While the owner’s manual contains a wealth of information about regular maintenance of your vehicle, there are some important aspects of your vehicle’s operation that may get overlooked.
Wheel alignment is often a neglected or taken for granted and yet it can make a difference in the performance of your vehicle. Hitting a curb or pothole can throw your wheels out of alignment, damage your tires and affect steering control.
At the very least, you should have a licensed garage check your vehicle’s wheel alignment once a year and more often if you drive on dirt roads. Winter driving is especially hard on your vehicle’s alignment and driving system.
The spring is an ideal time to check your vehicle’s alignment, along with an inspection of the suspension system, when you change your vehicle’s tires for summer driving. Annual alignment of all four tires will not only improve of your vehicle’s handling but also increase fuel economy, reduce tire wear and extend the life of your tires, saving you money.
In addition, your vehicle’s brake fluid should be flushed regularly to remove contaminates from the system, extending the life of hydraulic components and reducing repair costs to replace brake lines, cylinders or calipers. As a rule of thumb, you should have your vehicle’s brake fluid flushed every two years, especially if your vehicle is equipped with an antilock braking system.
You should also have your vehicle’s fuel injection system serviced about every two years to determine if there are issues with your car’s fuel injectors. Dirty fuel injectors affect your vehicle’s performance and result in poor acceleration, lower power, poor fuel economy, rough idling and an incorrect air/fuel mix.
College Auto Tech at 79 Waterloo Ave. in Guelph, a member of the Guelph Garage Owners Association, is a full service licensed garage with trained professionals who can provide you with regular maintenance of your vehicle so you can keep driving trouble-free.