Practice "Informed" Auto Maintenance and Avoid Potential Car Problems
Posted by Brian England on Thu, Dec 02, 2010
Last week, we published a blog on the importance of preventative maintenance, even in a poor economy. In addition to taking your car in at least twice a year, you should make sure that your auto repair shop is following the maintenance schedule recommended by the manufacturer. All manufactures have service schedules that should be followed to maintain your vehicle in a safe and reliable condition.
Here at British American Auto Care, we see examples where customers have taken their car to an auto technician and the MANUFACTURER’S RECOMMEDATIONS WERE NOT FOLLOWED. An example of this relates to removing wheels on (mainly) European cars. You would not think this would be an issue, but we have had problems in removing wheels from vehicles that customers have told us have been serviced "from day one" by "my mechanic", "my dealer", or "my local service center"!
For example, we will start to perform a scheduled service and then when it comes to removing the wheels, they will not come off! In each of these cases it has been because the wheels are aluminum and the hub is cast iron, corrosion builds up and welds the two together. After working for half an hour to an hour just to get the wheels off (without damaging the expensive aluminum wheel), we then have to clean up the hub and the wheel to remove all the corrosion. This is followed with applying special grease so this will not happen again.
Imagine if one of these owners had a flat tire! They would have had to have the vehicle towed just to replace a wheel!! (Yes, we know this is the safest option, but you don't want it to be your only option.)
How do you to avoid this kind of problem? Make sure the services performed by your service center carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and that they are experienced and follow good industry practices.
For example:
1. Do they require the technician to follow service schedules?
2. Are the procedures described in detail so no matter whom works on the car the service is consistent?
3. Are technicians required to fill out a checklist, and is this kept in your file?
4. Do they check your file and history and recommend services that reflect your usage patterns, as well as modify the schedules to reflect your use?