grey smoke coming from Ford ka after coolant added.

Ebe_Scrooge

moneysavvy35 wrote: »

I don't look after the car as well as I should. but I make sure its gets serviced every year.

Having it serviced every year is good, but you really should be checking the basics like oil, coolant, tyres etc. yourself regularly. They're called "weekly checks" for a reason. In general, if the level of any type of "liquidy thing" starts to drop then it indicates a leak and needs to be looked at to prevent further damage. The one exception possibly being brake fluid - the level will drop slightly as the brake pads wear down. Certainly if the coolant has been allowed to run completely dry then you risk some very expensive damage.


Quite apart from any potential safety issues, buying a car represents a pretty substantial outlay for most people. Personally, I can't afford for mine to get knackered for want of a bit of very simple maintenance.


This is not meant as criticism, hopefully it's more "education".

gazfocus

It might be worth checking whether you were meant to add water to the antifreeze/coolant. The only reason I say this is because I had to top mine up at the weekend, and nearly didn't realise I had to add water....good job I read the instructions (in the nick of time).