A recent report stated that over 80 percent of the vehicles on the road have one or more service or repair that’s needed, but hasn’t been taken care of. Now that’s a lot of undone service. That translates into something over 160 million vehicles in the US alone. Some of the neglected items are minor. Others are serious safety concerns.

There are several reasons why we hesitate to take care of recommended services – especially services that our automotive advisor recommends when we’re in for something else, like an oil change.

The first issue boils down to comfort with car care. We don’t always feel we know enough to make good decisions. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that vehicles are so reliable these days. They almost become an appliance. Of course you love your car, but if you don’t have to worry about it breaking down all the time, you’re not forced to think as much about preventive maintenance.

Perhaps your dad knew a lot about cars and always made sure they were taken care of. He was very comfortable dealing with his service advisor. People who don’t know as much about cars hesitate to ask questions because they don’t want to look ignorant.

It’s human nature. But, there’s so much to know in this world, we can’t all be experts in everything. So we specialize. It’s very important to ask questions of any specialist, whether it’s your doctor, financial advisor or your automotive technician.

Your auto technician wants your questions. He wants you to understand the recommendation and why it needs to be done.

That brings us to the next issue. People say that they don’t always know if they really need the service or if they are just being sold something.

At the heart, it speaks to trust. Do you trust your service center and your service advisor? Trust has to be earned and that takes time and experience. But you can shortcut the process when you realize that most of the recommendations are based in manufacturer’s maintenance schedules.

In other words, “you don’t have to trust me, you can trust your owner’s manual”.

Your service center has computer databases that contain the manufacturer’s recommendations for most all vehicles, so they don’t need to rummage through your glove box to look for your owner’s manual to know what to do.

Basically, the engineers who designed the car say here’s when you need to have it serviced. That’s who makes the recommendation, not the technician. He’s just reminding you.

Now you do need to trust your technician’s experience and judgment from time to time. When he inspects your vehicle, he may find problems or concerns. He will explain things so that you can prioritize the concern and make a good decision about whether or not to have something done.

That brings us to the third issue: Money. Often the concern is about spending the money to take care of a recommended service. Our money has many places it needs to go. And we have another list of places we want it to go. Auto maintenance isn’t usually on those lists.

Look, everyone who works at the service center has a family budget too. They can relate. Maybe a little look behind the scenes would be helpful.

Service centers invest heavily in training, diagnostic equipment and tools so that they can make repairs and perform services as efficiently as possible. And like any other business, they have labor costs, insurance, rent, utilities, shop and office supplies, taxes and so on.

They work hard to make sure that they diagnose the problem correctly and fix it right the first time. That’s the only way they can maintain our reputation and remain in business. If they’re not satisfying our customers and providing a good value, they won’t come back and the service center won’t be around for long.

When there is a real budget concern, your service center can help you prioritize the work that needs to be done and come up with a plan for taking care of it that works within your budget.

Let’s say you have a serious problem with your brakes. That’s a safety concern so a technician can’t ethically say, well, let’s put that off for a couple of months. What they can do is take care of the brakes now and address the cabin air filter or transmission service next month.

We’re going to be talking about the ethics of automotive repair. It seems like news outlets really like exposés. They hit everyone from groceries stores to retail to physicians. And the automotive service and repair industry hasn’t been given a pass either.

Unfortunately, every profession has some bad actors that hurt the reputation of everyone else. On the automotive side, industry associations and professional licensing organizations are very committed to high ethical standards.

Yet some people are uncomfortable with automotive service and repair. It may start with the fact that our vehicles are a big investment and we rely on them for so much in our lives. That alone guarantees our attention. And how well we understand the recommendations really impacts our comfort level.

If we understand what’s recommended and the benefits of taking care of the work – and the pitfalls of putting it off – we’ll have more trust in the recommendation. So communication is key. It’s like going to the doctor. If she’s using medical jargon and takes a lot of basic medical knowledge for granted, we have a hard time following her train of thought. It can be like that with your service advisor too. He’s so familiar with all things automotive, he may forget you don’t know a PCV from an EGT.

If you don’t understand what your doctor’s talking about: ask some questions. If you don’t understand what your automotive advisor’s talking about: ask some questions.

Let’s go back to those ethical standards. When we hear a repair recommendation, we always ask ourselves, “Is this really necessary?” Well, here’s the industry standard:

If a technician tells you that a repair or replacement is required it must meet the following criteria:

1. The part no longer performs its intended purpose
2. The part does not meet a design specification
3. The part is missing

For example, it you take your car in for a grinding noise when you step on the brakes, you may just think you need new brake pads. After the inspection, the technician say that you have a cracked rotor and need to replace it.

If tried to get him to just put new pads on, he would say that if you didn’t want to replace the rotor, he would ethically have to refuse the repair.

To just put pads on a cracked rotor would have been very wrong. The brakes could’ve failed at anytime and needed to be repaired – not just have a band-aid slapped on them.

