Even if you’re not a mechanic, there are some essential items you should know about your engine bay to help you understand driving and your vehicle.

Understanding some of the basic functions of your vehicle is part of being a good driver on the road. If your car isn’t performing properly, you might have an unsafe vehicle. Unfortunately, if you aren’t familiar with some of your car’s operations, you might never know what’s happening until it’s too late. Let’s take a look at some of the things you should know about the parts under the hood of your car that make it go.

Do You Know What the Alternator Does?

Before you worry about what it does, you should figure out where the alternator is located. Typically, this item sits at the top of your serpentine belt. This device is cylindrical and might remind you of an electromagnet. The alternator is the generator of your car. Battery power is used to start the car, but the alternator recharges the battery and provides power to the electronics in your vehicle. If your battery won’t hold a charge, you could have a bad alternator.

You Need to Know Where the Battery is Located

There could be a time when you need to jumpstart your car; are you going to call for help, or can you do this yourself? If you know where your battery is located in the engine bay and you keep a set of jumper cables in your car, you can do this yourself. The battery is a large square box that has two terminals on top and wires running to these terminals. If your battery goes bad, it’s extremely easy to replace without a mechanic.

Where is the Coolant Reservoir?

The coolant in your car helps to regulate the temperature and keep your car from overheating. If you notice the temperature gauge on your dashboard shining bright red, you might have a problem. The coolant reservoir is typically marked to let you know where it is. You don’t want to open this item when the engine is hot. If you don’t have any coolant in your system, you’ve got a leak in your cooling system. This could require a trip to the mechanic.

Brake Fluid is Extremely Important to Your Car

You should know where the brake fluid reservoir is in your engine bay, but you might never need to open this item. As long as the brake fluid is between the lines, you’re in good shape. If yours drops below the lines, you’ve got a leak in the braking system. When you do your own brake work, you’ll need to open this reservoir to help bleed the brakes and fill it with fluid, but most people don’t need to do this.

Do You Have a Power Steering Leak?

If your car is hard to turn, or it makes a high-pitched whining noise when you turn, it’s possible you have a power steering leak. Until you can get your car to the mechanic, you need to add some power steering fluid to the reservoir. This item is clearly marked in your engine and has a pair of lines on the side to tell you how much fluid you need. As long as the fluid is between these lines, you should be ok to drive the car.

Where is Your Air Filter?

One of the easiest items for you to change yourself is the engine air filter. This filter is located in the engine bay in a box that’s typically on top of the engine. It should be clearly marked. You want to have a clean air filter to provide the greatest levels of power and efficiency to your vehicle during your drive. Open the box and see if your air filter needs to be replaced. This is an easy job and one you shouldn’t pay a mechanic to do.

Are You Out of Washer Fluid?

When you find a person who doesn’t know what to do when their car runs out of windshield washer fluid, it’s time to take them by the hand and show them this simple item. This is another clearly-marked item in your engine bay, which makes it easy to find. The reservoir is usually at the front of the car, right behind one of the headlights. Purchase some wiper fluid and pour it in; it really is that simple.

What is a Serpentine Belt?

You probably won’t touch or do anything with the serpentine belt of your car, but you should know where it is and look at it from time to time. If you open the hood to perform another task, take a look at the one belt that drives everything. That belt is your serpentine belt. You want to look for fraying or breakage on this belt. If you find either, you need to take your car to a mechanic to have this belt inspected and possibly replaced.

Should You Check Your Spark Plug Wires?

Yes, you should know where they are in the engine bay and check them when you’re under the hood. Look for loose or burned wires. These plug wires connect to each spark plug, which is located in your engine block. Depending on how many cylinders you have tells you how many plug wires to look for. If you find anything that looks broken or burned, head to a repair shop to have this checked out by a mechanic.

How Can You Check the Oil in Your Car?

Oil can be tricky for some people. Most engines have a dipstick, which is a metal rod that reaches down into the engine oil pan to measure the depth of the oil and a place to put oil into the engine. The oil pan sits underneath your engine, but you check the oil from above. Locate the dipstick and the oil fill location. Typically, the oil cap will tell you what type of oil you should put in your engine. It’s a good idea to check your oil levels periodically and add a little when needed between oil changes.

Now you know a little more about where things are in your engine bay. With some of this basic knowledge, you can avoid being a hazard on the road by recognizing when something is wrong with your car.