We’re all aware that automotive manufacturers have recommended service intervals. Following recommended service intervals is very important. The engineers that design our vehicles have tested the various systems and components to meet durability and safety standards. Some of these standards are self-imposed and others, like those for emissions components, are government mandated.

The maintenance schedules are designed to achieve the standards. Think of the benefits of following recommended intervals as falling into three general categories: Protection, Efficiency and Safety.

Protection. Let’s start with motor oil. First of all, the engineers recommend a particular weight and type of motor oil. All of their oil change recommendations assume using the proper motor oil. Motor oil contains detergents and other additives that clean the engine and provide corrosion resistance. Over time, the additives are depleted. The oil also becomes contaminated by water, dirt and combustion gases.

Extending your interval beyond the recommendation means that your engine will be operating without the full protection of fresh motor oil. It also means that sludge can form in contaminated oil and clog up passages in the engine, starving parts from needed lubrication.

Efficiency. Some services are designed to keep automotive systems operating efficiently. For example, the fuel system gets clogged up with gum and varnish from the fuel. Fuel doesn’t flow efficiently which reduces fuel economy. A fuel system cleaning restores the fuel system’s efficiency and increases your gas mileage.

Safety. Your brakes are obviously one of the most important safety systems on your vehicle. The manufacturer has scheduled brake pad replacement as well as power brake fluid drain and replacement intervals. Because brakes are so important, a brake inspection is also on the schedule to head off problems before they result in an accident.

Check your owner’s manual for recommended service schedules or talk with your auto service adviser.

You may be surprised to learn that various inspections may be on your list of factory recommendations. These inspections are usually at major intervals like fifteen or thirty thousand miles. They’re designed to uncover important parts that may be close to failing. Your owner’s manual can tell you when to change your oil, but it can’t tell you that you have a radiator hose that’s bulging and about to burst. For that you need a trained technician. These scheduled inspections are in addition to the multi-point inspections done with a full-service oil change.

Myths start with a grain of evidence and are then built up with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some bloggers recall the vehicles of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free, and note that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off.

Let’s examine a couple of the more popular rants and look at the truth behind them.

The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that anyone who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan.

The truth on which the myth is based is that most cars come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on some cars. A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair. And most trucks and truck based SUVs still require chassis lubrication. This is because they are more heavy duty and proper greasing is still required to keep them going.

Another common rant is that modern cars don’t need tune-ups. That depends on your definition of a tune-up, which has changed as technology has progressed. Before engine control computers, electronic ignition and fuel injection, a tune up meant replacing mechanical parts that wore out. You’d manually adjust fuel and air mix and timing. When these adjustments were off, spark plugs would foul and need to be replaced.

This definition just doesn’t apply to modern vehicles. Service centers generally consider a tune-up to be the major service visit, recommended by your manufacturer, every 30,000 miles or so.

Of course you can’t lubricate a sealed joint. Of course you can’t adjust a carburetor if your car doesn’t have one. You don’t need to change spark plugs every year if your manufacturer says they can go 30,000 miles. What are these blogger getting so worked up about?

The danger with these modern-day myths, is that they prevent people from taking care of the routine preventive maintenance that manufactures recommend. Listen to this partial list of things you still need to do to take care of your car. How many of them are really any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago?

Oil change, cooling system service, transmission service, tire balancing, tire rotation, wheel alignment, suspension service, power steering service, proper tire inflation, brake service, differential service, battery maintenance, engine air filer, PCV valve, breather element, fuel filter, belts, hoses, timing belt, windshield wipers . . .

You get the picture. Your car or truck is still a machine that needs to be maintained. And, hey, your service advisers have always adapted to keep pace with automotive technology. Next time you come across an angry voice about your car care, talk to your service adviser, or do some research of your own.

Today we’ll be talking with Alan Peterson about myths surrounding automotive maintenance. You can lump these myths into the statement that “modern cars are so reliable, they are virtually maintenance free”.

Any good myth has some elements of truth. No offense to Big Foot fans, but this maintenance-free myth has more evidence than most. If we look at some isolated areas of auto maintenance, we could conclude that maintenance isn’t so important. But other areas would just as easily lead you to believe that maintenance is more important than ever.

