Five Common Misconceptions About Car Servicing

It’s All About The Engine

Most people understand that every car service involves changing the engine oil and filter. While this is true in almost all cases, the oil and filter change is only a minor part of the overall car service. The bulk of the time, over one hour at The Torque Team, is spent on safety and reliability checks, things like brakes, steering, tyres and suspension. There’s also lighting, battery, starting and charging checks and a general check of fluid levels and condition. And not to forget the little things like wiper blades, windscreen washers and the often overlooked cabin filter. So as you can see, while protecting your engine with regular oil changes is an important part of car servicing, it’s all the little checks that give you the peace of mind that your car will reliability take you through to the next service.

two mechanics working on engine

All Car Services Are The Same
Like all things in life, with car servicing you get what you pay for. And what you get for a more expensive car service is more time for the mechanic to spend thoroughly checking over your car. These extra checks have a number of benefits. Firstly, there’s the peace of mind you get from knowing that your car is actually safe to drive under all conditions. Not just for you the driver, but also for your passengers, other drivers and pedestrians too. Secondly, a really thorough car service will pick up those little problems before they become big ones. Improving reliability and potentially saving you money in the long run. And finally, there’s the little things like lubricating the door, bonnet and boot catches, adjusting the hand brake, setting the tyre pressures and cleaning the windscreen. All of which adds up to a “complete” car service.

 

The Advantages Of Log Book Car Servicing
Modern cars are complex machines. As they age, different components and systems need attention at different times to maintain the car in top condition. These times are called service intervals and they can vary by time, distance or both. To keep your car in top condition, a car maker might specify that at the 10,000 km or 12 month car service, you should change your engine oil and filter; at the 20,000 km or 24 month car service you should change your air filter and cabin filter and at the 40,000 km or 48 month car service, you should change your engine coolant and brake fluid. These specifications are then consolidated into a log book service schedule. Of course, a complete log book service is much more complex than this. But what it means for your car is that it’s getting the maintenance and attention exactly when it’s needed to keep it in tip-top condition. And while these car services will certainly cost you a little more, they will pay off in the long run.

 

My Car Is Old, So It Doesn’t Need Much Servicing
While it’s understandable that some people don’t want to spend much money on an old car, it’s not really a good idea to skimp on car service. Modern cars are complex machines and as they age, they need more attention to keep them safe and reliable, not less. Once your car has racked up more than 150,000 km, things like suspension and steering, braking, cooling and drivetrain components (just to name a few) will start to wear beyond a serviceable condition. So it really does need a thorough car service performed by an attentive mechanic to make sure it remains safe and reliable through to the next service.

 

My Car Needs a Tune-Up
Back in the days when all petrol cars had carburetors and distributor ignition systems, every car service included a tune-up. The mechanic would remove and clean the points, check and adjust spark plug gaps and maybe adjust the idle and mixture on the carburetor. But in order to meet modern emission standards, every car needs to be running at its best, all the time. To achieve this the vehicle’s engine control unit (ECU) uses a closed loop feedback process to constantly monitor performance and make minute adjustments, many times a second. So if your car is running poorly, a tune-up isn’t the solution. It’s most likely a component failure.

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