Regular Maintenance based on your Driving Profile

When you bought your current set of wheels, you also received a detailed owner’s manual, one that includes a comprehensive list of the necessary preventative maintenance actions and their mileage increments. It is important to read and follow this preventative maintenance schedule, since failing to maintain your vehicle properly could put your engine, transmission and other critical components, at risk.

What you may not realize is that the preventative maintenance needs for your own vehicle may not match up with the recommendations inside your owner’s manual. When developing a preventative maintenance schedule for your own vehicle, you need to take many things into account, including the type of driving you do and how you use your car, truck or SUV.

Trailer Towing

If you tow a trailer, for instance, you may need to change your oil more frequently, since heavy towing and put an extra strain on your engine. By changing your oil more frequently than recommended, you maintain the protective properties and keep your engine protected.

You may also need to flush your transmission fluid and change the filter more often if you pull a trailer. Trailer pulling puts a great deal of strain on your transmission, and frequent flushes and fills can mitigate the damage and keep your vehicle running, and shifting, smoothly.

In addition to the transmission flushes and fills and more frequent oil changes, you may also benefit form a transmission cooler if you plan to pull a trailer frequently. The cooler can protect your transmission from damage on those heavy pulls, especially if you drive in mountainous areas. Just ask the staff at Fairfax Auto Repair about installing a cooler to protect the transmission on your tow vehicle.

City Driving

You may also need to alter your preventative maintenance schedule if you do a lot of city driving. City driving means lots of stops and starts, and that can put an extra strain on your engine.

You may need to change the oil more frequently than recommended if you live, work or drive in the city, especially if you do a lot of stop and go driving or make frequent trips each day. This need for more frequent oil changes may also exist if you live in the suburbs and do a lot of stop and go driving.

Once again, you can rely on the automotive experts at Fairfax Auto Repair to develop a comprehensive preventative maintenance schedule, one that is based on your personal driving profile. Every driver is different, and the type of driving you do can change the way you maintain your vehicle.