Maintaining your vehicle properly will help protect it for all the many miles ahead. Routine maintenance keeps your vehicle operating safely and helps reduce the chances of a breakdown. By performing regular car maintenance, you will have fewer things to worry about while enjoying your car. You'll also be able to enjoy your well-maintained car for much longer than if it was poorly maintained.
Protect Your Vehicle for the Long Run
Maintaining your car properly will help prevent costly repairs in the future. Repairs to the cooling system, electrical system, drivetrain, and transmission are often quite expensive. Keeping up with your vehicle's routine car maintenance schedule can help prevent any problems with these car systems and more. Preventative maintenance measures are the most cost-effective expenses associated with owning a car compated to the alternative.
Problems Cost Less to Fix When They're Caught Early
Minor problems caused by failure to keep essential fluids topped off or the oil changed can quickly escalate into major repairs. Routine maintenance is also the perfect opportunity to spot minor problems like a leaky gasket or cracked hose. Fixing minor problems early can prevent major problems (and expensive repairs) down the road.
For example, an engine requires a specific ratio of air to fuel in order to run properly. Something as simple as a clogged air filter can cause incomplete combustion that will reduce fuel efficiency now and may result in serious engine problems in the future. A clogged air filter is an easy problem to spot and fix while doing other routine maintenance tasks.
Routine Maintenance Could Save Your Life
A leaky exhaust system could allow deadly carbon monoxide to seep into your car's cabin, putting the lives of everyone inside at risk. Brake failure could put everyone on the road at risk. And what if your car breaks down on a lonely road in the middle of the night? That has turned into a dangerous, and too often deadly, situation on many occasions.
Routine maintenance reduces the chances that any of these potentially deadly scenarios will actually happen. It can even help avoid an annoying and frustrating breakdown when on your way to a job interview or an important business meeting.
What Is Routine Maintenance on a Car?
Routine maintenance of your Volvo mainly includes the following three areas. If you stay on top of regular maintenance in these areas, you'll have taken a big step toward improving both your safety and your car's longevity.
Fluids
There are six fluids in your car that should be topped off or changed as needed. They include windshield washing fluid, coolant, brake fluid, steering fluid, motor oil, and transmission fluid.
Oil Change
Changing your car’s oil is one of the most important routine maintenance tasks you can do to keep the engine running properly for a long time to come. Maintaining an oil change schedule as recommended by the manufacturer will ensure that all the moving parts within your car's engine are kept clean and well lubricated. Old, dirty oil simply can't do that job properly and will allow your car engine's moving parts to suffer unnecessary wear and tear.
Tires
Your tires are where your car meets the road. It's essential that you keep them properly inflated and check for sufficient tread depth regularly. Skip routine maintenance of your tires, and you'll lose some of the traction that's so essential to both steering and braking.
Proper Vehicle Maintenance Is Crucial
If you neglect routine maintenance on your vehicle, you're putting the car’s longevity and your safety at risk. To keep your Volvo in tip-top shape, bring it to the experts at Volvo of Burlingame. We will make sure your Volvo receives the maintenance services it needs so you can continue enjoying it for many, many miles to come. Contact us today to schedule your Volvo's next maintenance service.