Helpful Car Care Tips | Typical Maintenance and Repair

Here at Cary Car Care we try our best to make sure you are as informed as possible when it comes to your vehicle. This is important not only for day-to-day maintenance but so you can better understand what we do when you trust us to keep your car in tip top shape.

In today’s post we’ll cover typical maintenance and repair. You can think of these items as some of the most common maintenance procedures and repairs necessary to keep your car operating safely and optimally.

Periodic oil and filter changes keep your engine clean on the inside.  Additives, which break down over time, are also subject to contamination. Other car fluids may require periodic replacement. For example, the majority of automatic transmission failures are heat-related, and automatic transmission fluid breaks down rapidly when subjected to high temperatures. Your car owner’s manual may specify periodic flushing and filling of the brake hydraulic system because contaminated brake fluid may lead to corrosion and other problems in the hydraulic system, especially on cars with antilock brakes (ABS).

At Cary Car Care we urge replacing belts, radiator and heater hoses at specific recommended intervals to prevent your car from breaking down. Losing a belt today means big trouble for the engine because serpentine belts are used on most engines to turn the water pump, alternator, power steering and air conditioning compressor. Older cars use individual V-belts for these various accessories. A blown hose results in an overheated engine and can lead cause additional damage.  It’s not easy to know the true condition of a belt or hose by outward appearance because most fail from the inside out.  Rubber hoses can become hard and brittle, deteriorating with age and heat exposure causing them to split, blister or leak while belts can also break down with heat, mileage and age.

The brake system is your car ‘s most important safety system, so make sure you never put off routine brake inspections!

Brakes are a normal wear item for any car. Eventually they will need to be replaced for both performance and safety reasons. Planning for this can help save you money as you can prevent your brakes from reaching the “metal-to-metal” point, which typically means accelerating the need for rotor or drum replacement.

Have your brake linings, drums and rotors and brake fluid inspected at each tune up or oil change. Your car owner’s manual may also specify periodic flushing and filling or the brake hydraulic system.

We’ve covered this in detail on the blog in our previous blog post, Do I Need a Wheel Alignment? , but it’s important to remember that maintaining your car’s wheel alignment reduces tire wear, improves fuel economy and handling and increases drive safety. Normal wear and road conditions take their toll on your car’s steering and suspension system and throwing the alignment settings out of specifications can damage steering and suspension parts long term.

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Thanks so much for reading! In our next Helpful Car Care Tips post we’ll cover Vehicle Systems and Parts including the Engine, Fuel System, Transmission and Emission System.