Car Maintenance Checklist
What to check on a car monthly, at each oil change, every six months and every year — ticked off with the date and mileage.
Details
car maintenance checklistRed highlights mark what is still blank. Everything stays on this device.
| Vehicle | [year, make and model] |
| Odometer | [reading] miles on September 25, 2026 |
Every month
| Check | Date | Mileage | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tire pressures, including the spare, set to the placard on the driver’s door jamb | ☐ | ||
| Tire tread depth, uneven wear, cuts or bulges | ☐ | ||
| Engine oil level on the dipstick | ☐ | ||
| Coolant level in the reservoir (engine cold) | ☐ | ||
| Windshield washer fluid topped up | ☐ | ||
| All lights: headlights, brake lights, turn signals and reversing lights | ☐ | ||
| Fresh drips or leaks under the car | ☐ |
At every oil change
| Check | Date | Mileage | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil and oil filter changed | ☐ | ||
| Rotate the tires if the manual calls for it | ☐ | ||
| Brake fluid level | ☐ | ||
| Drive belts and hoses: cracks, fraying or soft spots | ☐ | ||
| Wiper blades: streaking or splits | ☐ |
Every six months
| Check | Date | Mileage | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battery tested; terminals clean and tight | ☐ | ||
| Check | Date | Mileage | Done |
| Brakes: pads, rotors and the parking brake | ☐ | ||
| Exhaust: leaks, rattles or damage | ☐ | ||
| Air conditioning and heater working | ☐ | ||
| Underbody washed, especially after winter road salt | ☐ |
Every year
| Check | Date | Mileage | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabin air filter replaced | ☐ | ||
| Engine air filter replaced, or sooner in dusty conditions | ☐ | ||
| Steering, suspension and wheel alignment checked | ☐ | ||
| Coolant condition and strength checked | ☐ | ||
| Emergency kit: jack, lug wrench, warning triangle, first-aid kit, jumper cables | ☐ | ||
| Check for open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls | ☐ |
Longer intervals — follow the owner’s manual
| Check | Date | Mileage | Done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spark plugs | ☐ | ||
| Timing belt, if the engine has one | ☐ | ||
| Brake fluid replaced | ☐ | ||
| Coolant replaced | ☐ | ||
| Transmission fluid | ☐ |
What is a Car Maintenance Checklist?
A car maintenance checklist is a dated record of the routine checks a vehicle needs — tires, fluids, lights, brakes, filters — grouped by how often they come around: monthly, at each oil change, every six months and every year. It matters because many expensive failures give warning first. A tire that loses a little air each week, or a coolant level that keeps dropping, is cheap to catch in your driveway and costly to meet on the highway.
Owners use it to keep one car on schedule; households with more than one vehicle keep a sheet per car so the records never mix. It suits a new driver learning what to look at, someone who has just bought a used car with no service history, a parent handing a car to a teenager, and a small business whose vans are driven by people who do not pay for the repairs. Kept in the glove box, it tells a mechanic or a buyer what has been done and when.
The intervals come from the manufacturer, not a rule of thumb. The owner’s manual sets them, often as a normal schedule and a severe one for short trips, towing, dusty roads or extreme temperatures, and many newer cars have an oil-life monitor that works out when the oil is due. Legal checks vary by place: minimum tread depth is a state matter in the US and a fixed minimum in the UK and Australia, and some US states require safety or emissions inspections, while the UK has its MOT test. Check your state’s motor vehicle agency or GOV.UK.
The checklist is a record and a reminder, not a diagnosis. A check mark next to “brakes” after a glance at the pads does not make the brakes safe, and a full sheet does not replace work the manual assigns to a technician, such as measuring brake wear or replacing a timing belt. It cannot tell you about safety recalls either; those are looked up separately by VIN. And a dashboard warning light overrides the schedule: it means something has changed since your last check.
What to put in a Car Maintenance Checklist
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Owner optional | For example: Jordan Miller |
| Vehicle (year, make and model) | For example: 2019 Honda CR-V EX |
| Registration or plate optional | For example: OH JKM 4821 |
| Odometer now | For example: 48,250 |
| Distance in | Free text |
| Your own items optional | One per line |
How to write a Car Maintenance Checklist
Identify the car exactly as registered
Write the owner’s name, then the year, make and model as the registration shows them — “2019 Honda CR-V EX,” not “the Honda” — and the plate number. Trim and engine matter because parts and schedules can differ between them, and the plate ties the sheet to one car when a household has several. Add the VIN under your own items for recall checks.
