Everyone knows that a healthy diet paired with a regular exercise routine is essential for a healthy lifestyle, but car owners underestimate the importance of maintenance for your vehicle’s health.
Regular car maintenance ensures safety for you and your passengers, prevents costly repairs or mechanical issues, and increases the longevity of your vehicle.
Basic Car Maintenance
Keep your car healthy with this basic car maintenance checklist from MAS Repair:
Air Filter
Your engine needs a fresh supply of clean air, free of contaminates, to stay cool and running in top condition, making a new filter essential. A dirty filter restricts this air intake and hampers the engine.
- When to Change: Every 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Brakes
Your brakes are one of your most important safety features, protecting you from collisions and close calls. Check the brake fluid levels regularly and watch your brake pads for wear. Taking care of your brakes early can prevent major repairs later.
- When to Change: Change your brake fluid every 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first, and change the brake pads whenever they drop below normal thickness.
Tires
Tires are key to you and your passenger’s safety. Driving around on bald or worn tires can decrease braking time, and increase the chance of skidding in poor weather. This can lead to a flat or blown tire.
- When to Change: Replace your tires according to tread. Place a penny in the groove of the tread. If Lincoln’s head is visible, it’s time for new tires. For cars driven less often, tires should be replaced every six to 10 years, regardless of tread, to ensure the strength of the tire.
Coolant
Coolant wears many different hats for your vehicle, making it a very important radiator fluid. It acts as an antifreeze, coolant, and guards against cooling system corrosion. Check your coolant levels regularly.
- When to Change: Every 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Spark Plugs
Spark plugs help fire up the mixture of air and fuel in each cylinder, helping to create optimum gas mileage. Not getting the mileage you once were? It may be time to replace your spark plugs.
- When to Change: Replace your spark plugs every 30,000 miles or according to your owner’s manual.
Oil & Oil Filter
Getting your oil changed is one of the best things you can do for your car. Oil lubricates your engine, keeping it cool and reducing friction that causes scratches from any dirt or grime that gets into the engine.
- When to Change: Change your oil and oil filter every 3,000 – 5,000 miles.
Battery
Nothing’s worse than being stranded due to an old battery. Keep yourself from getting stuck by checking your battery regularly. Visually, check your battery every couple of months to look for corrosion. Even a little white residue on your battery posts can keep your car from starting normally.
To clean corrosion off your posts, disconnect the negative battery cable when the car is turned off, mix some baking soda and water together or buy a battery cleaner from the MAS Repair auto store and brush away the corrosion from the posts.
- When to Change: Replace your battery every 48-60 months or as needed.
Find Expert Car Maintenance at MAS Repair
Even with the best car maintenance checklist, vehicles still need repairs every once in a while. If your car needs repair, skip the high dealership costs and bring your vehicle or auto part by MAS Repair’s Buford shop.
We repair, test and have restored auto parts ready to go within 24 hours of receiving them. Plus, every part repaired by our technicians is covered by our Lifetime Warranty and 100% money-back guarantee.
Start your repair today! Call our expert MAS Repair technicians at 678-778-8890.