Regular car maintenance is essential for keeping your vehicle running smoothly and efficiently. However, some car repairs and maintenance tasks are often overlooked, leading to more significant issues and costly repairs down the line. Addressing these overlooked repairs can save you money, improve your car’s performance, and extend its lifespan. Here are some of the most commonly overlooked car repairs that can help you save money in the long run.
Why It’s Important: Oil is the lifeblood of your car’s engine. It lubricates the moving parts, reduces friction, and helps regulate temperature. Over time, oil breaks down and becomes contaminated with dirt and debris, reducing its effectiveness.
Consequences of Neglect: Failing to change the oil regularly can lead to increased engine wear, overheating, and ultimately engine failure. These issues can result in expensive repairs or even the need for a complete engine replacement.
Solution: Follow your manufacturer’s recommended oil change schedule, typically every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, depending on your driving conditions and the type of oil used.
Why It’s Important: Transmission fluid lubricates and cools the transmission components, ensuring smooth gear shifts and proper functioning.
Consequences of Neglect: Dirty or low transmission fluid can cause shifting problems, overheating, and transmission damage. Repairing or replacing a transmission is one of the most expensive car repairs.
Solution: Check the transmission fluid level regularly and have it changed according to your vehicle’s maintenance schedule, usually every 30,000 to 60,000 miles.
Why It’s Important: The brake system is crucial for your safety and the safety of others on the road. Regular maintenance, including timely brake repair, ensures that the brakes function correctly and effectively.
Consequences of Neglect: Worn brake pads, damaged rotors, and leaking brake fluid can lead to reduced braking efficiency, longer stopping distances, and brake failure. Ignoring brake issues can result in costly repairs and increased safety risks.
Solution: Have your brakes inspected regularly and replace brake pads and rotors as needed. Check the brake fluid level and condition, and replace it according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Why It’s Important: Tire rotation ensures even tire wear, extending the life of your tires. Proper alignment ensures that your tires wear evenly and that your car handles correctly.
Consequences of Neglect: Uneven tire wear can lead to premature tire replacement and poor handling. Misaligned wheels can cause your car to pull to one side, reduce fuel efficiency, and wear out tires quickly.
Solution: Rotate your tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles and have your alignment checked annually or whenever you notice handling issues.
Why It’s Important: The cooling system regulates the engine’s temperature, preventing it from overheating. Coolant (antifreeze) helps absorb heat and dissipate it through the radiator.
Consequences of Neglect: Low or contaminated coolant can cause overheating, leading to engine damage, blown head gaskets, and warped cylinders. These issues can be very expensive to repair.
Solution: Check the coolant level regularly and top it off as needed. Have the cooling system flushed and the coolant replaced according to the manufacturer’s schedule, usually every 30,000 to 50,000 miles.
Why It’s Important: The timing belt synchronizes the camshaft and crankshaft, ensuring that the engine’s valves open and close at the correct times.
Consequences of Neglect: If the timing belt breaks, it can cause severe engine damage, including bent valves and damaged pistons. Repairing this damage is often costly and time-consuming.
Solution: Replace the timing belt according to your manufacturer’s recommendations, typically every 60,000 to 100,000 miles.
Why It’s Important: The fuel system delivers gasoline to the engine and ensures proper combustion. Over time, deposits can build up in the fuel injectors and other components, reducing efficiency.
Consequences of Neglect: Clogged fuel injectors can lead to poor fuel economy, reduced performance, and engine misfires. Over time, this can cause damage to the engine and exhaust system.
Solution: Use a fuel system cleaner periodically and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for fuel filter replacement. Have your fuel injectors cleaned professionally if needed.
Why It’s Important: The cabin air filter cleans the air entering your vehicle’s interior, removing dust, pollen, and other contaminants.
Consequences of Neglect: A clogged cabin air filter can reduce airflow from the HVAC system, making it harder to heat or cool your car and potentially leading to HVAC system damage.
Solution: Replace the cabin air filter every 12,000 to 15,000 miles or according to your vehicle’s maintenance schedule.
Taking care of these often-overlooked car repairs can save you money in the long run by preventing major issues, improving performance, and extending the life of your vehicle. Regular maintenance and timely repairs ensure your car remains reliable and safe, reducing the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns and costly repairs, click here to find a reliable professional who can help you. By being proactive about your car’s care, you can enjoy a smoother, more efficient driving experience and get the most out of your investment.