Here are some examples. Some cars no longer require chassis lubrication. They’re made with self-lubricating materials and have sealed joints. There’s literally is no way to grease those joints.

—Chalk one up for the myth.

On the other side, some vehicles come with sophisticated variable valve timing. A lot of complicated parts up in the valve train that didn’t even exist not that many years ago. These parts are very vulnerable to oil sludge.

So skipping an oil change here and there could lead to very expensive damage.

—A point to maintenance.

Electronic ignition has eliminated replacing points.

—Myth gets a point.

Fuel injectors on direct injection engines are very expensive to replace so one must be sure to get a fuel system cleaning on schedule.

—Point – maintenance.

I think you get the picture. As automotive technology advances, it eliminates or reduces some maintenance requirements. And maintenance becomes more critical for some items. Most others remain very similar to what they’ve always been.

So the maintenance mindset is still important if we want our vehicles to last a long time. The checklist may change over time, but there’ll always be a check list.

Let me mention a couple of items on modern vehicles that folks need to be aware of. One of the most of the most important is timing belt replacement. Used to be that all engines had timing chains – you know, metal chains. They rarely broke.

It’s cheaper to make engines with timing belts rather than chains, so replacing the timing belt is on most engines’ maintenance list. The money the manufacturer saves by using a belt is more than off-set by what the vehicle owner has to pay to replace the belt. And it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of repairing the damage if the timing belt breaks.

So make sure you know when your timing belt needs to be replaced. You don’t want to miss that. If you have 60,000 miles or more, break out your owner’s manual or ask your service advisor to check on the recommendation right away.

Another is sealed wheel bearing assemblies on some vehicles. As you might have guessed, it’s cheaper to make a sealed unit than one that has access to inspect or service the wheel bearings. The problem is that when the bearings fail, you have to replace the entire unit, not just the bearings. That’ll cost 5 or 6 times as much.

We hope this has underscored the importance of knowing and following your maintenance schedule.

When I was a kid, my dad always made sure he took the cars in for Spring and Fall checkups. I was telling a friend that it’s about time to get into the shop for my checkup and he said that he read on the internet that modern cars don’t need seasonal service.

My friend is technically, right about some things, but from a practical standpoint, a seasonal check up still makes sense.

Back when my dad was teaching me about how to take care of the family car, most cars used a different weight of oil in the winter and in the summer. But most of today’s modern engines run the same oil year round. High-tech engines and high-tech motor oils are better able to handle the seasonal changes.

Your owner’s manual or service advisor can tell you the right oil to use.

Of course, you’re concerned about the coolant or antifreeze. You don’t want to overheat in the summer or freeze up in the winter. Your engine cooling system protects against both of these things. And modern coolant – or as it’s sometimes called, antifreeze – is up to doing both very well. It’s designed to last for more miles than most people drive in a year or two.

So how does a Spring and Fall check-up fit in? Let’s start with Spring. Summer is coming. That means heat, more miles driven and road trips. It just makes sense to check your fluid levels and do a visual inspection to see that everything is up to snuff.

You may not be scheduled to drain and replace the coolant for some time, but you need to make sure you have enough coolant, and that you don’t have any leaks or hoses that are about to fail.

That’s pretty practical – a check-up to see if there are any problems or emerging conditions that could later become a problem, like a cracked belt.

And the same principle applies for getting ready for winter. Cold weather means lots of failed batteries. It takes more power to crank up a cold engine, and cold also decreases the available cranking power the battery has available.

So a battery test in the Fall could tell you if you’ve got a battery that is running on its last legs. And of course, if you live where winter temperatures get below 45 degrees or you have ice and snow, you’ll want to consider changing to winter tires.

So Spring and Fall checkups are practical reminders to get ready for the demands of the hot and cold seasons to come.

And odds are that you have one or more routine services that are due anyway. Like a transmission service, brake or power steering fluid, differential service – stuff like that. Are your wiper blades still good? Are your headlamps starting to dim?

So Spring and Fall: change your clocks, replace the batteries in your smoke detectors – and get a check-up for your cars.

See, dad was right again.

