Car Basics

Warning light on?

Tap the symbol you see on your dashboard.

Instant answer: what it means, whether you can keep driving, and what the fix usually costs.

Step-by-step roadside guides

One step per screen, big tap targets, safety callouts — made to be used from your phone when it actually happens.

How to Change a Tire

Change a flat tire safely in about 20 minutes.

12 steps · 25 min

How to Jump Start a Car

Jump start a dead battery safely with the correct cable order: red to dead +, red to donor +, black to donor −, black to bare metal on the dead car.

11 steps · 15 min

How to Parallel Park

Parallel park in 8 repeatable steps: line up mirror-to-mirror, reverse at 45°, straighten, and tuck in.

9 steps · 10 min

How to Rotate Tires

Rotate your tires every 5,000–8,000 miles with the right pattern: forward cross (FWD), rearward cross (RWD/AWD), X-pattern, or side-to-side for staggered setups.

8 steps · 50 min

Tire Pressure Light: What to Do

TPMS light on? Check and inflate to the door-jamb PSI (not the sidewall max), then reset the light — by driving, a button, or a menu, depending on your car.

7 steps · 15 min

Flat Tire Repair: Plug, Patch, or Replace?

Which flats can be repaired and which can't: tread punctures under 1/4 inch can be plugged or patched; sidewall, shoulder, and large damage mean replace.

8 steps · 30 min

How to Replace a Car Battery

Replace a car battery in 20 minutes: negative terminal off first and on last, memory-saver tips, hold-down removal, and how to dispose of the old battery.

10 steps · 20 min

How to Clean Battery Corrosion

Clean white/green battery terminal corrosion with baking soda and water, a wire brush, and terminal protectant — safely, negative terminal first.

7 steps · 20 min

How to Do a 3-Point Turn

Turn your car around on a narrow road with a 3-point turn: pull right, full-left forward, full-right reverse, forward out.

7 steps · 5 min

How to Merge Onto a Highway

Merge onto the highway smoothly: use the full on-ramp to match traffic speed, signal, find your gap, and slot in — plus zipper-merge etiquette.

7 steps · 5 min

Built to be used, not read

Tap-through tools designed for a phone, on a shoulder, on bad signal. Every page works as a static page — fast anywhere.

Safety-first guidance

Procedures follow mainstream automotive guidance, with callouts where a job can hurt you. When in doubt, we say call a pro.

Your manual always wins

Specs vary by vehicle. Where they do, we point you to your owner's manual instead of inventing numbers.