As a driver for any Rideshare company, you have to make sure your vehicle is in excellent condition because if your car breaks down, you have no way to work. So with your car being so crucial to your job, there are numerous things you need to look out for when it comes to the upkeep and maintenance of your vehicle. Here is a list of the top 10 crazy maintenance things rides are drivers should look for.
Brakes
It is not all about going fast but a lot about being able to stop quickly as well. You have a customer in your back seat, and their well being is now in your hands. It is all about safety and making sure you get the passenger to their destination in one piece.
Your brakes play a big part in your customer’s ride experience with you. You don’t want to stop too fast but not have a spongy brake pedal either. So inspecting your brake system is a must before clocking in for your shift.
Take a look at your brake pads and see the thickness you have left, if you 
have ⅛” to 3/16″ left of your friction plate (the pad) remaining on your backing plate, then it is time to replace those pads.
If your vehicle is squeaking from your brakes when you apply them, then run your fingers over the brake rotor when it is cold, if there are engraved grooves in the rotor then your brake pads were worn down too far, and they will need to be replaced and the brakes rotors as well.
You can either resurface or replace the brake rotors depending on how much thickness remains on the brake rotors. Lastly, we need to check our brake fluid reservoir. If you have a squishy brake pedal, this is where we need to check first.
If you are out of brake fluid, you need to check for a leak. If you are low, you need to make sure you fill it back up but do not go over the max fill line.
It is always better to be safe than sorry. Heres my article on 5 Simple Ways to Protect your Car in Hurricane Season.
Leaks
Using this time to check your vehicle for any leaks is vital to your car. It is your chance to catch a problem before it becomes a significant problem. You need to look under your vehicle and see if there are any puddles or spots left by liquid on the ground. If you do not see any move into the engine bay and look for any damp places.
The easiest way to look for those is to look for wet dust. Dust and dirt will attach to the leaking fluid, seeing this will give us the location of the leak. If you do not find any, then you are good to go and can start your shift.
If you do find a damp spot, we have the evidence that there is an active leak and we need to see where it is coming from. Anytime you find evidence of a leak; you need to follow that leak upward since liquid runs downward. You need to follow its trail to find its original location where the leak started.
Usually, it is just a loose clamp or cracked hose but doing your preventive maintenance checks. You are saving yourself from a massive headache and expensive repair down the road.
Rips in seats
Rips in seats have nothing to do with the mechanical side of your vehicle, but when I was doing Rideshare, I would always check my seats. Yes, you sometimes get a passenger that forgets something now and then.
But mainly you are doing this for preventive measures if a customer damaged the seat you need to submit a claim to the company for it. Remember your vehicle’s cleanliness and mechanical healthiness are how your passengers tip you.
They want to make sure they get to their destination safely and without having to sit in filth to get there. So make sure you keep your seats clean and attractive with no damage.
You will be surprised by this one here’s my article on 12 Crucial Maintenance Things to Check on your vehicle.
Tire tread depth
This is exceptionally important when it comes to rideshare. I had a tire go flat on me during a ride, and it was so embarrassing, but it was due to a nail not because of the tire itself.
According to Tire Rack, you should consider replacing your tires when the tread depth gets to 4/32″ this will give you still some tread before showing the internal braids.
Here is a tip, when you get your tires changed make sure you pay for the road hazard warranty which is only a couple dollars extra per tire. This will ensure if you run over a nail or some random debris in the road and it shreds your tire, you will be able to get a new tire for no charge.
If you run over a nail, your tire is covered as well, and I found this to be beneficial when I was doing rideshare. When checking your tires, make sure the air pressure is even on all tires and is to manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure.
Spare tire quality
This check goes hand and hand with checking the rest of your tires, yet people still forget to check their spare. That’s like having a ketchup bottle with no ketchup in it. In the situation where you need your spare tire, you will not have it because you have not checked the quality of your spare, you might not even have one!
So make sure you check your spare tire when you check the rest of your tires. Also, make sure the air pressure is excellent, and the tire is in a good state. You want to verify that the tire has not become dry rotted from sitting too long.
Fluids
This is highly important in your engine. Fluids can be your oil, transmission fluid, coolant, windshield washer fluid, and brake fluid. These are the fluids that make up your engine and each important in its system.
Make sure you are consistently checking your fluids because without any one of those their system ceases to be. The only liquid that has a specific way to check is your transmission fluid. With that, you need to have the vehicle running and in the neutral gear selection.
Keeping these under observation will give you a heads up that something is not running correctly if these fluids drop in level, not including the windshield washer fluid. Your fluids are your first line of defense that will tell you when a problem with your vehicle is starting.
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Carpet and Seat stains
You are a rideshare driver, and you should know why your vehicle shouldn’t have stains all over it. You want and need to keep a clean car at all times. This not only shows your passenger that you care about your vehicle, but you care about them as well and know they deserve to have a clean ride to their destination.
Smell
You need to sit down in your vehicle, grab the steering wheel, and take a deep breath in….do you smell anything? If the answer is yes, then you are wrong, no one in this world wants to get in someone else’s vehicle and have it smell terrible.
To get rid of any smell is why you need to use carpet powder in your car and have air fresheners. Keeping your car fresh gives your passenger a clean scented ride, and this helps you get better tips as well.
From a maintenance point of view keeping your vehicle clean is the easiest way to see if the car has a leak or another component problem. It is a lot more challenging to recognize leaks and other issues if the vehicle is covered in dirt and filth.
Interior clean and free of dust
Keeping your interior clean is a great ride for the passenger. This point is vital to protect your interior from additional wear and tear that your vehicle receives from sitting in the sun.
The UV rays from the sun will start to tear up your dash if you have a car around ten years old. The sun will also sun bleach your dashboard as well, so an excellent cleaner and protectant that I use is the Armorall cleaner and protectant.
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Keep the wax on and Let it Shine
No doubt about it you will have a fantastic looking ride with all this cleaning I am telling you to do, but wax plays a crucial role in your vehicle’s exterior. Again the sun will tear up your car, have you ever seen a car with the clear coat flaking off?
That is due to no wax to protect the paint and clear coat. Wax provides a protective layer against the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. If you can be
consistent with applying the wax or at least go to the car wash with the spray on wax at least, you have some form of protection guarding your vehicle.
A vehicle is an investment in your daily life, so show your investment you care just like you would a savings account. You would want your savings account protected as well so start protecting your other investment today.
In Conclusion
It might seem like cleaning your vehicles don’t do anything for maintenance, but from the mechanic’s point of view it is always easier if the car is clean before they look for the problem, it makes it quicker to spot and fix so you can be on your way.
Also if you do not work on your vehicle, then you understand mechanics charge per hour, if you keep the search time low for the problems the labor rate will be low as well because they will spot the problem quicker! So consider these tips and keep your maintenance interval up to date.
Thank you for reading my article! I hope you enjoyed it and it was helpful to your problem at hand. Check out my YouTube channel and subscribe to get up to date how-to video guides. Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy my next piece!
