Mandatory Car Maintenance

Unless you live in a city with easily accessible mass transit, you rely on your car for your day to day life. Whether you drive into town from the outskirts on a daily basis or just enjoy visiting friends in neighboring towns, your car must be in tip-top shape or you'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere. By making sure to keep your car tuned up, you also ensure your own safety and avoid a lot of frustration. These mandatory auto maintenance tips are the most important things you should do for your car in order to keep it running smoothly for years to come.

Oil change: You should be getting an oil change every 3,000 miles or 3 months in order to keep your car up and running. If you have experience changing oil, you can do this at home and save some money on the cost of labor that a mechanic would typically charge.

Spark plugs: Typically, you'll have conventional spark plugs in your car, which should be changed every 30,000 miles. However, if you know your car has double platinum spark plugs, they should be changed every 50,000 miles.

Transmission filter and fluid: Your car's transmission filter should be changed at 30,000, 90,000, and 150,000 miles. The transmission fluid should be changed at 60,000, 120,000, and 180,000 miles.
Fuel filter: Unless your car's fuel filter is in the fuel tank, you should be changing it every 35,000 to 40,000 miles. However, if your tank is ever dropped, you should change the fuel filter immediately.
Coolant flush: You should have your mechanic do a coolant flush every 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Tire rotation: One of the most important maintenance tips is tire rotation. Every 5,000 to 8,000 miles, you should have your car's tires rotated. If left untouched, the car's tires will wear down at an unbalanced rate because the weight in your car can be distributed unevenly. Your back left tire may be worn down way less than your front right tire, which will cause balance issues.

Tire alignment: Going hand in hand with tire rotation is getting the alignment checked out every 15,000 to 20,000 miles. This can go unchecked for some time as long as your car is still driving straight.

Brake fluid and power steering fluid flushes: These fluids should be flushed every two years or when they look dirty, whichever comes first.

Professional fuel injection: Your car needs a fuel injection done by a professional mechanic every 40,000 miles to keep it running smoothly.

Throttle bore plate: The throttle bore plate must be cleaned every 20,000 miles.

Air induction: This service should be performed every 20,000 miles as well.

Air filter, cabin air filter, PCV valve: These three items should be replaced as needed.


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