Golf Cart Maintenance 101: Intro
Whether your golf cart rolled off the assembly line last week or has been cruising around the streets of your neighborhood and paths of your golf course for years, it represents a significant investment. But here's the kicker: maintaining your golf cart is surprisingly affordable - as long as you stay on top of it. As the old saying goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." It’s much easier (and cheaper!) to maintain your cart regularly rather than fixing it after it breaks on you.
Golf cart maintenance is incredibly important for three simple reasons: ensure a safe and enjoyable experience, prevent financial burdens, and reduce frustration and anxiety:
- Safety: First and foremost, maintaining your golf cart is key to keeping you, your passengers, and everyone around you safe. Golf carts are heavy and can move fast enough to seriously injure (or kill) you. Regular maintenance can catch issues like faulty brakes or worn golf cart tires before they lead to accidents. It’s about protecting not only your well-being but also protecting you from the emotional aftermath that accidents cause.
- Financial Savings: Neglecting maintenance always leads to expensive repairs. You might get lucky for a while. But eventually, your deferred maintenance will cost you hundreds or even several thousands of dollars in replacement golf cart parts. Worse yet, maintenance neglect can result in your cart being unusable when you really need it.
- Reliability and Peace of Mind: Well-maintained golf carts provide a sense of security and freedom. They allowing you to travel all around the neighborhood or course without a worry in the world. You can enjoy family activities without interruptions, and reduce the emotional toll of being stranded or dealing with cart troubles constantly.
Don't believe that maintenance is important? Just ask me about the time we got our Batman Tumbler golf cart stuck (with only 10 miles on the odometer / barely touched batteries) under an overpass in Phoenix, AZ because we didn't maintain the batteries properly over time! Just because you didn't use your batteries, doesn't mean they won't die out and cost you $1,000-$2,000 to replace. And THAT is why preventative golf cart maintenance is so important.
Picture of our Batman Golf Cart Stuck due to Lack of Maintenance (forgot to maintain brand new batteries)
12-Point Golf Cart Maintenance Checklist
For the past 10 years now, we have been working with the best golf cart owners on Earth (our customers) and both giving and receiving advice and tips on how to best keep your golf cart maintained. We have turned this list of tips and advice into a quick checklist that will not only keep your golf cart in peak condition year round, it will also make sure you enjoy as many seasons as possible with your cart.
The comprehensive GTCS 12-point Golf Cart Maintenance Checklist is designed to prioritize safety, reliability, and of course avoiding unnecessary costs for you and your cart. We've ordered the list by what we feel is most important (your life), followed by the smooth/easy operation of your cart, and then finally the habits that can increase your cart's lifespan and reduce the chance of having expensive repairs along the way.
Safety First:
These series of checks are what we deem critical for ensuring the safety of you as the driver of your cart, and all your passengers.
-
Inspect Brakes (every few months)
Regular inspection and maintenance of brakes are vital to prevent accidents. This includes checking brake pads, drums, and cables for wear and proper adjustment. -
Check Tires Pressure (each use)
Maintaining the correct tire pressure ensures better handling and reduces tire wear, enhancing safety. -
Inspect Lights and Mirrors (monthly)
Ensuring all lighting and mirrors are functioning correctly is crucial for safe operation, especially for street-legal carts. -
Check Steering Wheel Assembly (yearly)
Regular checks of the steering mechanism, including tightening bolts and greasing the rack, ensure good handling and prevent accidents.
Reliability:
Get in, and go! That is the goal here. Keeping your golf cart reliable means less downtime and fewer frustrating interruptions while riding. Which means more memories with your loved ones and friends. To keep your golf cart reliable:
-
Charge Your Cart's Batteries (every day)
For electric carts, daily charging prevents battery degradation and ensures readiness. -
Check the Water Levels in Batteries (weekly, applies to Lead-Acid batteries only)
Proper electrolyte levels are crucial for battery health and performance. -
Get an Annual Professional Service at your Local Golf Cart Shop (yearly)
An annual check-up by a professional can catch issues that may be missed during regular maintenance. -
Properly Store when Not In Use (periodic)
Proper golf cart storage, including using a golf cart battery charger / maintainer, covering your cart in adverse weather conditions, etc., will preserve your cart’s condition and ensure it's ready when you need it.
Financial Savings:
At the end of the day, we all want to save money. And while preventative maintenance does take a small amount of time, these simple practices will help you avoid repair costs and extend the life of your golf cart (and its batteries):
-
Clean Batteries (monthly)
Keeping battery terminals clean prevents power loss and prolongs battery life. -
Battery Replacement (as needed)
Replacing all batteries at once, rather than mixing old and new ones, ensures optimal performance and longevity. -
Lubrication Schedule (varies by model)
Regular lubrication of moving parts like the steering system and suspension helps avoid premature wear. - Fluid Changes (for Gas carts)
Changing your cart's oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter regularly will help keep your cart breathing and running properly.
Now that you have an understanding of how to care for your golf cart to the highest level, below we provide you with two quick tools. One is a PDF checklist for your use. You can print this and use it any time you head out to the garage to do a full checkup. The second tool is a few bullets on generalized maintenance for Electric golf carts vs. Gas Golf Carts.
Golf Cart Maintenance Checklist PDF
If you prefer to print off a simple checklist to use when going over your cart, please click here for the Golf Cart Maintenance Checklist PDF. We also have the quick hit checklist below in bullet point format for your golf cart.
Quick Refence for Electric vs. Gas Golf Cart Maintenance
-
Electric Golf Cart Maintenance:
- Each-Use: Charge batteries before and after using. Keep cart plugged into a golf cart charger to maintain batteries when not in use.
- Weekly: Check battery water levels (if you have lead-acid batteries).
- Monthly: Clean batteries and add water if needed (Lead-Acid only, not Lithium), check tires, inspect lights and mirrors, check the steering wheel.
- Yearly: Comprehensive brake system inspection, annual professional servicing.
-
Gas Golf Cart Maintenance:
- Each-Use: Make sure you have gas!
- Weekly: Check fuel gauge operation and clean fuel cap.
- Monthly: Inspect gasoline engine, lights, mirrors, replace engine oil, inspect fuel system for leaks.
- Yearly: Check and replace fuel and air filters, inspect brakes, exhaust system, fuel filter, and spark plug. Annual professional servicing.
Summing it All Up
While we are always happy to help sell you replacement golf cart parts to keep your cart going for years to come... we would rather just have you follow this simple list and help you keep that maintenance budget money in your pocket. Then you can use all that extra cash you save on a fresh set of golf cart wheels and tires or new golf cart accessories with us instead =).
If you have any questions about your golf cart, call us any time and for any reason at 1-844-422-7884. Thank you!
