Regular Services for Long-Term Health

In regards to vehicle auto repair (and newer vehicles in general), let it be known that vehicle maintenance is imperative for a long lasting life of a vehicle. Lower quality vehicles tend to require less attention with maintenance; however, with newer vehicles and their dynamic engineering, maintenance cannot be neglected. There are five regular services that must be performed (or monitored) to ensure that your auto repairs aren’t needed as frequently. They are listed below, and they have no specific order.

1. OIL CHANGES - Consider the oil system of the vehicle as the blood of a human being, without proper filtration, contaminants will start to build up, which result in problems that arise over time. Depending on the type of oil used, the grade of the oil, how much oil is used, and the rate at which it is moving throughout the system, the oil of your car will need to be changed on a frequent basis. If full synthetic oil is used (which is recommended on newer production vehicles), a vehicle should normally receive an oil change every 5,000-8,000 miles. However, since longevity doesn’t ask for risk, it is imperative to change it every 4,000 miles. Newer cars shouldn’t go longer than 5,000 miles without a synthetic oil change. If conventional motor oil is used, your vehicle’s oil should be replaced every 2,500-3,000 miles. All oil changes should include a new oil filter (which is important to replace at every oil change because if the filter isn’t replaced, the oil pressure will increase, as there is less room for the clean oil to move freely).
2. ENGINE INSPECTION - An inspection of the engine as a whole should be performed at least every 20,000 miles with all cars. If the vehicle’s mileage is over 75,000, it is important to check the engine at every 5,000/10,000 miles to ensure that there are no surprises on the road. To make sure that everything is checked over, your local technician will do a comprehensive check to ensure that the engine is running at the best of its ability.
3. AIR & CABIN FILTERS - The air filter allows for the air intake to breath fresh, which allows the vehicle to stay cool and repel foreign particles. The cabin filter allows for the vehicle’s air conditioning system to stay fresh, making sure that the interior of the car is clean and safe of contaminants. Overtime, the air and cabin filters build up dirt and grime, resulting in poorer air quality. The safest bet is to replace these filters every 20,000 miles (although it depends on the model).
4. BRAKE FLUID - Overtime, the braking system loses fluid. Higher mileage vehicles lose fluid quicker, but all vehicles lose more fluid when braking harder. The fluid lost is mostly minuscule; however, the braking system accumulates dirt, dust, and iron build-up. This requires a brake fluid flush around 30,000 miles or every three years (whichever comes first). As the same with most maintenance, the intervals strictly depend on the specific vehicle.
5. COOLANT/ANTIFREEZE REPLACEMENT - The cooling system allows for the engine to operate at normal temperature. Without a proper running cooling system, this can result in catastrophic engine failure. To prevent that, the coolant (which is antifreeze and water) is required to be replaced. A good maintenance interval for a coolant flush is around 40,000 miles, or whenever a cooling system part is replaced, for your car. Other vehicles can run hundreds-of-thousands of miles without a flush, but the main point is that newer cars are superior vehicles that require a lot of care.