Now, looking at something not so serious, the technician may suggest repair or replacement if:

1. The part is close to the end of its useful life – just above discard specifications or likely to fail soon
2. to address a customer need or request – like for better ride or increased performance
3. to comply with maintenance recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer
4. based on the technician’s informed experience

Of course, the technician has the burden of making ethical recommendations and properly educating their customers. For the customer, if you are uncomfortable with a recommendation, ask some questions. More information is always a good thing.

We find that a lot of service and repair customers are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisers. They want to ask questions, but don’t want to be embarrassed or to seem pushy. Cars are very complicated and there’s more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it’s because cars have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn’t need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road.

You know, your local hospital has a Patient’s Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction.

It’s all about the communication. It’s a little harder when you’re trying to find the right service center. But once you’ve developed a relationship, the communication should come easier.

What are some of the barriers to communication? Well, let’s go back to the medical example. When your doctor’s explaining something to you, it’s something that she understands very well and is very familiar with. So she may use jargon you don’t understand or that you don’t have the education and training that’s foundational to understanding what she’s trying to explain.

So you fall behind and get frustrated.

It’s a lot the same with your automotive service advisers. Most of them are very busy trying to service and fix cars to get their customers back on the road. So, just ask when you feel you need more information.

Financial related issues seem to be most frustrating to customers. If you’re not sure, ask what the payment policies are. For example, there’s a big difference between giving your car a quick once over and doing a thorough inspection. Diagnosing a problem may take quite a while. Make sure you know what’s done as a courtesy and what has a fee. Remember, you still have to pay for the office visit even if the doctor says you only have a cold.

Communication is a two way street. If you have some real budget concerns, ask your service adviser what he can do. He can give you priorities and options. He can tell you what needs to be taken care of right away for safety or financial reasons. Then you can work out a plan for when to get the rest done. He can also help you with options on the parts. The preference is to always use a high-quality part with a reputation for reliability. But if money is real tight, he might be able to find a rebuilt part or a used part. He should tell you the difference in the guarantee for the part so you can make a good decision.

Ask about warranties for parts and labor. Be sure to get all the paperwork you need to make a possible claim in the future. Your service center and its technicians stand behind their work and want you to understand precisely what that means.

Be sure to ask for and keep a detailed explanation of all the work that’s done on your vehicle. These records will help you keep track of service, warranties and document the good care your vehicle has received when the time comes to sell it.

AutoNetTV provides great auto tips videos for your service center waiting room and online website. Check out our other great auto tips videos.

No matter how well they’re made, cars are bound to have problems with their design or manufacturing. When the government thinks a problem is really serious, they require the manufacturer to issue a recall notice and fix the car free of charge. The manufacturer then tries to contact everyone who owns that type of car until the work is done.

These recalls always affect safety, so you need to take them seriously. It’s really easy to find out if a vehicle is being recalled.
For links to government sites, look in the www.AutoNetTV.com website.

Other website include: carfax.com; autobytel.com; and dmv.org. All of these sites have free recall searches.

Recalls are pretty serious and don’t happen all that often. But sometimes cars have less serious problems that you still might want to know about. In this case, manufacturers issue what is known as a Technical Service Bulletin – or TSB. These bulletins tell service centers how to repair a problem that occurs frequently or is especially difficult.

The pros receive updated information through subscription plans, which are sometimes available in consumer versions too. You can buy access to these for an annual fee.

Whatever your source, pay attention to vehicle recalls to keep you and your passengers safe.

All pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying.  They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget important steps.   It is also how you can assure a predictable outcome.

That is why service centers have procedural standards for each service they perform.  Technicians are trained step by step.  And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, centers can assure a quality outcome.  The job is done right every time and you are happy with how your car performs.

Each company trains its technicians to standards.  The industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service.

An example is how service technicians grade problems and communicate their recommendations. If a technician tells you that a repair or replacement is required it must meet the following criteria:

1. The part no longer performs its intended purpose
2. The part does not meet a design specification
3. The part is missing

The technician may suggest repair or replacement if:

1. The part is close to the end of its useful life – just above discard specifications or likely to fail soon
2. To address a customer need or request – like for better ride or increased performance
3. To comply with maintenance recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer
4. Based on the technician’s informed experience

Here are some examples:

An exhaust pipe has rusted through and is leaking.  Replacement is required because the part has failed.  If the pipe were rusted, corroded or weak, but not leaking, the technician may suggest it be replaced because it is near the end of its useful life and replacing it now may be more convenient for the customer.

Suppose a customer wants to improve his car’s handling, but his shocks haven’t failed.  The technician may suggest replacement of the shocks to satisfy the customer’s wishes.

Under these guidelines the service center must refuse partial service of a required repair if the repair creates or continues an unsafe condition.  Let’s say a customer has a cracked brake rotor.  This is a dangerous condition that must be repaired.  If the customer does not want to replace the rotor, but instead just wants new brake pads installed, the shop must ethically refuse the partial repair. That can be an upsetting conversation, but understanding that service centers operate under service standards and procedures is comforting.  You want your service to be done right and to have confidence in your technician’s recommendations.

The automotive service industry and your local service center want the best for you and for you to keep coming back.  AutoNetTV is committed to providing automotive maintenance information to help you be confident in your service decisions.