The name “preventive maintenance” speaks for itself; helps prevent your car from requiring more advanced and expensive types of maintenance in the future by fixing small problems early. You should bring the vehicle to a garage if you notice any vibration, strange smell, smoke or strange noises coming from the engine, brakes or other parts of the vehicle. Sometimes your vehicle doesn’t give any physical signs that something is wrong, which is when preventative maintenance comes into play. Regular maintenance and inspections of your vehicle will keep it running smoothly and prevent you from shelling out big bucks on repairs later.
At Glenn’s Auto Repair, we want our clients to get the most out of their vehicles, so we’ve put together this list of 4 types of preventative maintenance you should consider doing every year.
1. Timing Belt Check: Your timing belt plays a big role in how well your engine runs. It regulates the pistons and camshaft so that important parts of your engine do not bang together and cause unnecessary friction. When a timing belt stops working, there is grinding and rubbing that can mean major repairs and replacements for your engine.
Your timing belt should be replaced every 60,000 miles, but even if you’re not quite ready to replace it, it helps to have it checked once a year to make sure everything’s up and running.
2. Oil Change: Perhaps the most mentioned preventative maintenance on our blog, oil changes are important to keep your engine running smoothly. Muddy or thick oil contaminates the components in your vehicle, preventing them from running properly and causing dirt to build up in the mechanics. You should have your oil changed every 3,000 to 10,000 miles depending on appearance.
To determine if the oil needs to be changed, check the oil. This is something your mechanic can do for you during preventative maintenance, but it’s also a task you can do at home without worrying about damaging your vehicle with DIY procedures. Whether you use an electronic dipstick or a traditional dipstick, if you own a vehicle, you should learn how to check for clean oil.
3. Battery check: There is not much your mechanic can do for your battery other than replace it, but the battery will tell us a lot about the life of your vehicle. For example, if your battery should work like new but is having trouble starting the vehicle or maintaining a charge during use, it may be because the starting and charging system is having trouble.
A trained mechanic like our team at Glenn’s Auto Repair will check for leaks, deposits, and other issues that could be causing your battery to malfunction. Sometimes something as small as build up on the contacts can prevent it from working. Your mechanic can clean it up for you, make minor adjustments, and have your vehicle back in its prime.
4. Tire Alignment: Over time, the way you drive your vehicle can wear the tread unevenly and cause your tires to move from where they are placed on the vehicle. If your tires are not lined up correctly, it can cause steering problems. Anytime you change tires, you should do an alignment to make sure everything fits properly on your vehicle. Also, don’t forget to rotate your tires regularly so that the tread wears evenly on both sides and creates a smooth ride.
It may seem like a lot of time and money when you’re changing tires to get ahead and get alignment and rotation, but it’s worth it. Vehicles that don’t have their tires rotated and aligned end up needing brand new tires much sooner than usual.
For more information on preventative maintenance or to book an appointment with one of our certified mechanics, contact us today. At Glenn’s Auto Repair, we work hard on your vehicle so you don’t have to. By using our preventive maintenance services, you can save a lot of time and money on repairs in the future. If you’d like to learn more about the different types of preventative maintenance your vehicle requires and why it’s important, check out our other blog posts.