Yes, October is officially fall car care month, but realistically, every month is car care month.
Your car is the second most expensive investment you will make and it is the most expensive to maintain. However, if you are willing to spend a little extra on your maintenance when your car is newer, it will help to keep your repair bills much lower as your car gets older.
We may have put men on the moon and figured out how to split atoms, but I’m sorry, we have not developed any fluid for your vehicle that does not break down with age and contamination, no matter what the manufacturers are saying. As a matter of fact, if you read their fine print, they admit it with footnotes, like driving in dusty conditions, extensive idling, towing or hot temperatures will require more frequent servicing.
The bottom line is maintaining your vehicle properly will always benefit you. Repairing your vehicle comes on your dime not theirs. At least half of the repairs we do on cars could have been prevented with a good maintenance schedule.
For example, power steering fluid not only provides the hydraulic pressure from which the system operates, but it also lubricates the system. Over time, the fluid no longer provides adequate protection and the result is component failure or system leakage. Both are direct results of poor fluid maintenance.
Engine coolant becomes acidic over time, and this causes the system to deteriorate from the inside out. The problem here is that the coolant will look fine and you will not know there is an issue until it is too late. Another issue with some coolants is they start to solidify when exposed to air and can cause blockages in the system.
Brake fluid is hydroscopic, which means it can retain moisture over time. This causes two problems:
- The fluid will have a lower boiling point, and the fluid will not operate the system efficiently.
- The moisture will gather at a low point of the system and corrode that component, usually a caliper, master cylinder or wheel cylinder, and cause it to fail.
All driveline fluids, such as transmission, differential and transfer cases lubricate, transfer heat and suspend contaminants. The No. 1 nemesis of these fluids is heat. For every 20 degrees over normal operating temperature these systems run, it cuts protective mileage in half. So, 100,000-mile fluid, with a normal operating temp of 175 F, is only good for 50,000 at 195 F and 25,000 at 225 F.
At H and I Automotive, we want to help maintain your car and protect your investment. We have developed a service schedule that will meet all conditions our environment puts your vehicle through and keep it reliable. We offer BG’s Lifetime Protection for all the components serviced,** which means we will provide repair to covered systems up to $4,000. Being proactive with your car care is always the better choice.
** Limited warranty protection for failure of listed components if vehicle is serviced within the recommended guidelines. See service advisor for details.
Please call H and I Automotive at (480) 985-9279 with any questions or to obtain an estimate. We are a full service professional automotive service center, serving our East Valley neighbors since 2009. Find us online at handiautomotive.com or on Facebook and Google+.