This year marked my ninth consecutive trip to the Salem, MO area for Rally America Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. Next year will mark a full decade of attending rally in the forests surrounding Salem, Steeleville, Potosi, and all the other towns that surround the event, so I guess I’ll save most of my reminiscing until then. However I will say that there is a new adventure every trip. More…
featured, Ford, Mitsubishi, rally, Rally America, rally car, Subaru
Sandblast rally takes place in early March every year in Cheraw, SC and although not the first event on the NASA Rallysport calendar, is the first non winter rally in the US every year. There is always a little extra excitement in the air around this event as everyone gets to shake off the cabin fever of a long cold winter and show off all their shiny new toys! Sandblast will always be special to me as I got my first rally experience at Sandblast 3 years ago and thanks to some amazing people in the rally community have been on one crazy adventure after another ever since! To that point, who am I?
Hello GotCone readers! My name is Brian Katz. I am an engineer out of Chattanooga, TN by day and amature race car driver and mechanic by night. My normal rally gig is crew for River City Rally Team. Our driver and fearless leader Michael Hooper introduced me to rally with a trip to Sandblast and since that first trip 4 years ago that ended with two broken e30’s, we have traveled all over the country, winning a NASA eastern 2WD championship in 2015, and a Rally America central region 2WD championship in 2016! Last season Hooper decided a new weapon was needed to chase national level trophies. Given his experience with Toyota products and our desire to build something unique, we decided to build the first Lexus IS350 rally car! Beverly debuted last season at Black River Stages and won the 2 wheel drive class! Rally in the 100 Acre Wood will be our first event of this season as a team and we are hard at work finishing preparing for another exciting season, join now and start playing online today!
More…
The inaugural American Rally Association season was an exciting one. Subaru Rally Team USA teammates David Higgins and Travis Pastrana had been waging quite the battle all season long and with just one event left, Ojibwe Forests Rally, it all came down to this. Higgins was holding on to a one victory advantage, if he and co-driver Craig Drew could hold off Pastrana and co-driver Robbie Durant and grab the victory in the forests of Minnesota they would be crowned the first ever ARA Champions. However Pastrana and Durant weren’t giving up just yet, with a victory at Ojibwe they could even up the series points and even overtake Higgins and Drew if they somehow slipped and finished worse than 2nd overall. More…
ARA, David Higgins, featured, Ojibwe, rally, Subaru, Travis Pastrana
The Oregon Trail Rally never fails to disappoint with it’s amazing stages and the backdrops to those stages. It’d been 3 years since the last time I had made the journey out for the event and I had been itching to go back, so I decided there’s no time like the present. And boy, it did not disappoint.
David Higgins and Craig Drew had won the event 6 years in a row and would be looking to keep their streak in tact. Challenging them would teammates Travis Pastrana and Robbie Durant, Jeff Seehorn and Karen Jankowski in their brand new Subaru and Barry McKenna and Leon Jordan in a WRC prepared Ford Fiesta. Little did Higgins and Drew know what sort of battle they were in for when their car started to break down. Even after an extensive auto repair, there were a few minor aspects left unfixed that led to the breakdown.
ARA, David Higgins, featured, Oregon Trail, Oregon Trail Rally, rally, Subaru, Travis Pastrana
The 2017 U.S. rally season had been shaping up to be an interesting one with the introduction of the ARA (American Rally Association) and with it the division of events and the splitting of ties between Rally America and the factory Subaru Rally Team. Many of the old Rally America events decided to jump over to the new sanctioning body, but they did retain the first two events on the schedule Sno*Drift and Rally in the 100 Acre Wood, as well as adding some new events that should be exciting. More…
100 Acre Wood, featured, Ford, Mitsubishi, rally, Rally America, Subaru, Toyota
Some interesting news in from the world of rally in the US. Oregon Trail Rally organizers just announced they will be jumping to the newly formed American Rally Association (ARA) for next year’s event. Meanwhile the organizers at Rally in the 100 Acre Wood announced that the event will be the second in the Rally America Championship series and will be held on March 17-18 in 2017. I’m guessing that means Sno*Drift is on board with the Rally America Championship series and will remain the first event of the 2017 season, though no official announcement has been made.
100 Acre Wood, American Rally Association, featured, Ojibwe Forest Rally, Oregon Trail Rally, rally, Rally America
My first trip to Minnesota and the Ojibwe Forest Rally was filled with a little bit of everything, except snow for once. It is a challenging rally to cover with narrow fast roads and not a lot of safe places to be on stage, but there is some beauty to capture. Lakes and trees line the roads making for a perfect backdrop as cars rip full speed down them. It was nearly perfect, except for that freak hail storm that delayed the start of stage 10 and caused me to run for cover and the mosquitos, millions of them, everywhere.
David Higgins, featured, Ojibwe, rally, Rally America, SRTUSA, Subaru
The early registration period for SCCA Solo Nationals in Lincoln, NE ends tomorrow at noon. After that the late registration fee takes effect. However, if you haven’t registered yet, you might be out of luck as the cap of 1300 entrants (a new record number of entrants) has already been reached and a waiting list has begun. It’s hard to say if the cap will be raised to let a few more people in or not.
More…
