8.2 Vehicle Components, Maintenance & Malfunctions

8.2 Vehicle Components, Maintenance & Malfunctions

[!NOTE] Two required standards, not one. WAC 308-108-155(2)(a)(ii) requires teaching vehicle components, and (a)(iii) separately requires vehicle maintenance and malfunctions. The behind-the-wheel twin, (b)(i), is vehicle components and safety technology. A course that mentions the dashboard in passing does not satisfy three standards.

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Systems a driver education course must cover

Braking. Hydraulic service brakes on all four wheels, a separate parking brake, and on virtually every modern vehicle an anti-lock braking system. Students should know that firm continuous pressure is correct with ABS, that the pedal pulsation and noise are the system working, and that the parking brake is a mechanical backup that can be used for a controlled stop if the service brakes fail.

Steering and suspension. Power assistance means steering effort rises sharply if the engine stops. Students must know that a stalled engine does not lock the steering while the key is in the run position, but it does make the wheel very heavy and the brakes very hard.

Tyres. The only contact with the road, and the component with the highest safety return per minute of attention. Cover inflation pressure (found on the driver's door jamb placard, not the tyre sidewall), tread depth, uneven wear as a symptom of alignment or inflation problems, sidewall damage, and load and speed ratings.

Lighting. Headlamps on low and high beam, daytime running lamps, tail lamps, brake lamps, turn signals, hazard warning lamps, reversing lamps and licence plate illumination. Teach the legal duty to use headlamps from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise and whenever visibility is reduced, and the courtesy rule of dipping high beams for oncoming and followed traffic.

Glass, mirrors and wipers. Vision is the whole task. Wiper blades are a consumable; washer fluid should be topped up as routine, especially in a training vehicle running all day.

Engine, cooling, electrical and fuel. Enough for a driver to understand a temperature gauge, a battery warning, an oil pressure warning and a low fuel state, and to know that a temperature or oil pressure warning means stop, not continue to the destination.

Restraint systems. Belts, pretensioners and airbags as a single system: an airbag is a supplemental restraint that assumes a belted occupant.

Warning indicators students must recognise

The red-versus-amber distinction is the teachable principle: red generally means stop now; amber generally means arrange service.

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The daily pre-drive inspection

Instructor Standard 2.2.2 requires the instructor to "inspect the vehicle for safety before behind-the-wheel lessons" and 2.2.3 to "identify potential safety concerns related to the instructional vehicle and conduct vehicle safety checks regularly." A two-minute routine covers it:

Walk the vehicle.

1. All four tyres - visible inflation, tread, no sidewall damage or embedded objects.
2. Lights - headlamps, tail lamps, brake lamps, both turn signals, hazards. Use a wall or a helper.
3. Glass and mirrors - no obstructing damage; mirrors intact.
4. Student driver signage displayed and legible, as RCW 46.82.360(2)(c) requires at all times when instruction is being given.
5. No fluid pooling under the vehicle.

Inside. 6. Dual brake - full travel, firm, and the brake lamps illuminate when depressed. On a manual, the dual clutch as well. 7. Instructor's rear view mirror adjusted to your seated eye position. 8. Warning lamps illuminate at key-on and extinguish after start. 9. Fuel and washer fluid adequate for the lesson. 10. Emergency equipment present: twenty-piece first aid kit, secured and fully charged fire extinguisher, and the strobe, triangle or two eighteen-inch cones - WAC 308-108-110(1)(a).

Items 4, 6, 7 and 10 are compliance items as well as safety items. Items 1 to 3 and 8 are what you should be teaching the student to do on their own vehicle for the rest of their life.

Maintenance intervals and the training fleet

WAC 308-108-110(1)(b) requires an annual vehicle inspection form meeting DOL's minimum equipment and safety criteria, "conducted by or for the school owner." WAC 308-108-140(1)(d) requires that report to be on file at the main school location for all vehicles in use, not less than annually. WAC 308-108-110(2) requires the original insurance policy, current registrations and the annual inspection report to be kept at the primary place of business, and RCW 46.82.360(8)(c) requires vehicle records to be retained five years.

Beyond the compliance minimum, a training vehicle accumulates unusual wear: constant low-speed manoeuvring, frequent hard-ish braking during interventions, and a clutch operated by learners. Sensible practice is to inspect brakes and tyres far more often than annually, to track dual-control linkage wear specifically, and to log every check so the annual report is a summary rather than a scramble.

WAC 308-108-140(1)(e) requires reporting to DOL within 10 days any vehicle added to or removed from instructional service, and WAC 308-108-140(1)(b) bars a collision-involved vehicle from returning to service until an inspection report has been forwarded to the department.

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Teaching maintenance to a novice

Anchor it to consequences, not to schedules. "Check your tyres monthly" is forgettable. "Underinflated tyres lengthen your stopping distance and are the main cause of blowouts" is not.

Make the owner's manual a required object. Have students find, in their own vehicle's manual: the recommended tyre pressure, the oil change interval, and the meaning of two warning lamps.

Use the placard, not the sidewall. The number moulded into the tyre sidewall is the maximum pressure, not the recommended pressure. The recommended figure is on the driver's door jamb.

Teach the coin test, then improve on it. A tread depth gauge is better, but a coin gives students something they can do today.

Rehearse "what would you do" for each red lamp. Ten minutes of scenario work now is worth more than an hour of component naming.

[!WARNING] Exam traps in this section

• Vehicle components and vehicle maintenance and malfunctions are two separate required standards.
• The annual inspection is conducted by or for the school owner, on a form meeting DOL criteria - no specific technician certification is required by rule.
• Vehicle records are kept five years, unlike the three-year student record period.
• Recommended tyre pressure comes from the door jamb placard, not the sidewall.
• Red warning lamps mean stop; amber means arrange service.