Commercial truck maintenance isn’t just a good habit, it’s crucial for your business, whether you’re a CDL truck driver, towing company, waste management professional, or landscaper.

You rely on your truck to get the job done while staying compliant with federal regulations.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires you to inspect, repair, and maintain all motor vehicles and intermodal equipment that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction.

Routine proactive maintenance helps you to prevent breakdowns, improve driver safety, mitigate operating expenses, and extend your commercial vehicle’s lifespan.

Three pillars of preventative maintenance:

1. Systematic inspections – Regular pre-trip and post-trip inspections.
2. Immediate repairs – Address defects as soon as they are found.
3. Scheduled maintenance – Follow manufacturer-recommended service intervals.

Doing Preventative Commercial Truck Maintenance

Routine maintenance can be as easy as cleaning, oiling, monitoring fluid levels, or doing simple visual inspections.

Review the parts of your truck that wear down more frequently, like wipers, brake linings, tires, or air filters.

You can streamline preventative maintenance by doing the following things.

Commercial Maintenance Tips for Fleet Owners

Here are four key tips for fleet owners and fleet managers. These tips will help you improve issues in your fleet and stay stronger on the road.

Create a Timetable

Create a timetable for each vehicle in your fleet to help keep a maintenance schedule for each one. This will help you stay organized and effective. Use these benchmarks:

• Engine hours
• Fuel levels
• Miles

Teach Your Drivers

If you have employees driving your vehicles, show them the importance of quality inspection procedures for their commercial vehicle.

They should know how to check the vehicle’s brakes, tires, fluids, and electrical system.

Take Inventory of Your Fleet / FMCSA Requirements

• Truck details: make, model, year, VIN, and fleet number.
• Maintenance history: logs of past and upcoming maintenance
• Tire specs and service schedules: ensure compliance with safety regulations.

Keep Track of Preventative Maintenance Tasks

FMCSA requires each vehicle to have at least one year of recorded and scheduled service to stay compliant.

So, rather than using outdated paper logs, consider tracking your maintenance tasks using a digital file management system—it’s safer, more visible, and easier to update.

Semi Truck Preventative Maintenance Checklist

Here we will give you great examples and real checklists for the daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and FMCSA regulations! We have added the most important things that need to be checked before rolling, and you can easily share the daily and weekly checklist with your fleet drivers, giving them exact examples of what and where they need to check.

1. Daily and Pre-Trip Inspections

Before hitting the road, always do a quick check to catch small issues before they become major headaches.

• Fluids: Check oil, coolant, transmission, brake, and power steering fluids. Low levels can lead to serious damage.
• Tires: Take a look for uneven wear, low pressure, or any signs of damage. A blown tire can shut down your trip fast. And cost you a lot of money if you will call for a roadside assistance or repair shop to help you.
• Lights & Signals: Headlights, brake lights, turn signals. Suppose the lights or signals on a semi truck or trailer do not work. In that case, you have a higher risk of getting stopped by a police officer because your signals do not work, receiving a ticket for it, and possibly getting a DOT inspection where they will find something else.
• Air Brakes:Listen for air leaks, test the brakes, and check for any grinding noises. Take a look at this video to have a real instruction on how to do it: This video we took from Over the Road YouTube Channel.

Air Brake Test | 3-Steps
• Windshield & Wipers: For sure, in the best scenario, but many times truck drivers continue driving with these issues, or fleet managers force drivers to keep driving. Please do not forget—visibility is key for safety.

Note: Our recommendation to all truck drivers is to always do the pre-trip inspection before you go on the road. While doing it, take a video or pictures of everything you're checking to have proof that you checked it before you left. This will be more helpful for you to avoid getting involved in any issues with your company, like being asked why you didn’t check it. It can also be very helpful if DOT stops you and finds something. You can show the video or pictures with the date and tell them: 'I checked it before I went, and here is the video proof. This happened while I was driving, and it’s hard to feel or see it inside the cab. There were no issues on the dashboard that could signal me about the problem.'

2. Weekly Maintenance

Some things don’t need daily checks, but ignoring them for too long can cost you.

• Battery & Electrical System: Check terminals for corrosion. Sometimes disconnect your battery terminals, use a wire brush to remove any corrosion or debris from the terminals and battery connectors, and spraying them with WD-40 will be great for your truck. You will have much fewer electrical issues. I know a lot of truck drivers will never do this, especially company drivers, but for owner-operators, it can work and bring results.
• Greasing Moving Parts: Apply grease where needed, especially on the chassis
• Belts & Hoses: Look for cracks, wear, or leaks—these are easy to miss but can cause breakdowns.

3. Monthly & Scheduled Service

Stick to a regular service schedule to keep your trucks in top shape, and do not ignore it. Otherwise, you will need to pay for repairs on the road and call for towing to the nearest repair service.

