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Maintenance is the word for today. I don't think people understand how important it is to do oil changes, tire rotations, air filters, brake flushes, transmission flushes, so forth and so on. Some of those don't have to be done that often. Maybe around every 30 thousand miles or two years.
Oil Changes...
Everyone already knows the number 1 rule of thumb is to change your oil every 3000 miles and some newer cars can go 5000 miles without having to change the oil. Please read your owners manual there is a lot of useful information in them about what specific grade oil your vehicle takes, and quantity. Oil has tons of minerals and lube molecules in it that protect your engine from damage or even blowing. If you go too far over on the same oil it will break down and start to decrease in lubing the engine walls and properly lubing the moving elements inside the engine. Don't be surprised if when you go to change your oil at that 3 month interval or 3000 miles whichever comes first you are a half quart short of oil. Most motors tend to burn 1/2 a quart of oil per 3000 miles. Make sure you understand your oil filler gauge too much oil can damage gaskets, and lead to leaks. If you start blowing heavy white smoke after an oil change. You probably put too much oil and now your plugs are burning excess oil. Drain it down some and recheck.
Tire Rotation...
In the last few years with the advancement of suspension and the quest for a quieter ride. Today's cars suspension are very brutal to tires and it doesn't help that the Manufacture uses the best and most expensive tires from the factory. Not doing tire rotations on a regular basis can lead to quite a few different problems from, road noise, steering wheel shaking at highway speeds, alignment issues. I recommend doing your tire rotation every other oil change. By doing tire rotations on a regular it adds life to the tires, helps them all wear the same as far as thread depth, and reduces noise when your tires are getting low on thread. Major issues i have seen from lack of tire rotations are that the rear tires tend to get a feather like pattern on the inside of the thread which after a short time you will being to hear a sort of humming coming from the rear of the vehicle at around 20 mph into the 30's. Once your tires have feathered the only repair is to replace them at that point. With not doing this service I have also had a lot of customer complaints of "steering wheel shakes at highway speeds". When I lift the car into the air I rub my hand across the edge of the tires and feel for lumps or bumps that make the tire go out of round. Sometimes the lumps aren't big so you have to have someone put the car in drive while looking at the tires from a short distance. Only do this method on a lift with supervision. Only fix for this is replacing both front tires. If you want to save money and DIY all a tire rotation is moving the front tires to the back and the back to the front. Keep tires on the same side you took them off. Don't forget to make sure your tires are properly inflated. (Check drivers door for the correct amount of PSI.
Air Filter...
Every 12 to 15k miles. You might not think the air filter is all that important and doesn't have to be changed but every 30k miles but it is extremely important to your vehicles running condition, idle, and gas mileage. inside your air intake system there are temperature sensor and a measuring sensor. These sensor relay the amount of air and the temp. of the incoming air to adequately match the fuel to create a smooth, gas saving, Eco friendly car. There's not too much to get into about the air filter but here's a tip on when it is time to replace it. Take the filter out of the air box put the filter in the light and if you cant see through it than air cant get through it either. which in turn makes the car work harder to match the low air quantity. Air filters are fairly cheap and run from $15 to $30 depending on where you go.
Hope it was helpful
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