Check your car regularly and prevent any unwanted situations during a long drive
Cars are our important companion as it brings us around to run errands, and over the years, it has come close to be one’s basic necessities in life. When it hits certain mileage, we bring it to the service centre but at times we may miss our scheduled maintenance and this could lead to unwanted road emergencies.
The Iskandarian sought advice on car maintenance with Mohd Zainudin Bonari, the Service Manager at Perodua Taman Universiti’s authorised dealer, service and spare parts. He suggested five basic things to always keep in check:
Engine oil
Cleaning engine’s oil is important. If the oil is left unfiltered for some time, it could be saturated with tiny, hard particles that wear off surfaces in your engine. Dirty oil can wear the oil pump’s components and damage the bearing surfaces, causing problems to your car’s engine.
Radiator Flush
Radiator Flush should be done every five years or when your car has reached 160,000km. Do check if there are any potential signs and symptoms that your car might need such as a coolant flush, like visible rust, debris, or corrosion.
Wiper Oil
Facing a problem with your windshield wiper can be nasty and irritating. Your wiper blade needs oil too! Or else it turns charred and can damage your windshield. So always check the blades and oil it regularly.
ATF Oil for Auto
One of the main reasons for transmission failures is overheating. If you drive a lot in a mountainous area, change the fluid more often. It needs to be changed between 60,000 and 120,000 miles.
Brake Fluid
Brakes work because of brake fluid. Over time it can go bad. It absorbs water from the air, and then causes scrapes like rust to build up. So check on it.
Lighting System
A poor state of the lighting system generates poor visibility of the road in the dark, increasing visual fatigue of the driver and the difficulty of other drivers to see your vehicle. Change the lamps every 50,000km or every two years, even if all the lights work correctly.
Conclusion
The location of all these parts and how to do some basic maintenance are available in the manual book that comes with the car.
If you are unsure on what to do, schedule an inspection at the service centre, preferably the car dealer of your car’s model at least a few days before your long drive.