Record the odometer and the unit
Write today’s odometer reading and whether the car counts in miles or kilometers, so nobody confuses the two on an imported car. Then write the reading beside every check you complete, not just the date. Manuals often set intervals by distance or time, whichever comes first, and a reading next to “oil changed” shows when the next change falls due.
Copy the intervals from your manual
Open the maintenance section of the owner’s manual, or the manufacturer’s schedule online, and pick the schedule that fits your driving. The manual defines severe use; short trips, towing, dusty roads and stop-and-go traffic often qualify. Write its intervals for oil, filters, tire rotation and brake fluid beside the matching items. With an oil-life monitor, follow the monitor and any time limit the manual adds.
Add the items your car needs
A general checklist covers what most cars share. Use your own items for what yours has: a spare tire nobody remembers to check, an inflator kit in place of a spare, a roof rack, a trailer hitch and its lights, or a child seat. Diesels and hybrids have extra entries in their manuals; electric cars skip oil changes but still need tires, brakes and wipers checked.
Date every check and keep receipts
Each time you complete a line, write the date and odometer reading, and initial it if several people drive the car. File the shop receipts behind the sheet. Dated records support a warranty claim, where the question is often whether scheduled work was done on time, and they help at resale, because a buyer can see the car was looked after instead of taking your word for it.
Common mistakes
- Inflating tires to the maximum pressure molded on the sidewall instead of the figure on the driver’s door placard, which overinflates them, reduces grip and wears out the center of the tread early.
- Judging tread by eye instead of with a gauge, which lets a tire slip below the legal minimum where you drive — 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tread in the UK, 1.5 mm in Australia, 2/32 inch in many US states — without anyone noticing.
- Following a one-size oil-change rule of thumb instead of the manual or the oil-life monitor, which either pays for changes the engine did not need or, under severe use, leaves old oil in too long.
- Checking items off without the date and odometer reading, so the sheet cannot show a dealer weighing a warranty claim, or a buyer, when the work was done.
- Waiting for a recall letter instead of looking up the VIN yourself, because notices go to the address on record and owners who bought used or moved can be missed.
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a car maintenance checklist?
Split it by frequency. Monthly checks you can do yourself: tire pressure and tread, oil and coolant levels, washer fluid, lights and wipers. Longer items tied to the oil change, the six-month mark and the year: tire rotation, brakes, filters, battery, belts and hoses. Your owner’s manual sets the exact intervals, so copy them in. Every line needs a date and an odometer reading, or it proves nothing later.
How often should I service my car?
As often as your owner’s manual says for the way you drive. Many manuals give a normal and a severe schedule, and many newer cars have an oil-life monitor that works out when oil is due. Ignore one-size rules of thumb: the right interval for one car can be wrong for the next. If you have lost the manual, the manufacturer’s website or a dealer’s service desk can give you the schedule.
How do I check my tire pressure?
Check when the tires are cold, before you drive, because driving warms the air and raises the reading. Use the figure on the placard on the driver’s door jamb or in the owner’s manual, not the maximum printed on the sidewall; front and rear figures can differ. Remove the valve cap, press a gauge firmly on, and add or release air until it matches. Check the spare too.
What maintenance does a car need every year?
The mechanical items come from your owner’s manual, which may put brake fluid, filters or a full inspection on a yearly or distance-based cycle. Then the paperwork: renew the registration and insurance when they fall due, book any safety or emissions inspection your state requires (or the MOT in the UK), and look up recalls by VIN. Replace wiper blades that streak and restock the roadside emergency kit.
How do I find out if my car has a recall?
Look it up by the vehicle identification number (VIN), which is on your registration and insurance card and on the dashboard where it meets the windshield on the driver’s side. In the US, enter it at nhtsa.gov/recalls; in the UK, use the DVSA vehicle recall checker on GOV.UK. Recall repairs are done by the manufacturer’s dealers, so call one to book the work, then write the date on your checklist.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.