So often people come into Wembley Autocare with an issue with their car and tell us: “I thought my car was fine, it didn’t have this issue yesterday” or “It hasn’t been making strange noises, I don’t understand how this could suddenly happen”. The truth is, your car is a complex machine and sometimes issues can develop internally without strange noises occurring or your check engine light blinking until the problem is severe. Over time many parts throughout your car will become less effective if not maintained. This can cause a plethora of issues outlined here that can be quite expensive, not to mention significantly decreasing the safety of your car and/or its resale value.
Many mechanics will tell you that every car requires two services a year. This isn’t exactly true. A little known fact is that 99% of Mitsubishi’s, Ford’s, Volkswagen’s, KIA’s and Hyundai’s that were manufactured after 2000 only require one service a year because of their superior quality compared with other brands and older cars. This is specified by the manufacturer to fit with the engineering of the vehicle however some dealerships will still ask you to come in every 6 months. Most cars will tell you through one of means outlined below.
If your car is newer, it may have a light on your dash that looks something like this:
However, if your car does not have this indicator there are a few other ways to know that you’re due for a service.
For most cars over 15 years old, if you’ve driven 10,000km or for 6 months you may be due for a service. If your car is newer, this number will usually be 15,000km or 12 months.
Check your car’s logbook or owner’s manual. This will tell you the exact service interval by both time and kilometers. It is important to come in at least once every 12 months regardless of how many kilometers you drive, as old engine oil can cause internal sludge build-up which is quite bad for your engine. You can think of it as being like cholesterol deposits building up in your arteries!
Your check engine light is blinking or your car is making strange sounds. To some, this is an obvious sign that you need to take your car to the mechanic, but in our experience, many people regularly ignore these warning signs – our advice: DON’T
