The Importance Of Vehicle Maintenance
As a vehicle owner it is vitally important that you are carrying out regular maintenance on your vehicle. Without proper maintenance, your vehicle will be a lot more likely to be prone to more serious problems in the future that could lead to you being greatly out of pocket.
By performing routine maintenance on your vehicle, it will highly reduce the risk of serious problems occurring in the future as well as improving the driving quality of your vehicle. Many vehicle owners fail to perform the necessary vehicle maintenance tasks that are so important due to ignorance, lack of awareness or even laziness.
Car maintenance is not a difficult task for most drivers. Even drivers with limited motor knowledge are able to perform maintenance tasks such as checking your tyre pressures, changing the oil, and checking other engine fluids in your vehicle. If some of these maintenance tasks make you a bit uneasy, then you can check the vehicle handbook that comes with every vehicle for advice, or even ask someone with a bit more knowledge for assistance. But it is crucial that in one way or another, you are carrying out regular maintenance.
The Risk Of Failing To Maintain Your Vehicle
As has been mentioned previously, failure to carry out regular maintenance on your vehicle can lead to more severe problems in the future. Certain mechanical failures can occur that will leave great expense in order to fix without proper vehicle maintenance. Some of the most expensive issues that can occur as a result of not maintaining your vehicle can be found below:-
- Fixing or replacing the cylinder – the need to either fix or replace the cylinder in your vehicle is often a sign of continued neglect. Cylinder failure occurs when the correct mixture of fuel, air and sparks are missing, which leads to the cylinder overheating and then failing. The cost to either replace or repair a cylinder can cost up to £5000 because of the labour costs involved.
- Replacing the transmission assembly – transmission problems can be caused by regular maintenance. These problems are rare only if regular maintenance, especially if you follow your manufacturer’s guide, is carried out. Without a fully functioning transmission, your car will be unable to turn and to replace the transmission assembly could cost you at least £2000 if not more.
- Replacing the cylinder head and spark plugs – not maintaining your cylinder head and spark plugs can lead to engine failure. Misfires in your engine will cause the cylinders to heat up and fail and this can cost up to £5000.
- Replacing the camshaft – failure to change your oil regularly and cleaning your valves will lead to dirt and grime building up which can result in your camshaft failing. This usually only happens if regular maintenance is neglected so you shouldn’t have a problem with this assembly unless you fail to maintain your vehicle. The cost of replacing your camshaft can cost between £900 and £1800.
As you can see with just some of the possible problems that can occur without regular maintenance, the consequence of it can be very expensive. So to avoid having to pay out vast sums of money, it is important to ensure you carry out maintenance duties now.
Important Vehicle Maintenance Tasks
There are a number of vehicle maintenance tasks that need to be performed on a regular basis to prevent serious damage to your vehicle. These tasks can be performed by you yourself so there is no excuse for failing to do so. Some of the most important maintenance tasks that every driver should be carrying out are as follows:-
- Regular fluid checks – it is vital to regularly check your fluid levels such as your oil, transmission fluid and engine coolant. If you find that any of these are running low, it is important to add the required fluids immediately. Failure to do so can lead to the engine failing due to overheating.
- Regular oil changes – the oil is the life of your engine so firstly it is important that you ensure that the oil levels are sufficient enough to allow the engine to run smoothly. Also, the oil should be changed about every 3000 miles to ensure the best performance of your engine and to avoid possible engine problems.
- Check tyre pressures – checking the amount of air in each of your tyres is also an important part of vehicle maintenance. Not having the correct tyre pressure can lead to excess tyre wear and result in you having to change your tyres more regularly. Having too much air in the tyres can also be a problem, as it can leave the tyres more prone to blowing out. You can check the ideal tyre pressures for your vehicle by referring to your vehicle handbook.
- Check the engine air filter – having a dirty air filter can shorten the life of an engine and also reduce your gasoline’s mileage by up to 10%. You can clean out your engine’s air filter just by blowing off any accumulated dust that may have gathered with an air hose.
By at least performing these maintenance tasks on a regular basis will reduce the chances of more serious problems occurring with your vehicle. It may seem like a chore to some drivers, but the consequences of failing to do so can leave you with a great expense as well as putting your safety at risk.
At FMP Motor Factors we work with a wide network of garages and car dealers as well as individual car owners to provide the best quality car parts and engine oils to ensure the smooth running and maintenance of your vehicle.