A car is one of the most expensive investments that a person makes in his life. Therefore, it’s very important to take good care of it. Car maintenance involves all those things that can retain its value and maintain its performance. Usually, people ignore several things that can help to maintain their car’s condition, considering them small or not too important.
Mistakes to Avoid with Car Maintenance
Here are a few common mistakes to avoid with car maintenance, let’s have a look at them below.
1) Skipping Routine Service
Taking your car for routine service is very important in order to maintain its performance and increase its lifespan. Routine car service includes proper cleaning and maintenance. The cleaning process involves washing the car from outside and removing inner dirt with the help of a blower. After you get your car clean, it’s necessary to get it checked by a mechanic and also get its maintenance done by him. The mechanic repairs or replaces your vehicle’s engine parts if required, and checks all the other things that are mandatory to do when getting a car’s maintenance done.
Skipping your car’s routine service can harm its performance by decreasing its engine’s lifespan. So never forget to take it for routine maintenance. If you live in Karachi, Pakistan, and have a Toyota car, we suggest you get your car’s service done by an authorized Toyota dealer in your town, such as Toyota Creek Motors.
2) Ignoring Oil Changes
Engine oil or motor oil is used to lubricate the engine parts in order to avoid friction in them. If the oil becomes old, its lubricating ability becomes weak, and hence friction is produced in your car’s engine. To prevent this, it’s very important that you get the oil changed as per your car’s manual or the instructions of a mechanic.
Commonly, it’s said that engine oil must be replaced after 3000 miles, but this figure is for old vehicles. Nowadays, in new vehicles, this figure has been replaced with almost 7000 miles, which means that you use your vehicle for a long time without an oil change. But a long time without an oil change doesn’t mean that you don’t have to get it replaced. So don’t ignore and delay it further. Whenever you finish the period, take your vehicle to get its oil changed.
3) Neglecting Tire Pressure
Neglecting car tires and their pressure is one of the biggest mistakes that people make with their car’s maintenance. Tires must be properly inflated, as due to less inflated tires, the engine has to apply more power to run the car. This can cause damage to the engine and tires both together and also increase fuel consumption. That’s why it’s very important to keep a check on tire pressure.
4) Delaying Fluid Checks
Apart from engine oil, there are more fluids that must also be checked in order to maintain your car’s performance. These include brake oil, gear oil, power steering oil, coolant, etc. These fluids have different purposes and are very important to keep your car in good running condition. So keep checking the quantity level of these fluids, and if you feel that the quantity has become low, get them refilled as soon as possible.
5) Driving the Car While The Engine Overheats
Driving your car when the engine is overheating can cause extensive damage to your car’s engine, radiator, and other connecting parts. Whenever you see that the gauge is showing a high temperature, never keep driving your car. Stop it wherever you are and wait until its engine gets cool. After the temperature becomes normal, open the radiator’s cap and check whether the water level is fine or not. If the water level is correct, get the car checked by any nearest service center.
6) Ignoring The Warning Lights
The warning lights on the dashboard show that something’s wrong with your car. Never ignore those lights and try to understand what sign it’s showing. If you recognize the problem, and you can solve the issue yourself, it’s good. Otherwise, get your car to a mechanic to get the issue resolved. Ignoring these warning lights can lead you to a bigger problem.
7) Neglecting Brake Problems
Brake is the most important thing in your car. If it isn’t working properly, you can’t even think of driving your car. Most times, people neglect minor issues in the brake, which can cause bigger issues like accidents, etc. Therefore, never ignore any problem in your car that’s related to the brake. Whenever you feel the brake isn’t working as usual, instantly take your car to the mechanic.
8) Ignoring Wheel Alignment
If you feel your car is turning automatically, or the tires aren’t rotating correctly, this means that the wheels have misaligned. This is a serious matter as not getting the wheel alignment done can damage both the wheel and the axle. Also, when you drive your car with misaligned wheels, it consumes more fuel and takes more energy to run the car. So don’t ignore your car’s wheel alignment and get them aligned when they become misaligned.
9) Not Replacing The Old Wipers
With time, windshield wipers become old and unable to wipe the shield properly.. Their rubber tears and the metal gets rusted, and their working ability is decreased. Because of this, you become unable to drive in snowy and rainy seasons. So, if your car’s wipers get old, it’s good to get them replaced as soon as possible.
10) Not Driving The Car
Not driving your car can lead you to a dead battery or a dead engine. Also, several other problems can be caused because of this. So if you’re worried about your car’s maintenance, make sure you keep taking it out for a drive occasionally, even if it’s just a trip to the grocery store. This is especially important to keep in mind if you own multiple cars and use only one or two of them, you need to make sure you use one of your lesser used cars for small chores around town so that its engine maintains its properties.
11) Ignoring Strange Noises
Most of the mechanical issues are identified with the strange noises coming from your car. Ignoring these noises can lead to bigger problems. Most people don’t pay attention to little noises that are unfamiliar, but this negligence can end up costing you. We suggest you never neglect taking your car to a mechanic for getting it checked in case any noise is coming from the engine or other parts of it, chances are it may not be a huge problem but if you’re going out for a drive, you can’t risk taking that chance. Hence, getting it checked and having an answer for what’s causing the noise will be better for you and the car.
12) Repairing The Vehicle Yourself
It’s completely incorrect that you repair the vehicle yourself if you don’t have enough knowledge about automobiles. Doing this can not only damage your car’s performance, but it’s also very dangerous as, if something goes wrong, you could end up causing more problems to the engine that will be harmful not just for the vehicle but also for you. So be always careful and take your car to a mechanic when it needs to be repaired.
These were some common mistakes to avoid with car maintenance. These mistakes seem little, but can badly affect your car’s performance in the long term. Therefore, we suggest you never ignore your car and pay proper attention to everything that’s pointing towards something wrong. This will not only keep you satisfied, but will also help maintain its resale value.