Monthly Car Maintenance Can Help Keep Auto Repairs Down

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Monthly Car Maintenance Can Help Keep Auto
Repairs Down
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Table of Content

• Introduction
• Change your oil
• Clean the battery.
• Maintain your wheels and tires.
• Check your wiper blades.
• Replace the cabin air filter.
• Replace the engine air filter.
• Check your lights.
• Check your spark plugs.
• Check serpentine and timing belts.
• Check your fluids.

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Introduction

• If auto repair stats are anything to go by,
  the American society desperately needs help. Take
  a look at this AAA recently released a report
  claiming that the average auto repair bill stands
  at a whopping 500 - 600! What is even more
  shocking is that 1 in 3 motorists often get into
  debt to take care of this bill. This rather
  unfortunate study is essentially a depiction of
  the situation worldwide.
• While auto repair is unpredictable for the
  most part, there is so much one can do to bring
  it down to a manageable level. The most efficient
  strategy is simply regular vehicle maintenance.
  Theres no way around this.
• Granted, most car owners are often aware of
  the benefits of regular vehicle maintenance but
  unfortunately, only a handful actually gets
  around to doing it. A good chunk of these
  individuals totally neglect this tried-and-proven
  principle but others procrastinate long enough to
  send the repair costs flying over the roof. Look
  at it this way the car is like your body. If you
  dont visit the doctor for regular check-ups, you
  might have to pay a hefty price to treat a
  condition in the future that would have otherwise
  been caught in the bud through during the
  check-ups.

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• Granted, most car owners are often aware of
  the benefits of regular vehicle maintenance but
  unfortunately, only a handful actually gets
  around to doing it. A good chunk of these
  individuals totally neglect this tried-and-proven
  principle but others procrastinate long enough to
  send the repair costs flying over the roof. Look
  at it this way the car is like your body. If you
  dont visit the doctor for regular check-ups, you
  might have to pay a hefty price to treat a
  condition in the future that would have otherwise
  been caught in the bud through during the
  check-ups.
• Monthly car maintenance will not only keep
  your bank account fat but will keep your car
  happy and healthy as well. A happy and healthy
  car translates to a happy car owner ultimately a
  better economic society at large.
• What exactly does monthly maintenance
  entail? Follow through as we dig deeper into the
  topic of regular vehicle maintenance and just how
  it can save you huge repair costs.

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Change your oil

• Oil change is probably the monthly
  maintenance ritual in all auto shops across the
  world. Your vehicles engine has many moving
  parts. These rub against each other as you drive
  your car around its all part of proper engine
  functioning. Rubbing creates friction which can
  cause the motor to overheat. Overheating of the
  motor is a sure recipe for engine trouble which
  is why oil is utilized to lubricate the moving
  parts and in the end avoid this. However, as
  time goes by, the engine oil wears out leading to
  major engine problems that are quite costly to
  repair. To prevent this from happening, fresh oil
  needs to be replaced the minute the old one
  breaks down. To be on the safe side, you need to
  stay ahead of the game on this one. Anticipate
  the need for an engine oil change before it
  actually happens. You can only achieve this
  through regular car maintenance.
• The duration between oil changes depends on
  a number of factors including your location, age
  of your engine and your mode of driving. Many
  mechanic experts advise changing the oil after
  every 3,000 miles although their counterparts,
  automobile manufacturers, suggest up to 5,000
  miles. You can actually go up to 10,000 miles
  without changing the oil if you use the special
  synthetic type. The bottom line is, a change of
  oil is a vital car maintenance component.

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Clean the battery

• Back in the day, car batteries required
  frequent maintenance but technology has seen the
  introduction of low-maintenance types that have
  superior characteristics and last for ages. It is
  nonetheless a good idea to check for leaking and
  problems with mineral build-up on the contacts.
  If you do come across any of these, clean them
  off using a quality battery cleaning brush. Dont
  stop there take a step further and purchase an
  extra brush for future use. Dont forget to get
  an affordable jump starter of battery tester for
  that unfortunate day when the battery will die
  without your knowledge.

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Maintain your wheels and tires

• Your tires play a vital role in your cars
  proper functioning. They offer a barrier between
  you and the highway. Tires affect safety, ride,
  handling, and braking of the vehicle. For
  effective performance, the tires must have the
  right tread depth, correct air pressure, and
  wheel balance. Tires should be maintained on a
  monthly basis to prolong their longevity and
  avoid repair and replacement costs of the same.
  If you have had to replace a tire before, you
  know this is anything but a cheap affair. Tire
  maintenance includes these three key components
• Tire balancing Imbalanced tires shorten their
  lifespan and cause uneven wear. Balancing is done
  by attaching small weights to the tire to reduce
  vibration of both the wheels and the tire itself
  during high speeds. Tire balancing is done
  immediately after the installation of a new tire,
  after a puncture or repair or whenever vibration
  is experienced.

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• Tire rotation Tire rotation also helps elongate
  the longevity of tires by limiting uneven wear.
  Rotation differs for different vehicles but on
  average, tires should be rotated between 5,000
  and 7,000 miles. Refer to the cars manual for
  the right mileage for your ride.
• Wheel alignment Wheel alignment is simply the
  process of maintaining the required position of
  the wheels to avoid uneven wear and vibrations
  when the car is speeding. Every car has unique
  wheel alignment settings. When the position goes
  out of range, vehicle handling becomes
  compromised not to mention increased fuel
  mileage. You know your wheels are properly
  aligned when the vehicle stays on a straight line
  without pulling on either side. This pulling can
  be caused by a whole array of other car problems
  which is why you should visit your mechanic every
  month to check if your tire and your entire
  vehicle is in perfect condition.

