Myths start with a grain of truth and are then built up and circulated around with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. Unfortunately the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some car bloggers recall the vehicles of yesteryear and declare their modern descendants to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off.
Let’s examine a couple of the more popular myths going around and look at the truth behind them. The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the drive line. They declare that any service center who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan. The truth on which the myth is based is that most vehicles come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on some cars. A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair. And most trucks and truck based SUVs still require chassis lubrication. This is because they are more heavy duty, and proper greasing is still required to keep them running. Talk to us at Express Car Care in Denver.
Another common myth is that modern cars don’t need tune-ups. Do cars need tune-ups? That depends on your definition of a tune-up, which has changed as the technology has progressed. Before engine control computers, electronic ignition and fuel injection, a tune-up meant replacing mechanical parts that wore out. You’d manually adjust fuel and air mix and timing. When those adjustments were off, spark plugs would fail and need to be replaced.
That definition doesn’t apply to modern vehicles. Auto service centers generally consider a tune-up to be the major service visit recommended by your vehicle’s manufacturer.
Of course you can’t lubricate a sealed joint, or adjust a carburetor if your car doesn’t have one. You don’t need to change spark plugs every year if your manufacturer says they can go longer. What are these car bloggers getting so worked up about?
The danger with these maintenance free myths is that they prevent drivers from taking care of the routine preventative car maintenance that manufacturers DO recommend. Below is a partial list of things you still need to do to take care of your car. How many of them are really any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago?
Oil change, cooling system service, transmission service, tire balancing and rotation, wheel alignment, suspension service, power steering service, brake service, engine air filter, fuel filter, belts, hoses, windshield wipers…
You get the picture. Your car or truck is still a machine that needs to be maintained and your technicians have always adapted to keep pace with automotive technology. Don’t let yourself be fooled by those maintenance free myths.