A Healthy Car Means a Happy Car—and Owner

When you shop Drive217, it’s important to keep track of routine maintenance for your vehicle. When you routinely care for your car, truck, or SUV, it will perform better, break down less often, and last longer.

The hardest part about taking routine care of your vehicle is knowing what to do and when to do it. To make this easier for you, here is a go-to checklist of short term services to help make caring for your vehicle simple and easy.

Fluids and Filters

It’s always a good idea to check the oil and coolant levels in your car every month or every few fill-ups. This means waiting until your engine is cool, popping the hood open, and then seeing if the levels are low. Low levels in either of these can lead to engine problems down the road. To figure out where to locate these, and how to check them, simply refer to your owner’s manual.

Next, you’ll want to make sure your vehicle’s air filter is working properly. The engine air filter regulates the air flowing into the engine and helps keep debris and particles out of the engine. By maintaining proper airflow you can improve your car’s fuel efficiency, decrease its emissions, and ensure your engine’s longevity.

This may sound like a daunting task, but once again, changing your car’s air filter is as easy as opening the hood and checking the owner’s manual. It will tell you how to do it and what type of filter to use.

Don’t Forget Your Tires

Well-maintained tires not only improve your car’s performance and gas mileage, but they’re also important for keeping you and your passengers safe. You should really make a habit of visually inspecting your tires every so often, and checking for wear and tear, protrusions, objects, or cuts.

There are several routine services that should be done on your vehicle’s tires. One is checking your tire pressure every month, before long trips, or towing or hauling anything. For this all you need is a tire pressure gauge. Your owner’s manual will tell you exactly how much pressure your tires need in different seasons or temperatures.

Another thing to check for is tread depth. This can be done with nothing more than a common penny. Simply find a point on the tire with the lowest amount of tread and place the penny into the groove. If part of Lincoln’s head is covered by the tread, your tires are good to go.

Lastly, don’t forget to have your tires rotated every six months or 6,000 to 8,000 miles. Factors like vehicle alignment and usage can lead to uneven wear patterns on your tires. Rotating them will extend their life and minimize noise and vibration by evenly balancing the tread wear.

Never Skip Routine Oil Changes

Clean oil is essential to your engine’s performance. When fresh oil flows through the engine it lubricates the metal parts and increases the engine’s performance. This means a smooth-running engine, better proficiency, and better gas mileage. This is especially important for high mileage vehicles.

With a few basic tools, you can change the oil yourself and save money over the life of your vehicle, but for most of us, it’s easier to make routine visits to the dealership or local automotive repair shop.

If you take your car in for maintenance service at any of the Drive217-certified locations, a trained professional will help you determine whether it needs full synthetic oil, conventional oil, or a special blend. If it’s a full oil change service visit, they’ll also include other routine maintenance checks.

Light Checks and More

It’s easy to take your car’s signal lights for granted, but in reality, the brake lights, parking lights, headlights, and turn signals should all be visually checked once every month. They are a definite safety factor for operating your vehicle. All you have to do is have a friend sit in your vehicle and turn them on and off as you walk around to make sure they’re working properly.

When you shop Drive217, it is strongly recommended that you make a habit of checking all of these areas on a regular basis to avoid the costly auto repair in the future. That way you can make the most of any new or pre-owned vehicle you purchase from us.