Should You Put Off Maintenance for Your Car SUV or Truck

Hey, friends, it's Len here from 1A Auto. Today, I wanna talk to you about maintenance on vehicles, some things you can put off and some things maybe you can't. Let's get into it.

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So while some things on your vehicle seem as though they have maintenance that you have to keep up with on a semi-monthly basis, other things on the other hand are gonna seem like they have an extended interval of service. Those things that you think about on the daily, of course, would probably be your oil change. Everybody is looking at that sticker up on the windshield to make sure they're not going over on that interval. Nobody wants their engine to go bad. You'd also wanna keep up with making sure your fluids are full. Your washer fluid is pretty important, you need to be able to see.

Pretty much everything inside your vehicle is gonna need to be replaced at some point in time. If you have power steering, that fluid needs to be changed out, your coolant, your transmission, your oil like we said already, and pretty much any other fluid that might be under the hood. Any of those things are gonna have an interval that range between 3,000 and maybe all the way up to 100,000 miles, depending on the service, your type of vehicle, your manufacturer is gonna have specified intervals for your particular vehicle.

Now, what's the most important thing to think about when you're completing maintenance is your safety items. Your safety is paramount. Obviously, the cost of replacing a part is gonna be much cheaper than the possible breakdown, the tow, and potential injury that may or may not be involved due to lack of maintenance.

So now, some of the stuff that you may or may not think about, especially on the daily basis, would be, of course, the timing chain or belt. If you have a timing belt, that's gonna have a service interval that's pretty extended. You know what I mean? Now, everybody is thinking, "Oh, in 100,000 miles, I need to make sure that I get around and doing that timing belt." Different vehicles, like I said, have different service intervals. So you'd want to check that book and make sure that you keep up with them as needed. Of course, you've got the tune up in these things. You're gonna have spark plugs, you're gonna have, you know, coils, you're gonna have spark plug wires, you're gonna have all sorts of things that make the ignition work. Those are all gonna need to be changed out over time as well. You're gonna have filters underneath the hood. You wanna make sure you keep up with those as well.

So something that's super important to remember when it comes to maintenance intervals is the severity of the conditions you're driving in, right? If it's hot outside or super cold outside, super dusty, super muddy, super wet, maybe you climbed a mountain, maybe you're hauling stuff, who knows? It's gonna change your service intervals. If you're doing something that's gonna put them car or truck underneath strain, go ahead and change that service interval from 3,000 to maybe 2,500 or whatever the case may be. Just bring it down a little bit and make sure you keep up with checking on those fluids.

And, of course, don't forget, if you're driving something that's four-wheel-drive or even all-wheel drive, you need to get underneath the vehicle and check those gear boxes. Now, if you can, make sure you can try to get underneath the vehicle. You wanna be safe as can be, so make sure you're on jack stands and everything is as stable as possible. There's gonna be things under here that are gonna have service intervals. And there's gonna be things under here that are gonna have more of like a wear indicator-type deal where you're gonna notice that there's an issue.

You've got, of course, your brakes. You can take a peek at your brakes. You've got your front end. You can, of course, check your front end, your axles. You'd want to check that front differential, that has a service interval, your transfer case, and, of course, the rear differential also have service intervals. But the things that maybe that don't have service intervals that you might wanna worry about is, of course, checking for leaks. If you have any sort of leak, you're gonna want to take care of that because that could make your fluid low over time and cause running issues or drivability issues. You'd wanna check your brake lines and your fuel lines. Make sure they don't look like they're all rusted and rotted. If I had a brake line that looked like this one, it would be coming outta here ASAP and getting replaced.

Could check your fuel filter. If it looks like it's all rusted and rotted, more than likely it hasn't been replaced and probably quite a long time. And more than likely, it also needs to be replaced ASAP. If the outside looks like this, I can only imagine what the inside looks like. And then work your way right back to this rear differential. You wanna check to make sure it's not leaking. If it looks like this, obviously, it's leaking.

Not everybody keeps up with the same said maintenance. There are some things that you might notice that get put off, and maybe they're just on the back burner, or maybe you don't even think about them. It's just one of those things. If it's not right in your face with a light on the dash streaks across the windshield or strange noises coming from somewhere, generally, people often forget about the maintenance the vehicle needs. Most parts on your vehicle are considered wear items. Generally speaking, pretty much anything besides Twinkies have a lifespan. And some things wear out faster due to the nature of the parts, such as like oil, brakes, maybe your tune up, stuff like that.

Okay. So can you drive with a dirty air filter? Sure. Can you drive with corroded battery terminals? Okay, your car just may not wanna start very easily. But can you? Sure. There are some things that you need to think about that maybe you shouldn't. Now, if you look at those tires and they look like they're worn low, maybe your brakes are squealing or the check engine light's on, it's probably not the best idea to continue driving.

So here's what you gotta do. Check all your lights exterior and interior. If you can't see or be seen, you're gonna be dangerous in that vehicle. Go ahead and check those fluids. Overall, the oil might be the fluid that gets changed the most often. Then probably, your transmission fluid, but other fluids need to at least have their levels and conditions checked. While you're at it, why don't you go ahead and check that tune up? Go ahead and pull a plug and take a look. If you could feel a misfire while idling, or even at higher RPMs, more than likely, you need a tune up. Make sure you check those filters, engine air and cabin air filter. If your engine can't breathe properly, your miles per gallon is gonna decrease, overall, cause damage to your engine. And you obviously wanna breathe fresh air rather than dirty air, right? Generally speaking, if you're replacing the engine air filter, go ahead and replace your cabin air filter at the same time. Make sure you take a look at that dash. If you see any of those maintenance lights on or even your check engine light on, that's something you need to get checked. You could be doing minimal to even severe damage to your vehicle or even the environment.

Okay. So if you're a person like me that likes to try to think ahead, go ahead and take a look at that manual and check those service intervals. Once you do, I would try to mark yourself in for a service interval that's maybe a little bit before that. That way there kinda gives me a little bit of leeway to get them done as needed.

Okay. So in conclusion, keep up with those service intervals, check that owner's manual, make sure you know what's going on. I'm gonna call it your prerogative on what you wanna do for your vehicle. But by sticking to the service intervals directed to you by the manufacturer, it's gonna help keep your vehicle on the road for a long, long time. And it's also gonna help prevent costly repairs down the road. Thanks.

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