Oil Change Intervals
Many new cars sold today are equipped with high tech diagnostic systems that automatically alert the driver when his or her next oil change is due. Unbeknownst to many of these owners, a lot of these systems are far from foolproof. For one thing, after a car has been serviced these systems all need to be reset by the mechanic in order to work effectively and alert the driver for the next service. Have you ever heard of a mechanic making a mistake? If you have ever worked at a repair shop, the answer is a definitive and kind of scary YES!
For those of us burdened with the hassle and trauma of having to—GASP!—keep track of when our own service is due, remembering the exact service intervals can be something easily forgotten in our hectic lives. Even though many of us have the advantage of a nice reminder sticker in the corner of our windshield, lots of people still forget to have their cars service in a timely manner. And this can spell curtains for the vital organs of your engine.
According to a recent survey done by the Automotive Technician Accreditation program approximately 52% of respondents said they had no idea when their next service was due. On a more positive note, over 90% of those same people claimed to at least make a cursory check of their tire pressure and fluid levels in between services. We’ll hope they were telling the truth on that last count and it wasn’t just having a guilty conscience forcing them into a lie. Sort of like how you ALWAYS tell the dentist that you have been flossing after each and every meal. Come on, we all know no one does that!
While we all know our vehicles have become far more complex in recent years, they do still run on power from an internal combustion engine. Even hybrids half run on gas power. Most of the complexity comes from computers that control things like engine timing, fuel/air mixtures and stability control programs. But no owner needs to understand that to keep their car maintained. What you must understand is that your engine needs its fluids and filters changed based on manufacturers recommendations.
The earlier mentioned ATA survey also tells us that 45% of owners claim they know nothing about how their cars operate or what their maintenance needs are. That is inexcusable when every car sold today comes with something called an owner's manual. You can usually find it unopened and gathering dust in your glovebox. It can tell you all sorts of useful stuff like what grade of oil your particular car uses and when things like your transmission fluid needs changing. It might be nice to know your car only needs its transmission fluid changed every 100,000 miles since most Jiffy Lubes try to convince you to change it every other oil change. The more you know about your service needs, the more money you will save. That is guaranteed.
