5 Mistakes of Car Maintenance You Must Know

[Ellen Pam]

1. Not Changing Air Filters:

Air filters trap the dust, debris, grit and pollens so that the engine receives clean air. This is why they get clogged with these particles over the time. A clogged air filter affects the engine's performance which in turns leads to numerous drivability issues. It may be resulted into the failure of various sensors on a car which costs you much in repairs. So it's important to get air filters changed from time to time to ensure a long life and better performance of the car engine. We recommend you'd better change your air filters after every 12,000 miles or as per the instructions given in your car's user manual.

1. Delaying oil Change:

Older cars often require oil change more often than newer cars. Old and dirty oil doesn't lubricate your engine efficiently and fails to prevent it from overheating. Furthermore, it affects your fuel mileage and the life of the vehicle. Generally, your car manufacturer will recommend an oil change on time frame like 3 months or your mileage like 3,000 miles.

1. Not Checking Your Tire Pressure:

Checking your car tire pressure is as essential as other maintenance steps. Under-inflated tires affect your car's fuel economy, steering, suspension and other components, thereby leading to costly repairs, It also makes your tires wears faster which leads to frequent tire replacement. On the top of that, you might get a flat tire or an exploded tire in hostile circumstances. Besides, checking tire pressure, make sure to take a note of tire rotation and alignment.

1. Neglecting to Check Your Brakes:

Brake pads tend to wear down more often as they are one of the most used parts. Needless to say brakes are the most important feature from the viewpoint of safety. You can't afford to skip their maintenance as they stop your car. Otherwise, no one likes to go through the walls or bump into the tree. Listen to your brakes. Do you hear squeaking noise when you applied the brakes? It means that time has come to replace your brake pads. Even consider changing the pads if its depth is less than that 1/4 inch. Replacing your brake pads can be expensive but getting into a mishap due to worn out brakes is more costly.

1. Not Stopping the Car Even When Engine is Overheating:

Driving the car with an overheated engine is not a good idea. When the engine overheats, the seals start to melt or crack--all of which may lead to leaks. And you end up with a damaged engine. So, it is better to turn off your engine and park your car to the sides of the road. It may be safe to drive if the car is okay with coolant. Otherwise, for a tow truck. By avoiding such car maintenance mistakes, you can save on the cost of common car repairs and time being wasted in the auto repair shop.

If you think this is useful, please do not forget to thank me.

[Kic]

I would like to add this:

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE MANUFACTURER ON SERVICE SCHEDULES

Example: gearbox oil is almost never in the maintenance plan. So called "Fill for life"
So you see a bunch of 200K gerboxes with failed bearings (prime example is Fiat/GM M32 box).
Just so that the service and maintenance cost seem low and to help with the "planned obsolescence" scheme like all other consumer products.

Another is a 30000Km oli change interval. After two oil changes there is heaps of sludge and caked on oil in the engine you would think the oil was never changed.

[rideon]

Nice try trolling this section of the forum btw...

Not Changing Air Filters:

There goes the sales for MAF sensors

Delaying oil Change:

No more engines to de-sludge/rebuild

Not Checking Your Tire Pressure:

Easy money to be made while recommending a wheel alignmen

Neglecting to Check Your Brakes

Always better to replace pads+rotors,not only pads

Not Stopping the Car Even When Engine is Overheating:

This one got some towing involved

[Stelaras26]

Generally, your car manufacturer will recommend an oil change on time frame like 3 months or your mileage like 3,000 miles.

Man you are right,but no manufacturer would say oil changes every 3 months or 3k kms,at least here in greece.
they propose every 15 or 20000 kms to do the oil changes,which is extremely stupid.