Let’s talk about deciphering the service menu board. Service centers have a board that lists the routine services they provide. But some people don’t know what these services really are unless they ask. Let’s go down a typical list, in alphabetical order, starting with air conditioning service.

First remember that all of these services are recommended by vehicle manufacturers. They set how often or at how many miles the service should be done.

Air conditioning service involves purging the old refrigerant and capturing it for proper disposal. Then fresh refrigerant is installed. The fresh refrigerant will lubricate the system and will also help it cool better.

Alignment. They make sure all four wheels are lined up and track with each other. This reduces tire and suspension wear and improves safety and handling.

Battery service. Inspect the battery for corrosion, leaks or damage. Test the battery’s ability to hold a charge. If the battery’s still strong, clean it up. If not, replace it.

Brakes. This could be two things. A brake inspection to see if the brakes are working well mechanically and to see if the pads are still safe. If not, replace the pads and make any repairs that might be in order.

The other thing is to evacuate the brake fluid, clean out the system and replace it with fresh fluid. This is important, but often over looked.

Cabin air filter. The cabin air filter is the filter that cleans the air that comes into the passenger compartment. It works like the filter on your furnace at home. It gets dirty and needs to be changed.

Cooling system. This is the cooling system for your engine. Replace the old coolant with fresh to protect your radiator and other cooling system components from corrosion.

Differential service. Every vehicle has at least one differential. They don’t require service very often, so people don’t think of them much. The differential transfers power from the drive train to your wheels. Drain the old fluid and add fresh lubricant.

Engine air filter. This filters the air that’s burned in the engine. It gets dirty and needs to be replaced.

Fuel filter. This filter cleans the fuel before it gets to the engine. Like the other filters, it gets clogged and needs to be replaced.

We live such busy lives nowadays: work, social events, running the kids all over. Some days it’s all we can do to keep track of everywhere we need to be. That’s why you’ve gotta be organized. Lists, PDA, calendar- we have to keep track of it all.

So let’s talk about schedules. Specifically, automotive service schedules. And particularly, the scheduled services that are sometimes forgotten.

We have a list of 10 service items that are often overlooked. They’re all very important and need appropriate attention. So here we go, in no particular order.

1. Power Steering Service
Be honest; have you ever thought of this on your own? Your power steering fluid gets dirty and builds-up moisture over time. Cleaning out your power steering system means that dirt and gum are removed and your power steering parts are protected from corrosion. Ask your service advisor if it’s time for a power steering check-up.

2. Wheel Alignment
When your wheels are out of alignment your car pulls to one side. It’s pretty annoying, but it’s also dangerous. And it causes your tires to wear out really fast; which is expensive! Most owners’ manuals suggest you get your alignment checked once or twice a year.

3. Differential Service
Okay, did you even know you had a differential? Well you do. One, two or three in fact. Differentials are often called gear boxes and they’re part of the drive-train that transfers power from the engine to your wheels. They don’t need service that often, but you can’t just ignore them. Check with your service adviser.

4. Cabin Air Filter
More and more cars these days have cabin air filters to clean the air in the passenger area where we sit. They filter out dust and pollen. When they’re clogged up, they can get smelly. Change your cabin air filter on schedule to enjoy fresh, clean air, which can also help with allergies.

5. Timing Belt Replacement
Most cars and some vans and trucks have timing belts. Without going into a lot of detail, let’s just say that your car won’t run without it – period. And if it breaks while you’re driving it can do thousands of dollars worth of engine damage. Check your owners’ manual or with your service adviser. If you’re approaching 60,000 miles; absolutely look into it right away.

6. Transmission Service
Transmission service is very basic, but it’s often forgotten. Your transmission needs clean fluid from time to time to keep running efficiently and avoid costly repairs. And it can improve your fuel economy too.

7. Air Conditioning Service
Most of us don’t think about our air conditioning until it doesn’t work. Then if you’re lucky, you just need to add refrigerant. If you’re not, some of the components may have been ruined. Those components are not cheap. Regular air conditioning service adds clean refrigerant which cools and lubricates your air conditioner and conditions the seals.

8. Brake Service
No we’re not talking about squealing, grinding brakes here. We’re talking brake fluid. Over time the fluid gets a lot of water in it. Because water compresses differently than the brake fluid, your brakes won’t work as well. It may even get dangerous. The water can also rust out brake system components and then your brakes can fail altogether. Check with your service adviser for recommendations.

