Top Maintenance and Prevention Secrets
Poor maintenance can reduce your engine and vehicle life by 10% to 50% and cause loss of 5% to 30% or more of your fuel efficiency (miles per gallon of fuel), and that adds up to $1000's in added expense.
No one can make your car, bus or truck last forever!
But you can do more to help it run better, avoid wasting fuel, increase the life of many parts so that you won't have to replace or repair them as often, and pass your emissions tests at the lowest possible cost.
If Your Engine is running poorly, our maintenance plan can save money on fuel and repairs by preventing problems that cause you to lose performance and waste up to 30% or more of your fuel economy.
BEFORE YOU GET STUCK WITH EXPENSIVE REPAIRS, follow these steps to maximize engine performance & vehicle life. Your performance gets better as you go through each step. You don't have to do all of these at once. Do one at a time (do one or two items per month) and verify the improvement you get.
(1)
Check and replace the air filter. usually required every 10,000 to 20,000 miles - Usually Costs Under $20
(2)
Check your tire pressure and fill to about 2 pounds above recommendation - IT SAVES GAS AND IT'S FREE!
(3)
Clean the Mass Air Flow sensor and throttle body. You can do it yourself. It will cause a temporary error code, but can be reset easily with any cheap scanner or it usually resets itself after a while. Or go to any parts store like O'Reilly and they can reset it.
(4)
Use a WINTER OIL TREATMENT (add it to your oil as directed) when temperatures drop below 20 degrees.
(5)
Check your oil level often and top it off or Change your oil, even if you think you don't need it yet, and use Engine Clean+Flush with every oil change. Changing it more often can't hurt your car. Waiting too long could damage your engine.
(6)
Use a Customized Oil Blend Enhancer for older engines during the warmer seasons, (spring, summer, fall).
(7)
For hybrid cars, drive a little bit hard (but don't race the car). Get just a few miles above the speed limit and then back off the gas to regenerate and charge the battery more efficiently.
(8)
Replace spark plugs (Less than $80). Save your old plugs for an expert evaluation that could reveal problems that can be easily fixed before they turn into a CHECK ENGINE warning light that could result in expensive repairs.
(9)
Check transmission fluid levels often and Change or Refresh your transmission fluid at least once a year (should be under $100)
(10)
Have your brakes checked and make sure they aren't stuck in a "binding" position. Clean your brakes and apply a protective anti-rust coating to brake mechanisms and lines.
(11)
Make sure your emergency brake isn't stuck in the closed position. Your car will still go, but seem sluggish. Driving with the emergency brake on will damage the brake and maybe your engine.
(12)
Change your COOLANT FLUID every 24 months.
(13)
Use Anti-Rust, Anti-Wear, Lubricating Treatment to protect your radiator and water pump.
(14)
Protect every part of your vehicle against rust, rubber dry rot and plastic cracks with Seal+Renew
(15)
On Every Other Fill Up Use fuel enhancer treatment and fuel system cleaners like Cartel Diesel Concentrate for diesel fuel or Cartel C4 Fuel Enhancer and Ethanol Neutralizer for gasoline cars and motorcycles. It protects your fuel pump, fue system and injectors while improving combustion performance and fuel economy.
