One of the most infuriating things in life is watching the check engine light come on while driving down the highway. This little orange light has a tendency to make people anxious and worried about the costs associated with breakdowns and the inconvenience of being stranded and having no means of transportation to and fro for work and other daily events. Most costly breakdowns occur due to a lack of a proactive approach to vehicle repair and maintenance.
“Preventive maintenance” refers to the process of doing the necessary work to maintain your vehicle before a breakdown occurs, instead of waiting for a component to fail. The out-of-pocket cost to perform the work is an investment, but the payoff for the investment is well worth it. Performing routine work to maintain your vehicle will save you the huge costs of a catastrophic part failure, maintain the resale value of the vehicle, and provide a safe daily commute.
What Exactly Does It All Mean?
Preventative maintenance is speaking to the recommended work that should be done by the vehicle’s manufacturer. This is in no way speaking to repairing a flat tire and a broken headlight but is instead speaking to the wear and tear components of the vehicle, things that will naturally wear out with the passage of time. The best source to find the recommended schedule for this type of work will be the vehicle’s owner’s guide.
This routine maintenance involves a number of inspections and replacements. This includes changing the engine oil and filter to make sure the internal components are well lubricated and cool. It involves rotating the tires to ensure even wear to prolong their life and enhance fuel efficiency. This process also involves checking and replenishing the levels of essential fluids such as coolant, brake fluid, and transmission fluid.
Furthermore, it covers the replacement of air filters, checking the belts and hoses for any signs of cracking, and the condition of the batteries. It is simply a health check for the machine to take note of any signs of a possible sickness before developing into a full-blown disease.
What Happens When You Choose to Neglect the Maintenance of Your Vehicle?
Missed appointments for the services listed above might seem like an ideal way to cut costs in the short run, but the long-term repercussions will be cost-sacrificing. Car maintenance from German auto repair in Peoria, AZ, for example, prevents a complex process where a malfunction in a single component leads to a chain reaction to the detriment of other components.
Think of the engine oil in your car. If you don’t take the time to maintain it, the oil will eventually turn to sludge and accumulate in the engine’s passageways, preventing the engine from getting the lubrica
tion it requires to operate properly. The absence of proper lubrication will cause the engine’s components to grind against each other, an action that generates friction and enormous amounts of heat. The engine will seize and fail, and in the end, you will be forced to pay a repair fee of thousands of dollars due to the failure to maintain an engine oil change that costs a mere fifty dollars.
At the same time, neglecting your brake pads will destroy your rotors too. Brake pads are made to wear out, but once those friction components wear off, the metal will rub against the metal, and that will wear out the rotors and calipers. Moreover, a lack of proper maintenance impacts the fuel efficiency of the vehicle. If the tires are not properly inflated and the air filter is filled with debris, the engine will work overtime, and you will be burning fuel to get from point A to point B.
Don’t Wait for the Breakdown
The difference between a car that makes it to 200,000 miles and one that shelves at 100,000 miles is very often simply a question of taking routine steps to maintain the vehicle properly. Preventive maintenance will be the best shield against the shock of an unexpected repair cost. By taking steps to correct problems such as a dirty engine oil, a bad engine belt, and low vehicle fluid levels, you will nip in the bud the disasters that send the average vehicle to the junkyard too early.