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Check your wiper blades

• This seems petty but a good number of guys
  have in the past ignored the importance of
  maintaining their wipes and ended up replacing
  them all together as part of a bigger job. Why
  fall victim to this when you can do a quick
  check-up of the wipes for a minute or so each
  month? The job requires very little or no skill
  at all. If you are too scared to in blind, resort
  to using your vehicles manual.
• While you are at it, you might want to
  clean both the inside and outside of the
  windshield for better visibility. If you are
  looking to travel to a wet and snowy destination,
  you might want to replace your blades altogether
  to prevent any accident from happening

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Replace the cabin air filter

• Again regular cabin air filter checkup is
  often over looked by many car owners but it can
  substantially save you some auto repair costs in
  the future. The cabin air filter is what keeps
  the air inside your cars cabin clean. It
  essentially filters the air coming through the
  vehicles AC system to prevent pollen, dust, mold
  spores, smog, and other dust particles from
  entering the vehicle.
• Apart from enhancing air quality, a cabin
  air filter goes a long way in reducing repair
  costs of the vehicle. Dirty air causes the AC
  system to work harder. This can burn the motor
  and cause a string of other engine problems along
  with it.
• Cabin air filter replacement should be
  done yearly or after every 15,000 25,000 miles.
  Like wiper blades, this is a DIY job but if you
  want experts to handle it, be ready to cough out
  anything between 15 and 25.

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Replace the engine air filter

• The cabin air filter isnt the only filter
  that requires tender love and care the engine
  air filter does too. One gallon of fuel requires
  10,000 gallons of air for proper combustion which
  is why clean air is a vital element for good
  engine functioning. The benefits of cleaning the
  filter include improved acceleration, reduced
  emissions, increased engine life, better gas
  mileage, and overall enhanced driveability. Each
  monthly car maintenance routine should include a
  check into the situation of the engine air
  filter. If it has accumulated dirt, have it
  replaced. If you drive all day long in high
  traffic areas or have a long commute, your filter
  may attract dirt at a quicker pace than if you
  drove on the open road during the weekend only.

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Check your lights

• Many car owners suddenly discover the need
  for a headlight change when they realize the road
  has become unclear or when the bulb has gone
  kaput in the middle of the highway. A blurred
  vision of the road is a recipe for disaster. If
  you manage to avoid an accident, you wont get
  too far before the authorities flash a ticket on
  your face.
• Car lights are often replaced in pairs.
  This is because when one becomes dim or burns out
  completely, the other one is always right behind.
  For a consistent clear vision of the road ahead,
  you might want to replace all four car lights
  with brighter and more visible xenon or LED
  bulbs. It may dig a hole in your pocket now but
  you will save yourself from frequent replacement
  costs or worse, deadly accidents in the future.

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Check your spark plugs

• Spark plugs on average can go up to 100,000
  miles before begging for a replacement but by
  this time, the plugs will have worn out by 80.
  Furthermore, when spark plugs stay in a fixed
  placed for this long, they tend to seize the head
  of the cylinder. Their design can also cause
  breakage and with it, reduced engine performance.
  If you dont replace worn out and broken spark
  plugs, you are looking at huge fuel bills and a
  myriad of other engine problems. You want to have
  them checked after every 30,000 miles and
  replaced after 80,000 miles.
• When doing any replacements, it is prudent
  to use the original spark plugs that came with
  the vehicle to avoid any compatibility issues. If
  the car had been equipped with spark plug wires,
  your mechanic might need to check these at the
  time of replacement as well. Old and crispy wires
  can come apart during replacement of spark plugs
  which is not exactly, the best news for any car
  owner.

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Check serpentine and timing belts

• Serpentine and timing belts can spell
  disaster if they broke down in the middle of the
  road. The timing belt is responsible for
  controlling the rotation of the crankshaft and
  the camshaft. It also directs the opening and
  closing the valves located in the engine to allow
  a free flow of air in and out of the car.
  Basically, it coordinates most of the engines
  functions. Proper functioning of the timing belts
  dictates that the valves must open and close at
  the appropriate time. They have to also be in the
  right position to do this. If there is any
  breakage in the belt, it will cause the valves to
  have different opening times for each cylinder
  eventually causing deadly damage.
• A serpentine belt, on the other hand, is a
  single, continuous belt that powers key
  components including power steering, alternator,
  air conditioning, and water pump. With the
  introduction of the rubber technology, serpentine
  belts now last longer (between 50,000 and 100,000
  miles). Continuous exposure to friction and heat
  causes the serpentine belt to wear out. When this
  happens, replacement should be done.

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• Like all car problems, serpentine and
  timing belts should be replaced before danger
  strikes. If they break down, they will damage
  other car accessories along with them causing the
  cost of repair to go higher.

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Check your fluids

• The last bit of monthly car maintenance
  includes checking all your fluids. These include
  the coolant, power steering, antifreeze and wiper
  fluids, motor oil, transmission fluid, brake
  fluid, and many more. The process is simple which
  is why you shouldnt give money to anyone to do
  this for you. Checking the levels differs for
  different tanks. There are those that have clear
  cylinders where the level is visible but a good
  number of them have dipsticks or gauges.
• If you are looking for auto repair
  mechanics to take care of repair, maintenance,
  and replacement of your tires, your search has
  come to an end. Autobahn Tires know everything
  there is to know about auto repairs and
  maintenance. From oil change to performing
  routine maintenance, the firm will do everything
  to get you back on the road quickly. Part of
  their service portfolio includes wheel services,
  tire repair, tire services, winter tires, and
  all-season tires. They understand the sentimental
  value people place on their vehicles which is why
  they stock luxury brands guaranteed to satisfy
  each customer.

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Find out More

• Read more at -
• https//autobahntires.ca/auto-maintenance-repairs/