• Oil & Filter Change: Stick to the manufacturer’s schedule.
• Brake System Inspection: Worn pads, leaking air lines, or weak brakes? Get them checked and fixed before they fail.
• Transmission & Differential Fluids
• Fuel System: Change filters and check fuel lines to keep the engine running smoothly.

4. Seasonal & Annual Maintenance

• Cooling System Flush: Prevent overheating by flushing the radiator and replacing coolant.
• Alignment & Suspension: Bad alignment leads to uneven tire wear and handling issues.

Compliance & Record Keeping

Staying organized saves time, money, and DOT headaches.

• FMCSA & DOT Inspections: Stay ahead of regulations and avoid fines.
• Maintenance Logs: Keep track of all services, repairs, and inspections.
• Driver Reports:Drivers are the first to notice issues — encourage daily reports to catch problems early. Because this can save you a lot of money and nerves.

Creating a Demand Maintenance Checklist

An example of an on-demand checklist could list when you’ve replaced a dead battery, fixed a fluid leak, or replaced damaged sensors.

The key features:

• Maintenance is performed only when needed, based on part failures or inspections.
• Includes battery replacements, repairing electrical systems, and fixing mechanical issues.

Creating a Standard Maintenance Record Checklist

Ensures compliance and provides a historical reference for audits, resale value, and warranty claims. Helps track recurring issues and patterns in fleet maintenance.

You know, it’s the same as if you don’t go to the doctor year after year. What will happen after a few or ten years? You’ll find a lot of health problems (which could have been much fewer if you took care of your health by eating healthy food and doing exercises!). The same applies to your semi trucks and trailers. If you have these checklists and follow them, you can have many fewer problems.

What Makes an Accurate Truck Maintenance Checklist?

A semi-truck maintenance checklist should cover:

Semi-Truck Maintenance Costs & Budgeting

Average annual maintenance cost: $15,000 per truck. Costs increase with truck age; budgeting should be per mile to manage expenses efficiently:

• New truck: 5 cents per mile
• 150,000 miles: 6 cents per mile
• 300,000 miles: 7 cents per mile
• 600,000 miles: 10 cents per mile
• 750,000+ miles: 15 cents per mile

Seasonal Maintenance Considerations

The weather seasons impact the condition of semi-trucks and trailers as well. It’s great to do seasonal maintenance before and during the seasons, such as:

Warm Weather:

1. Check the AC system for leaks.
2. Flush coolant and check electrical wiring.
3. Monitor tire pressure to prevent overheating.

Cold Weather:

1. Inspect brakes for freezing.
2. Check windshield wipers, defrosters, and fluid levels.
3. Maintain proper tire tread depth (4/32” for steer tires, 2/32” for others).

Common Mechanical Issues to Monitor

1. Airlines & hoses
2. Alternators & wiring
3. Brake system
4. Tire wear and inflation
5. DEF system maintenance
6. Coolant and transmission fluid replacements

Digital Maintenance Tools & Checklists

Replacing paper-based checklists with digital solutions (like do Forms) helps:

• Automate scheduling and tracking.
• Maintain secure maintenance records.
• Improve compliance with FMCSA regulations.
• Reduce paperwork loss or damage.
• Enable remote access to maintenance logs.

Aftermarket Parts are Essential for Most Commercial Vehicle Repairs

To ensure your truck’s longevity and be compliant with FMCSA regulations, commercial fleet owners can invest in low-cost replacement components for the following categories:

Engine & Transmission Upgrades

• Aftermarket air filters improve airflow and extend engine life.
• High-performance engine oil and fuel filters trap contaminants more effectively.
• Aftermarket clutch kits and transmission coolers enhance longevity in heavy-duty applications.

Braking System

• Heavy-duty aftermarket brake pads and rotors last longer and provide better stopping power.
• Upgraded air brake hoses are reinforced for added durability.
• Aftermarket ABS sensors improve braking accuracy, reducing accident risks.

Lighting & Electrical System

• LED aftermarket headlights and taillights improve visibility and safety.
• High-performance batteries and alternators ensure reliability in extreme weather conditions.
• Upgraded wiring harnesses prevent electrical failures and enhance connectivity.

Wheels, Tires & Suspension

• Aftermarket shock absorbers and suspension components improve ride quality and extend tire life.
• Aluminum wheels reduce weight, increasing fuel efficiency.
• Heavy-duty aftermarket lug nuts and wheel seals offer added durability.

Comfort & Interior Accessories

• Ergonomic aftermarket truck seats reduce driver fatigue.
• Upgraded HVAC systems ensure better climate control in extreme weather.
• Premium weather-resistant floor mats and dash covers protect the interior and maintain resale value.

Customization options to meet specific fleet needs.

Maintaining your commercial vehicle is part of maintaining a profitable, growing business no matter your industry. Systemizing your inspections with maintenance checklists is a great way to productively scale maintenance tasks.