Learning about car maintenance is kind of like learning how to shave. It's one of those life skills that a parent passes down to his child. If you weren’t lucky enough to go through the father-son rite, then you need to figure it out yourself. Sadly, people don't always learn everything correctly and end up unknowingly committing car maintenance slipups.
Some of the most common car maintenance mistakes include avoiding good advice from the mechanic to save money or neglecting oil and air filters. Besides that, tyre maintenance like rotating and balancing is also often overlooked. Lastly, people also make the mistake of not fixing windscreen damage and replacing their windshield wipers.
Keep on reading as we explore some of the most common car maintenance mistakes that you should avoid. Besides keeping your car in excellent shape, avoiding these mistakes could also save you a great deal of embarrassment.
Let’s get started.
Car Maintenance Mistakes You Should Avoid
If you’d like to avoid car maintenance mistakes that most people make, you can start by avoiding the following:
1. Ignoring Good Advice to Minimise Car Maintenance Cost
Unfortunately, a lot of car owners out there are distrustful towards mechanics. Some subscribe to the idea that all mechanics are out to cheat them, charge them for unnecessary repairs, and run away with their money.
Sure, any industry has its bad apples, there’s no denying that. It’s good to know, though, that most mechanics will give you the best advice to gain your trust and keep you coming back. Their business is one of those that rely on returning customers and good feedback.
So if you’re taking your car to the mechanic for its regular maintenance and your car guy points out other problems that your vehicle might have, you should listen. Give weight to his suggestions, ask questions to understand the situation better, and solicit his ideas about possible solutions.
A good mechanic will gladly walk you through the problem and explain what you can do to solve it.
Some people might ignore the advice they get for the sake of saving some money. However, if the mechanic highlights an issue that could become a big problem later on, there’s a risk that you’ll spend more when that time comes.
If trust is an issue, then put in some extra effort to find mechanics you can trust so you won’t have qualms whenever they give you good advice.
2. Neglecting Filters
Cars rely on several filters to function correctly. Typically, cars will have oil and air filters for the engine and one or more additional air filters for the cabin. These filters catch all sorts of dirt, debris, and anything else that shouldn’t be floating around in your oil or the air circulating in your car.
Over time, however, these filters get saturated and need to be cleaned or replaced. Typically, mechanics will include oil filter replacements and, at minimum, air filter cleaning as part of their car maintenance checklist.
However, that might not be the case with car owners taking the DIY route, maintaining their cars at home.
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of your car’s filters, which shouldn’t be the case. They protect your engine and maximise your comfort by removing things that don’t belong in your car, so make it a point to never neglect them.
3. Not Rotating or Balancing Tyres
Some of the most common car maintenance mistakes are those related to your car tyres. Those tyres can last a very long time before going bald and losing traction. Sadly, people make the mistake of not including tyre rotating or balancing as part of their car maintenance checklist.
Rotating and balancing your tyres comes at a price, which is why it might be tempting to forego those tasks. Still, bear in mind that they could extend the lifespan of your tyres and help you go longer before you need to buy a brand new set.
The critical thing to remember here is preventative maintenance. These and other maintenance tasks might seem unnecessary at first glance, but their actual value is in the problems they help prevent. In this case, rotating and balancing tyres will prevent your tyres from wearing out so quickly.
4. Not Fixing Minor Windscreen Damage
Have you ever driven down the highway and seen another car with a huge, unmistakable crack on their windscreen. There's a possibility that the damage didn't start off that large but got more prominent the longer the driver ignored it.
That’s right! Not fixing minor windscreen damage is a serious car maintenance and repair mistake, which is why we added it to this list.
You see, all car windscreens will suffer from some minor damage eventually. That includes things like chips and cracks. Ideally, you should get them fixed as soon as you notice them. A qualified windscreen repair specialist can fix small chips and cracks on windshields without a problem, though it will surely add to your overall car maintenance cost.
You’re making a huge mistake if you choose to ignore that minor damage. The reason for that is simple: because these chips and cracks get worse with time. They’ll get so big that you can’t fix them anymore, and at some point, you'll have to replace the windshield entirely.
Driving around with a severely cracked windshield is also dangerous. That could put you and other road users at risk and lead to you getting hefty fines.
5. Excluding Windshield Wipers From Regular Car Maintenance
Lastly, one of the most common car maintenance mistakes is excluding windshield wipers from your car maintenance checklist. The front and rear wipers are small and cheap parts, which is probably why they’re often missed.
Even if you don’t use them often, windshield wiper blades will wear out over time, thanks to the hot weather and other environmental factors. Not only will worn-out wipers be useless in heavy rain, but they could also cause damage to your windshield.
For these reasons, you should consider replacing your windshield wipers at least twice a year or whenever you take your car in for its regular maintenance. Wipers are affordable and easy to replace. You could even replace them yourself at home using our handy guide.
Read More Quick Car Maintenance Tips!
For more helpful car maintenance guides, check out the blog at Carpart.com.au. There, you’ll learn about car maintenance mistakes and possible car maintenance costs for certain repairs.
By Ray Hasbollah