Maintaining Your New Car

This article is used in it's entirety courtesy of about.com

What You Should Do
You have a nice shiny brand new car. You are really proud of it and you've been showing it off to your neighbors, friends and co-workers. When you get in it you drink in that new car smell and you just want to drive it somewhere, anywhere, just to enjoy that smooth new car ride. As you roll along you wish that it could stay new for as long as you own it. You dread the day you get that first door ding parked at the mall. Unfortunately it won't stay new. The miles will quickly add up, that new car smell will fade and then it will become like an old friend.

It may not stay new, but there are many things you can do to keep it like new. Some are easy to do and some a little more difficult. With new car prices the way they are today most people are hanging on to their cars longer and longer.

This makes maintenance more important than it used to be. With a regular, planed maintenance schedule you'll get many trouble free miles out of that new car and you get the most out of your investment.

 

The best place to start a maintenance program is by reading your owners manual. In it you will find the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule. This is based on "normal" driving. Well take it from me; no one drives "normally." The roads we drive on are dusty, dirty and strewn with potholes and speed bumps. Use the manufacturers recommended maintenance schedule as a starting point for your planed schedule, not the end of it. Here are my recommendations based on my years of experience maintaining and repairing all types of cars and trucks. We'll start with the Engine Compartment ...

The engine is the heart of your car and probably the most costly to repair when something goes wrong. With today's electronic controls a lot of maintenance has been eliminated. There are no more points or condensers to replace so we don't need tune-ups as often. There are no more carburetors to adjust so we don't have to worry about that anymore either.

There is one thing you can do that will add many miles to your engine, that is regular oil and filter changes. Most auto manufacturers recommend oil and filter changes every 7,500 miles or six months, under "normal" conditions. A better interval is 3,000 miles or three months. if you start this routine from day one, the inside of your engine will stay clean and you won't get any sludge build up that can damage it. You'll replace alternators, water pumps and just about everything that hangs on the engine, but by changing the oil and filter every 3,000 miles you won't have to worry about the engine itself.

Another thing I would recommend is to keep the engine clean. As time goes by, the engine will get dirty. Dirt and seeping oil will accumulate and this has a tendency to hold engine heat in. Having the engine washed every two years will help the engine breathe and keep cool. It will also make finding leaks easier if you should have one spring up on you. At the Mercedes dealership I worked at, we did an engine wash with every 30,000 mile service.
Today's cars tend to run hotter than they used to. With the trend to downsize vehicle components to save space and weight, cooling system components are being asked to do more than their older counterparts. The best thing you can do to maintain the cooling system at peak efficiency during the life of your car is to replace the coolant every two years. Anti-freeze does wear out and by replacing the coolant you insure that the corrosion inhibitors are fresh and doing the job they're supposed to. By doing this you will eliminate the scale and corrosion that builds up inside the radiator when coolant is left in too long and avoid a costly radiator repair or replacement.

Probably the most ignored fluid in the car, and the most important, is the brake fluid. Brake fluid is not a petroleum-based product; it is made from cashew shells
As such brake fluid does absorb moisture from the air and when it does, its effectiveness diminishes and lowers braking performance. Sludge will also build up over a period of time and will block the valves inside ABS units and result in costly repairs or replacement. In addition this sludge will cause calipers and wheel cylinders to leak, also resulting in repairs or replacement. So the best thing to do is to have the brake fluid flushed and refilled every two years or 60,000 miles.

 

The transmission fluid also needs to be changed on a regular basis to help keep the transmission in tiptop shape. Most transmission failures can be directly traced to lack of maintenance. Transmissions are very expensive to repair or replace, often in the thousands of dollars. Many times the cost of all the fluid and filter changes you will pay for the entire life of the car.

Power steering is another fluid that is often ignored. It is recommended that it be flushed and refilled every two years or 60,000 miles. This will help prevent costly hydraulic repairs or replacement. Most notably leaking power steering racks that can cost up to $1500.00 to replace.

Filters are an important part of regular maintenance. Air and fuel filters keep dirt and junk out of the engine so they will do no harm. Problems arise when these filters get dirty and start to clog up. Many drivability problems such as hesitation and rough idle stem from dirty air and fuel filters. For maximum effectiveness, they should be replaced every 15,000 miles. A filter that is very rarely replaced and should be replaced is the carbon canister filter. It is an important part of the emission control system and filters the in coming air that this system uses. The emission controls are such an integral part of today's engine management system that a clogged canister filter will also result in drivability problems.

Some cars still have a PCV filter, also called a breather element. This filters the air for the PCV system and keeps dirt out of the engine crankcase. Most cars today draw air for the PCV system from the air cleaner housing so this filter is not needed, but if your engine has one, replace it at 15,000 mile intervals as well.

Speaking of the PCV system, the PCV valve should be replaced on a regular basis. When you put the new PCV filter in, replace the PCV valve as well.

Now we come to the spark plugs and other ignition parts. Ignition systems have become much more reliable over the last few years. Many engines don't even have distributors any more. They use a DIS or Direct Ignition System. These systems mount one ignition coil on each spark plug thus eliminating the need of a distributor and the PCM controls the firing of each coil. On engines that still use a distributor, it is a good idea to replace the distributor cap, distributor rotor and ignition wires every 30,000 miles. This is especially important in Japanese cars that, for some reason, distributor caps don't seem to last as long.

The spark plugs need to be replaced on a regular basis as well. Talking about what kind of spark plugs to use is a great way to spark an argument. There are platinum plugs, split fire plugs, multi-electrode plugs, red ones, green ones and blue ones. The best plug to use is the plug the manufacturer recommends. This spark plug information can be found on the engine decal located under the hood. I recommend replacing the spark plugs every 30,000 miles to keep the engine operating at peak efficiency.