9. Coolant System
Another thing that’s so easy to forget about: When you don’t change your antifreeze on schedule it becomes corrosive. Fresh coolant contains additives that maintain the pH balance in the coolant. These additives wear out and the fluid in the radiator can actually eat holes in the radiator or hoses. Then you’re stranded.

10. Fuel System Cleaning
In times of high fuel prices, fuel system cleaning is so important. Fuel gums up a bunch of parts as it moves from the gas tank and through the engine. A thorough fuel system cleaning will keep clean gas flowing into the engine. Your fuel injectors get gunked up over time and need to be cleaned. Having your fuel system cleaned on schedule will really help your fuel economy.

And there we have it; 10 services that are often overlooked. Did you know that a recent survey showed that 90 percent of vehicles on the road have at least one scheduled maintenance service that hasn’t been performed? Based on our busy lives, we’re not surprised.

We know it takes some thought and effort to actually maintain your vehicle; but it not only saves money in the long run – it saves time too. And we can all use a little more time.

Nothing in your engine workers harder than your oil.  With hundreds of moving parts, and thousands of explosions every minute, it’s no wonder that engine oil needs to be changed frequently!

You’ve probably heard the old rule of thumb: Change your oil every 3,000 miles/ 5,000 kilometers or 3 months, whichever comes first. But some car manufacturers have introduced extended oil change intervals.  They figure that a modern vehicle driven under the right conditions can go for 5,000 miles/8000 kilometers or more between oil changes.

The key phrase here is “under the right conditions”. If you look at your owner’s manual, you’ll see two different maintenance schedules: one for “normal” driving conditions and one for “Severe Service”.  Severe service driving conditions include stop and go, short trips, towing, hauling, hot, cold, and dusty driving. That’s why at AutoNetTV we often refer you to the severe service schedule in your owners’ manual, because, for most of us, that’s the way we use our cars in everyday life.

Recently, four of the largest auto manufacturers in the world have extended engine warranty coverage for engine damage caused by oil sludge resulting from longer oil change intervals.  They found that real-world conditions require more frequent oil changes than the 7,500mi/12,000 km interval they were recommending.  They subsequently recommended more frequent oil change intervals and proof of timely oil changes in order to qualify for the extended warranty.

Oil sludge is the culprit. Sludge is oil that has turned to a thick, jelly-like consistency.  Sludge can block passages in the engine, preventing oil from lubricating vital engine parts.  Parts wear more quickly and may fail prematurely.

Sludge is caused by several factors.  The first one is simply – time. The engine oil is contaminated by exhaust gas that eventually leads to sludge. That is where the recommendation to change your oil at least every three months comes from. Sludge can also come from oil that gets contaminated by water from normal condensation. A few minutes of driving at freeway speeds allows the oil to heat up enough for the water to evaporate. The problem is we often run errands or take other short trips that don’t allow the engine to warm up enough for the water to evaporate.  This is especially true in winter. Sludge also forms when the engine gets too hot, causing the oil to breakdown.  Stop and go summer driving, towing and hauling are all prime conditions for creating harmful sludge.  And every engine has hot spots that create sludge.

Given all of these factors, estimating when to change your oil is pretty complicated.  A couple of manufacturers have computer programs built into their vehicles that record the number of cold starts, how many times the cylinders fire, engine temperature and other factors.  From that, the computer estimates when you should change your oil and flashes a warning.  But what if you do not have a vehicle with this feature? How do you know when to change your oil? We’re not sure you really can.  Which is why it is better to be safe than sorry.  3,000 mi/5,000 km or three months – whichever comes first – talk with your service advisor and see if that’s a good recommendation for the way you drive.

Sometimes we hear people say, “What’s up with all this maintenance stuff?  Modern cars just don’t break down.” While it is true that today’s cars and trucks are extremely reliable, they are also becoming increasingly complicated and use more exotic materials than ever before.  All that complexity demands higher tolerances for everything. For example, most folks don’t realize how high tech automotive fluids have become.  Fluids like, engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant and brake fluid.

