Regular vehicle maintenance is an important part of responsible vehicle ownership. Preventative maintenance not only helps you catch problems early, but it can also increase the value of your vehicle, positively affect fuel efficiency, and save a lot of money over the long term. Let’s take a look at what we mean by vehicle preventative maintenance and how to keep your car, truck, or SUV on track.

Understanding Preventive Maintenance for Your Car

Performing regular vehicle preventative maintenance is important because it helps to maintain the health of your car by keeping it running smoothly and helping avoid larger, more costly repairs later. In addition, performing regular preventative vehicle maintenance can also increase the value of your car if you choose to turn it in and purchase something new. To that end, every vehicle owner needs to be aware of specific maintenance services to make sure they keep their cars in tip-top shape.

Decoding the Manufacturer’s Maintenance Schedule

When it comes to preventative maintenance, it’s important to consider two categories: standard preventative maintenance, such as oil changes and tire rotations, and manufacturer-recommended vehicle maintenance, which is more nuanced. Although the first category applies to every car, keep in mind that the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule is unique to your make and model.

As a vehicle owner, it is important to review the manufacturer’s specific instructions and maintenance schedule, paying close attention to important milestones, such as 30,000 or 45,000 miles, and what the manufacturer recommends at each mileage point. These schedules often contain standard preventative maintenance features and may also include more vehicle-specific services.

These schedules are important because they are carefully crafted and take the mechanics and technology of your vehicle into consideration, ensuring that unique systems and parts receive the services they need. For example, maintenance on a hybrid electric engine require different processes than those for a fuel-injected engine.

Key Elements of Preventive Maintenance

Aside from the specific maintenance needed for your car’s make and model, all vehicle owners need to know the key elements associated with specific maintenance services that are specific to their vehicles. These include

• Oil Changes: For most modern vehicles, oil changes should take place every 5,000 miles. These simple service appointments will also include checking and filling fluids (e.g., transmission fluid).

• Tire Checks and Rotations: Every 10,000 miles, in addition to an oil change, you can get your vehicle’s tire pressure checked and rotated. Tires generally need to be replaced completely around the 50,000-mile mark.

• Air Filter Replacement: Depending on the climate where you live, you will want to replace your vehicle’s air filter every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. This helps maintain air flow to the engine and keep it running smoothly.

• Belt and Hose Inspection: At the same time as air filter replacement (every 15,000 miles or so), be sure to get your belts and hoses inspected. Belts that are hard or brittle need to be replaced. Depending on the type of belt, this may occur around 40,000-60,000 miles.

• Fuel Filter Replacement: Around 30,000 miles, most vehicles need to have a new fuel filter. This helps ensure that the fuel pump continues to operate properly.

• Transmission Flushes: Transmission fluid flushes usually take place around 50,000 miles, although this will vary from model to model. Hint: Check your manufacturer-recommended maintenance schedule.

The Importance of Regular Service Appointments

Regular vehicle service appointments, such as the standard services outlined above, are important for the health and longevity of your car.

Long-Term Benefits for Your Vehicle

Keeping your car in top shape through regular preventative maintenance has a direct effect on the value of your vehicle. Well-maintained vehicles last longer, making them more valuable for trade-in or more reliable. Additionally, these cars run more efficiently, saving money over time in fuel costs.

Cost Savings: Prevention vs. Repair

Regular vehicle preventative maintenance can also lead to long-term cost savings as compared to repair costs for ignored issues. Many basic maintenance features (e.g., air filters) are relatively inexpensive to replace, while the systems they maintain (e.g., the engine) are a lot more expensive to repair. It’s much more cost-effective to pay a small amount to maintain the system rather than a much larger cost for a full system replacement.

Risks of Neglecting Routine Maintenance

When owners fail to perform routine preventative vehicle maintenance, they do more than affect their wallet. They can also inadvertently cause major damage to their car, putting themselves and their passengers at risk.

Common Issues in Maintenance-Neglected Vehicles

Vehicles that do not have regular maintenance are at risk of early failure of multiple systems, which can have major effects on the life and health of the car as well as the people who ride in it. Some of the most common issues that arise because of neglected vehicle maintenance include:

• Brake failure

• Decreased fuel efficiency

• Engine trouble

• Electrical system failure

• Transmission troubles

Safety Concerns and Performance Decline

Another major concern related to maintenance neglect is safety. For example, when you catch an issue with a belt or tire early, it’s an easy and quick replacement. Not fixing this issue can alternatively lead to on-road failure, which could cause a crash or damage other parts of your car, leading to the need for additional, more costly repairs as well as putting you and your passengers at risk.

Take Action: Keep Your Car in Prime Condition

The good news is that keeping your vehicle in top shape is easier than you think. All it takes is a reliable service provider such as DePaula Mazda in Albany, NY. Our experienced service technicians will take time to get to know your vehicle and take care to follow all manufacturer-recommended and standard services. We also feature frequent service specials to help alleviate the costs of taking such great care of your car.

Why wait? Schedule your next service appointment with DePaula Mazda today.