corner. It is important to make sure our cars and trucks are ready. To save us and the enviroment. Thanks for letting me share.

[honestopinion]

had to stop and say i lmao at the "we're gonna assume the other spark plugs are in great condition." 😂😂 so many can relate

[philodox]

Step #1 we are going to open the hood and assume that everything is good Step #2 we are going to close the hood and go back inside
( Information for people looking to learn, You can take out and look at only ONE spark plug and it could look fine, you could even take out 3 spark plugs and they could look great BUT the 4th could be way to clean or way to dirty because you could have a blown head gasket! or a valve cover leak, or a coolant leak, or bad valve seal, or misfire, or bad valve, you can't assume that the other ones are ok just because one is ok. The guy probably just misspoke and that happens BUT you can't let something that is that incorrect go uncorrected. The reason that you should check EVERYTHING is to catch a developing problem before it gets worse and brakes something else, NOW if your car is running perfectly then sure maybe you can skip checking all together and just change what should be change at regular intervals, but it wont hurt to unless you screw up and over tighten the spark plugs or cross thread them or something like that )

[ZEPRATGERNODT]

Great video...
You can’t assume plugs...the tubes they sit in could have a sealing issue at the head or valve cover - age and time. Even with some healthy miles on the reliable Toyota 5S-FE...it can happen.
Also, you really want to ignore plugs on 4th Gen Firebirds/Camaro’s? Who knows if the dealers even really changed them at the last dealer tuneup.
Just saying.

[devinthunderstrike]

Next time get a car that needs some stuff done so we can see bad stuff. It helps us regular folk recognize good from bad. I actually though the spark plugs looked old!

[hamsterdakidd]

I've had transmission instructors that DO NOT recommend transmission flushes unless the vehicle is has been serviced regularly. Drain and fills only

[umarfaruqh]

You forgot to check/clean throttle body

[levirivard]

you didnt even mention 02 sensors ....

[corruptedcat]

no way a tune up is just checking fluids and eyeballing the tires

[alexrubio]

Customer: give me that great value inspection.

Guy in video: say less, assume all