Did you know that a modern engine would not run for more than a few months using motor oil formulas from 30 years ago?  Today’s automotive fluids contain a much higher percentage of additives to protect your vehicle’s components from premature wear and corrosion.  Time and miles march on for all of our cars. Please don’t think we’re using scare tactics to get you to take care of your maintenance – but here are some personal stories from AutoNetTV staff members to emphasize the importance of getting things done when they are due. Names are withheld to avoid embarrassment to those who should know better. Even though they should know better, it usually comes down to real life: time and budget.  But they are tales of a stitch in time saves nine.

The first comes from a staffer who bought a used pick-up truck for his son.  The oil was clean and all the fluids were topped off.  A short time later, the truck overheated on the highway and shut down.  The repair shop diagnosed the problem: the radiator pan was corroded and dumped the coolant. Even though the coolant level was correct, it was clear that the coolant had never been exchanged – just topped off from time to time.  While this kept the engine cool, all of the anti-corrosion additives had worn out; the coolant became acidic and ate through the radiator pan. The cost: hundred of dollars and four days in the shop. This demonstrates the need to get your coolant exchanged on schedule.

Another story involves the true cost of skipping an annual inspection.  Our staffer took his SUV in for the state safety inspection to renew his registration.  At the inspection station, he learned that the law had changed and that his newer rig only required an inspection every two years.  He was very happy to save the $45 bucks. The problem was, his rear brake pads were very worn.  Two months later, it was bad enough that he could hear the grind – over the radio, DVD player and the kids.  He took it in to get the bad news. Both of the rear brake rotors were damaged.  The left one could be resurfaced.  The right had to be replaced.  So saving a few bucks on his safety inspection turned into an extra $500 over what brake pad replacement would have been. Moral of the story: don’t skip your annual inspections.  The irony is that many service centers would have done a brake inspection for free.

Next: a teenage daughter and a curb.  Daddy’s little princess smacked a curb when she turned into a shopping center and popped the tire.  The problem came when Dad didn’t get an alignment.  The impact was hard enough to ruin the tire – so it was hard enough wreck the alignment.  But instead of an alignment after the first tire, Papa ended up buying a second tire a few months later – and then an alignment.

Situation: son and wife with cars from the same manufacturer with essentially the same engine.  Our staffer checked the son’s maintenance schedule and saw that it needed a timing belt replacement at 90,000 miles/145,000 km.  He had it done – it cost several hundred dollars. His wife’s car had about 60,000 miles/97,000 km, so it should be ok for a while. Right? Wrong. The problem was that the wife had the turbo charged version.  Its belt was scheduled for replacement at 60,000 mi/97,000 km.  At 63,000 mi./101,000 km, the belt snapped on the interstate.  The valves all crashed down into the cylinders at high speed and the entire head was shredded and had to be replaced. The cost: several thousand dollars.  Does he wish he had checked the maintenance schedule?  You bet he does – every time he passes a big-screen TV.

We’re talking about taking care of little things before they become big things.  And when you take care of the little things, your car runs better and is more economical to operate. Remember to save those maintenance records.  It’ll show potential buyers that you’ve taken care of your vehicle and it will help you get a better price. Or when you buy a used car, check those records.  If there aren’t any, assume that the maintenance hasn’t been done and take it to your service center for an inspection.  Take care of unperformed maintenance sooner rather than later.

A lot of our viewers have asked whether or not they should use their severe service maintenance schedule, which is listed in their car owners’ manual.  It can be confusing.  Let’s clear the air on this subject. Cricket Killingsworth is from QMI/Heartland, a manufacturer of automotive products and fluids. She’s been in the automotive business for 20 years and is a speaker, a trainer, and a writer.  Cricket says there’s so much confusion on this topic because, “Most owners’ manuals actually have two maintenance schedules.  Sometimes these are called ‘regular service’ and ‘severe service’.  Sometimes they’re simply called Schedule 1 and Schedule 2.  A severe service schedule recommends that things like oil changes, air filter replacement, and transmission service be done more often:  either in fewer miles or in less time.”

