Routine Maintenance

Most of us ignore automotive maintenance until our vehicle stops working, and then we wonder why it happened. Automotive maintenance is one of the most important aspects of owning a vehicle since it determines the durability, performance, and reliability of a vehicle. Every vehicle has its own maintenance schedule as specified by the manufacturer and is usually required at regular intervals at 5k miles, 15k miles, 30k miles, and beyond.

The actual schedule for your vehicle's maintenance varies depending on the year, make, and model of your vehicle, the driving conditions it operates under, and the behavior of the driver. There are two kinds of maintenance that should be performed regularly: Regular and Preventive Maintenance.

When preventive maintenance is performed, a part is replaced to avoid future damage or for safety reasons. An example of preventive maintenance would be replacing your brake pads or timing belt. This kind of maintenance "prevents" additional expenses, by not allowing inevitable part failure to occur.

Automotive manufacturers provide recommendations for the so-called "ideal" service schedule based on varying parameters and usage facts like:

• The number of trips made by the vehicle, and distances traveled per trip per day
• Operating in extreme hot or cold conditions
• Driving on mountainous, dusty, or de-iced roads
• Heavy stop-and-go driving vs. long-distance cruising
• Towing a trailer or otherwise adding weight to your vehicle

Our experienced service advisors can recommend adjusting your scheduled service intervals based on your individual circumstances, and these can often be different than the manufacturer's recommended service schedule.

COMMON VEHICLE MAINTENANCE

Common vehicle maintenance includes some of the examples below, depending on how your vehicle is used:

• Exterior and Interior Vehicle Wash
• Oil Changes, which include replacing the engine oil and oil filters
• Tire rotations

TYPICAL TIRE MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS

• Inspect tires for pressure and wear
• Balance tires
• Rotate Tires
• Wheel Alignment

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TODAY'S TUNE-UPS

In modern vehicles advanced electronics control most of the mechanical and safety functions, so the traditional "tune-up" service is a thing of the past. Today embedded software takes care of a lot of your vehicle's maintenance functions by constantly checking thousands of sensors, compensating for worn-out spark plugs, clogged filters, etc. Our service advisors will work with the on-board systems on your vehicle to keep everything running safely and efficiently.

TUNE-UP CHECKLIST

• Check, clean, or replace battery and battery cable
• Inspect or replace brake pads
• Check or flush brake fluid
• Check or flush transmission fluid
• Check or flush power steering fluid
• Check or flush engine coolant(Radiator)
• Inspect or replace spark plugs or spark plug wires
• Inspect or replace air filter
• Inspect or replace timing belt or timing chain
• Inspect or replace all other belts
• Check all lights
• Check to see if rubber boots or covers are cracked and replace if necessary
• Test electronics, i.e., Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
• Read fault codes from the engine's control units (computer diagnostic)