I was invited last Saturday by the good
people over at TOC (The Otomotif College), Automotive College in
Petaling Jaya to participate in their short course called Car
Maintenance 101. Now this half day course is basically a beginner's
guide towards how one can keep a car in good nick, make basic
repairs, give basic driving tips and safety pointers to its
participants.
Basic knowledge of car related stuff is
actually important. Basic car maintenance will enable you to keep
your car in roadworthy condition and may save you some costly repairs down the road. The course will make
participants familiar with car servicing, inspect fluid
levels in their cars, inspect and if needed change a tyre (or two),
learn how to use the common car maintenance tools such as jacks, spanners,
screwdrivers (not hammers for everything) and also have some knowledge on safe driving techniques
as well as dealing with slightly more challenging situations like
loss of control, dealing with accidents and other (important) stuff.
And so, I arrived promptly at the
scheduled time where I had breakfast, ate and drank some tea, and shortly after that, sauntered into the lecture room for the
initial briefing. Now before I get into the the subject matter
further, I have to say that when it comes to car maintenance I can
do, and have done the basic car maintenance and repair stuff on cars
that I have owned since I was eighteen. I have removed carburettors,
changed over twenty or so car batteries, replaced fuses, changed a
flat tyre many times, did emergency repairs with duct tape, prayed to
God so that my car starts after everything has failed and more. I
suppose this is because of the love I have for all things on four
wheels. So technically, if snobbish me were in charge, I'd flat out
refuse to spend half a day going through something I already know
like the back of my hand.
But then again, these days, a refresher
course is always a good thing. In my old age (43, not that old lah) I
tend to be a little lazy these days. In the age where dealerships,
insurance companies, AAM and more provide for towing services and/or
on the spot repairs for small problems (as well as the fact that I am
not a poor college student or a lowly paid company executive or
slave), I told myself that it would be good to brush up the basics
and also see whether the basics have moved on from when I first
started driving a long, long time ago. Snobbery lost out of course
and I found myself in that lecture room paying attention
to the course instructor.
The TOC Car Maintenance 101 course is
actually quite good for people with short attention spans. The pace
is brisk as the course instructor was quick but precise in covering the
basic car maintenance stuff – basic major car components, basic servicing and
more. He also said that we would be headed to the TOC
work/practical area so that everyone can experience how basic
car maintenance checks should be done on the cars provided. The
participants this time around consisted of a group of bloggers who I
believe are not from the automotive field. There was also a group of
people from MMC (previously Malaysian Mining Corp. - since they no
longer do mining per se, it is now just MMC). These people from MMC
were a nice bunch of people who were mostly company drivers and also their administrative staff. They were sent by the company as part of the
company's employee development. I joined this group of people to
actually get a real feel of the actual people who want/need to
participate in the course.
Rag in hand for wiping the engine oil dipstick prior to checking the oil level
We were then broken up into smaller
groups of five people and we were assigned to a car/station each –
we had 30 minutes of under hood maintenance/checking on stuff like
checking fluid levels for the engine oil, the automatic tranmission
fluids (ATF), coolant levels as well as other stuff checking the air filter or when should the fluids be changed. It may be simple,
but you actually learn simple tips like ATF levels should be checked
when the engine has been running awhile, and it is usually not
accurate when the engine is cold. This simple tip could actually save
a person a few thousand Ringgit.
We then moved to the next station which
was chassis system inspection where the instructors explained on tyre
condition, wheel alignment and how to change a flat tyre. Here, one
or two of the group changed a wheel. The proper techniques were
thought and how to overcome a situation if a flat occurs in a spot
where it may be dangerous to change a tyre. This is just one of the
things explained.
So how do you remove a car battery? A spanner...correct. Not a hammer. You do not hammer the battery out of a car. Unless you're Jeremy Clarkson of course...
Next came the engine electrical
inspection. This basically means the car's charging and storage
system. And how easy it is to change a battery and how to jump start
a car. Other tips too. And finally, the practical session ended with
body electrical inspection. Here we learnt how to change headlights,
tail lights and best practices on how a car's lighting should be kept
in good condition.
After the groups finished all practical
stations the participants then adjourned to the lecture room where
there was a Q&A session on anything that the participants wanted
to ask as regards basic maintenance as well as anything automotive
related on their minds. The course was, in not too many words short
and sweet. The basics of car maintenance/checks have been covered.
No, you don't get to do an oil change or even replace an alternator
belt. I suppose the reason for that is simple. This is Malaysia and I
can actually bet on it that this is something that everyone leaves to
their mechanic. Labour costs are still super reasonable (no matter
what Malaysians think – hello, head over to Australia and see how
much they charge for labour over there).
What is provided in this
course are what most people should be expected to do as regards their
cars. Routine fluid checks and the knowledge of how to successfully
change a car battery, change a flat tyre, change some light bulbs and
some initial diagnosing of a car's problem. The only drawback I saw
was the fact that road safety tips and techniques should be stressed
even more. I felt that more could be explained instead of just
provided in the course handout (which is quite thorough) . As
such I have actually explained this to one or two of the people at
TOC (as well as in the feedback form of course). I think this will be
incorporated in the practical sessions next time around. I hope they do as sometimes, people absorb information better if they just listen to it rather than read it (and they might be lazy to read course handouts...who knows).
TOC's Car Maintenance 101 course is
actually a pretty good way to spend half a saturday brushing up on
basic stuff. Yes. I actually learnt some stuff and remembered what I had forgotten too. I also had a change
to meet and mix with a group of people too. The social interaction is
indeed a good thing. After participating I am of the opinion that the
course would be a good start before anyone wants to try tackling
serious vehicle maintenance and repairs. It is suitable for group
participation – car clubs, groups and companies would benefit from
teamwork participation and as part of their co-curricula activities .
It is also suitable for parents who wish their kids have some basic
knowledge before they start driving or when they start driving.
Actually it is something simple for everyone. It only costs RM200 per
person (group discounts should be applicable) and is conducted on
saturdays usually. Do contact them if any of you are interested.
Learning new stuff or brushing up on knowledge is a very good
thing. Even if you think you know it all, you may have actually
forgotten the basics. I suppose this is what Car Maintenance 101 has
thought me.
Participants get to change the lightest wheel and tyre combo...from a Perodua Viva. Thank God it wasn't the wheel from the Mercedes Benz S-class parked beside it.
Light bulbs, instrument clusters...gloves, you actually need to make sure you don't hold the glass portion of any bulb with your bare fingers when changing lightbulbs. Why? There is a reason for it of course...
Every participant gets a cert...i.e something to frame up on the wall or keep in a file. Woohoo!
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