Garden Grove car owners know the best way to make your car to last is to take care of it. Sadly, when we asked many of those same Garden Grove drivers what exactly do they need to do to make their cars last longer, they weren’t so sure. Although most of them knew changing your oil regularly was important, but with a follow up question regarding how often should you get your oil changed was all over the board. And that was the same when asked about their brakes, batteries, engine and transmission fluids, windshield wipers, and so on.
To help keep your vehicle running as long as it should and clear up some of the myths and misinformation, here are some facts from your friends at family owned Orozco’s Auto Service of Garden Grove.
Get Regular Oil Changes
Ignoring your car’s oil is one of the worst and possibly the most costly things to neglect. It’s better to take the time and spend the money to get the oil changed than risk seizing your engine. Standard oil should be changed every 3,000 miles or 6 months and synthetic is every 6,000 miles or 18 months.
Maintenance Tip: Always consult your owners manual for the manufacturers recommendations on changing your oil.
Clean Your Battery & Battery Terminals
Your batteries terminals can begin to show signs of corrosion that can work it’s way into the terminal cables resulting in less power to your engine. Additionally, f you don’t keep them clean, your battery can develop cracks and start to malfunction, leaving you stranded. Today’s car batteries are pretty costly and more expensive brand cars are really expensive, something you don’t want to replace if you don’t have to. Investing in a wire brush and keeping the battery and terminals clean is time and money well spent.
Maintenance Tip: Stop By Orozco’s Auto Service for a battery check every 6 months.
Air Filters Replacement
Your vehicle’s air filters helps keep dust and pollutants from entering your vehicle through the vents. The air filters have a very important job, so you want to keep it maintained. Most newer vehicles have two air filters, one under the hood and another the cabin filter is usually behind the glove box. Additionally, using an old air filter past its life can lead to some major problems for your AC system and your engine. Something nobody want to deal with when it’s completely preventable.
Maintenance Tip: You should get your air filter changed every 12 months or 12,000 mile, sometimes more often in a dry dusty climate.
Windshield Wipers Replacement
The cost of new windshield wipers can vary and that is usually relative to the speed in which they can wear our. With the hot summer Garden Grove sun this can be quicker that other less sunny regions. You should check you wiper at least twice a year so you’re not caught in a sudden rain or dust storm. Obviously, a dirty windshield or worn out wipers can significantly hamper your view that not only endangers you and your passengers but also the people around you.
Maintenance Tip: Use you windshield wiper’s window cleaning function regularly to stay up-to-date on your windshield wipers reliability.
Get your tires rotated
You can extend the life of your tires by rotating them per your manufacturers recommendations? All four tires on your car do not wear down at the same rate. The front or back set of tires can wear down at different rates depending on your vehicle, your speed and roads conditions. Maintaining to rotate your tires can extend their life and keep you and you family safe longer.
Maintenance Tip: Rotate your tires every 3,000 to 5,000 miles or per your manufacturers recommendations.
Check Suspension System
Your suspension system is a very intricate part of your vehicle that most people take for granted. Most of us never even think about it until it stops working and leaving you stranded. One of the key elements of your vehicle’s suspension is the shocks and struts, these help maintain a smooth ride, and ignoring this issue can help to prematurely wear out your tires.
Maintenance Tip: Have your full suspension system checked every 15,000 to 30,000 miles.
Check Your Coolant
You should always keep an eye on your vehicles coolant level. If your coolant gets to low your vehicle can overheat and do some serious damage to your engine. Your coolant affects so many elements of you car from air conditioner to the heater, radiator and water pump and more. Something that impacts that much of your car’s overall health should never be neglected.
Maintenance Tip: Regularly check your coolant level whenever you get gas or prepare for a long trip.
Check Your Spare Tire
The last thing anyone wants to find while you’re digging out the jack is a flat spare tire. That’s when you’ll need to call a tow truck—which not only can take several hours out of your day or night, it can also cost you a lot of money depending on where your vehicle brakes down.
Maintenance Tip: Check your tires air pressure, including the spare at least once a month. Maintaining the appropriate air pressure will also help you save gas.
Belts and Hoses
Perform a visual inspection on your belts and hoses at least once a year. Worn-down belts and hoses can cause other damage to essential components of your engine including your cooling system, heater, air conditioner and more. And for those hard to get to belts and hoses feel free to stop by any Orozco’s Auto Service and we will be happy to inspect them.
Maintenance Tip: Follow your vehicles manufacturer’s recommendations for replacing your timing belt and serpentine belt. These are both critical to your engines health and a failure of these components can lead to critical failure in your engine.
At Orozco’s Auto Service we are happy to help you with any of the above mentioned maintenance and would be happy to work with you on establishing a regular maintenance schedule for your vehicle.
Orozco’s Auto Service Garden Grove – Orange County CA
12776 Nutwood Street Garden Grove, CA 92840
Call Today: 714-537-0076 – Auto/Fleet/Diesel Service Repairs
https://orozcosgardengrove.com
Orozco’s Auto Service has five convenient locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties Long Beach, Bellflower, Garden Grove or Fullerton!