Manufacturers create these specific schedules for each vehicle they make.  So there isn’t one generic schedule that applies to all cars.  In addition to your owners’ manual, service centers subscribe to information services that provide the maintenance schedules for every vehicle – so they can help you know when to take care of needed services. Below is a typical definition for severe service.

• Most trips are less than four miles
• Most trips are less than ten miles and outside temperatures are below freezing
• You drive in very hot weather
• The engine is at low speed most of the time (not on the highway)
• Stop and go driving
• You operate your vehicle in dusty or muddy conditions
• You tow a trailer, regularly carry heavy loads or carry a car-top carrier

It’s common sense:  Just a few minutes at freeway speeds allows the moisture in the oil to evaporate.  Very short trips, or trips of less than ten miles when it’s very cold, don’t allow the engine to heat up enough to get rid of the water.  And water in the oil leads to damaging sludge.  Also, towing and heavy loads raise operating temperatures and cause fluids to breakdown more quickly.  Dusty and muddy driving means that more dirt will get past the air filter to contaminate the fuel system and engine oil.

The bottom line is that you need to decide for yourself if the regular or severe service schedule is right for you, based on your driving.  Look at your owners’ manual, or talk with your service advisor who can help you know which schedule to follow.

Here is what a fleet manager said recently:  “Since city miles are generally tougher on vehicles than highway miles, we use the manufacture’s serve service schedule as the basis for our preventative maintenance program.  We massage those schedules over time, increasing or decreasing the service intervals so that they make the most sense.  There is a little bit of art to go along with the science.”

Make an honest evaluation of your driving habits.  Unless you do mostly highway driving in moderate weather, you’ll likely have a fairly good amount of severe service mixed in.  Some people just want to play it safe and follow the severe service recommendations, rather than analyzing how they drive each month.

The government mandates a lot of equipment on cars: emission devices and control computers; safety equipment like airbags; and crash worthiness requirements.  All of this is great for the motoring public, but it does add quite a bit to the price of a new car.

Because new cars are more expensive, people are driving their old cars longer.  The average car is now over nine years old.  68% of vehicles on the road have more than 75,000 miles/120,000 kilometers.  As cars age, their performance drops, they have difficulty idling for long periods and are more sensitive to weather extremes. Fortunately today’s cars are up to the challenge – but they need a little help to keep on going.

Some owner’s manuals don’t specify service requirements at higher mileage.  That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be done.  In fact, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of routine maintenance for cars with more than 120,000 miles/190,000 kilometers. Just extend regular service intervals out: for instance a service that’s recommended every 24,000 miles/38,000 kilometers should be performed at 24,000 mi/38,000 km; 48,000 mi/77,000 km; 72,000mi/116,000 km, 96,000 mi/154,000 km; and on and on.

Because of the additional stress older engines experience, the severe service maintenance schedule may be more appropriate than the regular schedule. Watch for leaks – seals and gaskets dry out over time and do not hold the fluids as well as they used to. It is also time to make sure you have a good technician.  There are some services and replacements that are scheduled after you put some clicks on the odometer, like timing belts, valve train adjustments, suspension, anti-lock brake service, air bags, etc.  And unexpected repairs down the road are just par for the course.

Check for unusual sounds, smells or the way your car feels.  These could be hints that trouble is brewing.  Better to catch it early before it turns into a costly repair. Regular wash and wax will help maintain your car’s appearance. One of the things you can do to really help your high mileage vehicle is to begin using high mileage formulation fluids.  There are special engine oils, coolants, and transmission and power steering fluids that are formulated for cars that have a higher mileage.

High mileage oil is designed to condition seals and gaskets, reduce wear and avoid premature burn off.  Older engines are dirtier inside – and dirty engines contaminate their oil faster.  High mileage oil has special additives that clean the engine, removing sludge deposits over time.  The result is less stress on the engine, better fuel economy and excellent wear protection.

Studies have even shown that using high mileage fluids early will actually prevent some of the problems of high kilometer vehicles.  So once you hit around 50,000 mi/80,000 km, consider stepping up to high mileage formulations. The fluids cost a bit more than standard fluids because of the additional additives, but they can be worth their weight in gold in terms of preventing repair costs down the road.

It does cost more to properly maintain a higher mileage vehicle – but it’s much cheaper than a new car payment!