Preventive Maintenance & Inspection
Oil, filters, fluids, safety inspection, done right.
Preventive Maintenance & Inspection is the foundation service every mechanic performs. Includes proper multi-point inspection methodology and pre-purchase inspection standards. Everything below is free, no login, no paywall. Work through the skill areas, drill them in Study Mode, and when you're ready, prove it with the certification exam.
Your readiness to certify
Drill all 60 concepts in Study Mode. Mark each one "Got it" once you know it cold. When every concept is cleared, you're ready for the PMI exam.
What you'll be able to do
- Oil change procedures across major platforms (including oil filter housing variants)
- Fluid services: transmission, differential, transfer case, brake, coolant
- Air and cabin filter service
- Belts, hoses, and pulley inspection
- Battery load testing and inspection
- Multi-point inspection methodology
- Pre-purchase inspection standards (35-125 point PPI)
- Customer reporting: what to recommend, what to defer, what to prioritize
Skill areas
7 lessons, each one short enough to finish in a break. Every lesson teaches the system from the ground up, ends with a call to work, and tracks which concepts you have cleared.
Oil Service
The oil change is the most common service in the shop, and it is also where the most preventable damage happens.
Fluid Services
Every fluid in a vehicle is engineered for a specific job, degrades in a predictable way, and fails expensively when neglected or mismatched.
Multi-Point Inspection
The multi-point inspection is where a shop earns trust or loses it.
Belts and Hoses
Belts and hoses are cheap rubber parts protecting expensive metal ones.
Air Filters
Air filters are the simplest parts on the car and among the most misjudged.
Battery
The battery is the one component whose failure is nearly always predictable — and nearly always predicted too late.
Pre-Purchase Inspection
A pre-purchase inspection is the one service where your customer isn't the person who owns the car.
Studied the material? Get PMI certified.
The Preventive Maintenance & Inspection exam turns what you just learned into a verifiable credential drivers and shops can look up. 45 questions · 60 minutes · 75% to pass · Free.
Studying on MechanicRank is free forever. There's no obligation to take the exam.
The work these lessons teach.
Real jobs from Supercanic trucks — the systems above, out in the field.
Real-world cost guides for this system.
See what customers pay for the jobs this track teaches, parts, labor hours, and state-by-state ranges from our repair cost estimator.
Standards and further reading
Primary sources behind this page. Federal safety, emissions and consumer-protection references, worth reading before you authorize any repair.
- fueleconomy.gov maintenance guide DOE and EPA guidance on how maintenance affects fuel economy and engine life.
- ASE certification The national standard for automotive technician testing and certification.
- FTC guide to federal warranty law Magnuson-Moss: why independent service cannot void your factory warranty.
- California Bureau of Automotive Repair Licensing, consumer complaints and shop regulation in California.