Maintaining your vehicle is critical to extending the life of it. However, sometimes the things you try to do yourself can cause more harm than good. Other times you may think you can drive a few more hundred miles on your tires that have low pressure, but you’re actually creating other damage at the same time. We’ve discussed five things your automotive technicians wish you wouldn’t do to your vehicle to make their job easier and make your car last longer.
Adding Stop Leak To Your Cooling System
Stop leak does more damage than it helps your vehicle since it creates unnecessary blockages throughout the cooling system. When this happens, you may experience issues like no heat in your car. Adding stop leak is nothing more than a temporary fix but doesn’t solve the problem. The best thing to do is bring your vehicle in to the technician and let them replace the part that’s leaking so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
Over-Inflating Or Under-Inflating Your Tires
Not only is properly-inflated tires good for safety purposes, but it can also ensure your tires last longer before needing to be replaced. Inflating your tires is easy to do on your own, but you have to make sure you’re doing so according to the manufacturer’s recommendation. You can find this recommendation in your doorjamb in most vehicles, or it will be in your owner’s manual as well.
Driving When Tires Are Flat Or Low On Pressure
Driving on tires that are flat or low on pressure can create catastrophic damage to the tires and possibly other components of the vehicle. Plus, it’s not safe for you or other people on the road to drive on flat tires. Once you’re riding on the sidewall of the tires, you’ve reached a point where the tires may get damaged and need to be replaced.
Ignoring The Check Engine Light
No one likes to see the dreaded check engine light on their vehicle, but it can’t be ignored. Most of the time the check engine light comes on when there is a minor problem. However, the longer you ignore it, the bigger the problem can become. The best thing to do is to take your vehicle into the automotive repair shop to get it checked out as soon as possible when you see the check engine light.
Waiting Too Long Between Oil Changes
The worst thing you can do for your vehicle’s engine is to wait too long between oil changes. The oil is there to lubricate your engine and keep everything working properly inside your engine. When you wait for thousands of miles past your recommended date to change the oil, you could slowly damage the engine and potentially lead to catastrophic damage.
DeBoer’s Auto wants to ensure your vehicle lasts as long as possible. Part of that is how proactive
you are with the care and maintenance of your vehicle. If you ever have any doubts about what you should or shouldn’t be doing to your vehicle, just give us a call, and we would be happy to provide you with advice. And if you need to schedule an appointment, contact us at any time, and we will keep you moving on the road.