The most critical engine component is the timing belt. Not all engines use a timing belt, but on those that do, it's critical that they be replaced before they break. And at some point they will break. If your car has an interference engine, that is to say an engine where the valves and pistons occupy the same place in the combustion chamber at different times, serious engine damage will occur. If your car has a non-interference engine the worst that will happen is you get stranded somewhere. Most manufacturers suggest replacing the timing belt every 60,000 miles. I highly recommend this interval as well.

Under The Car

The battery is another thing that requires a regular service, not too much, but important. You need to make sure the battery fluid is up to the full line and that the terminals are clean and free of snow. Also the top of the battery needs to be clean to prevent current leakage between the terminals. This should be done every 7,500 miles.

There aren't too many things under the car that require maintenance, but those few things there are will add life and comfort to your car. The most important of these are your tires. Your car came with good tires, but they are a compromise between cost and quality. When it comes time to replace them you'll probably upgrade the quality of your tires and not pay too much attention to the cost. The best way to get the most out of your tires is by having them rotated and balanced on a regular basis, every 7,500 miles.

This will ensure that they wear evenly and last as long as possible. Balancing is important because a properly balanced tire reduces the stress and strain on shocks, struts, and steering parts in general. Keeping the tire pressures set to specification will also go a long way in extending tire life and fuel economy.

 

Replacing the differential fluid is something that is most often over looked. While differentials are pretty robust and solid, a regular fluid change will help them stay that way for the life of the car. If your car is four or all wheel drive, change the transfer case fluid as well.

By having the brakes serviced at 15,000 mile intervals you'll insure top performance from them. Cleaning the brake pads and rotors will ensure that they are quiet, wear evenly and working properly.

The first thing that people notice about a car is what it looks like. If a car has a dull look or is covered with road grime or dotted with rust holes, it just doesn't look attractive. The best way to keep your car looking good for many years is to do some maintenance on the exterior. A good coat of wax will prevent road salt and acid rain from marking the paint and eating into the sheet metal. A good waxing every six months will protect the paint and keep your car looking new for many years. Running your car through the car wash once a week will get road grime and oil off the finish and keep your car young looking. A good car wash will have an under car wash section that will wash away road salt and keep the car from rusting from the inside out. This is especially important if you live in an area where they use a lot of salt in the winter

You should treat it with a convertible top conditioner every six months to keep it in good condition.

 

I recommend replacing the wiper blades once a year as well. Wiper refills are cheap and we usually only think about them when they start streaking and skipping. If you live in an area that suffers cold and snowy winters, you may want to change to winter blades in the fall and go back to regular blades in the spring.

Keep the interior clean. If you have leather seats applying a leather dressing every year will keep them supple and prevent them from cracking. Vacuum the carpeting frequently to keep dirt from destroying the pile. Floor mats do a nice job of keeping the carpet nice and clean. If you have sloppy winters, cut a piece of carpeting to place over the car's carpeting to take the brunt of the abuse. Then just throw it, and the winter abuse, out in the spring. At The Pump:

When you are at the gas station filling up is a good time to look over your car. Open the hood and check the fluid levels. Make sure they are up to the full marks and top off your windshield washer fluid. A fluid that is always low is a sign of leakage. This is a good way to catch a small problem before it becomes a bigger, and more expensive, problem. Look around the engine and see if there are any problems brewing. You may not know what to look for, but you will learn what looks normal for your car and what looks like a problem coming on. Walk around your car and look at it. Look at the tires and see if they are wearing okay. Look for loose parts; maybe the exhaust pipe is hanging lower than normal or a piece of body molding is starting to come off. Bounce the corners of the car and see if it bounces too much. If it bounces more than one or two times, you may have shocks or struts starting to go bad. If these parts are bad they will start to chew up your tires.

Cars can't talk, they can't tell you when they need something. They'll go happily along on what they have until they breakdown. And they won't tell you when they are going to break down; they'll just do it. It's up to you to take care of your car to keep it running well and looking good. Maintaining your car will greatly reduce the possibility of breaking down somewhere. And, according to Murphy's Law, it will always break down at the worst possible time.

There are a lot of good reasons to maintain your car in a good and safe condition. But to me the most important reason to maintain my car is who rides inside it. If you don't take good care of your car, and something happens where your family is injured or killed, it will be more costly than all the new cars in the world. So not only to extend the life of your new car, maintain it for your families safety as well.

Service Schedule

Recommended Service Schedule:
 

Every 3,000 miles or 3 months:

  • Replace Engine Oil and Filter.

Every 7,500 miles or 6 months:

  • Replace Engine Oil and Filter.
  • Service battery.
  • Rotate and balance tires.

Every 15,000 miles or 1 year:

  • Replace Engine Oil and Filter.
  • Flush and fill transmission fluid. Replace transmission filter.
  • Replace air and fuel filters.
  • Replace PCV and breather element.
  • Replace carbon canister filter.
  • Service battery.
  • Rotate and balance tires.
  • Service brakes.

Every 30,000 miles or 2 years:

Every 60,000 miles:

  • Replace Engine Oil and Filter.
  • Flush and replace coolant.
  • Flush and refill brake fluid.
  • Flush and refill power steering fluid.
  • Replace air and fuel filters.
  • Replace carbon canister filter.
  • Replace PCV and breather element.
  • Replace distributor cap, rotor and wires.
  • Replace spark plugs.
  • Replace timing belt.
  • Service battery.
  • Replace differential/transfer case fluid.
  • Service brakes.