Mastering Skills: Automotive Maintenance
Mindy L. Norton
Axia College of University of Phoenix
Automotive maintenance is vital for optimum performance, reliability, and longevity of life for your vehicle. Having the knowledge and education to troubleshoot properly and maintain a vehicle is just as important, if not more. Being educated on automotive maintenance and repair is something that not every person has. Being mechanically inclined is a skill, some have it, and some do not. Educating oneself on automotive repair and maintenance, and becoming skilled at it has many benefits. Maintenance involves the littlest attention from knowing the correct tire pressure to knowing how frequently an oil change should be performed. Untimely fluid changes, lack of automotive knowledge and sheer disregard to complete routine maintenance is detrimental to the overall life span of a vehicle.
There are numerous fluid changes that are required when a vehicle reaches certain mileages. Knowing what kind of oil is needed for your vehicle is also important. There is conventional, synthetic blend, and synthetic. Conventional oil changes should be performed every 3,000 miles or every three months, whichever comes first. Oil changes using synthetic blend would require a change less frequently around every 7,500 miles. Synthetic oil changes have been tested and documented to prove that it is far more superior to conventional oil, in that, a vehicle can go up to as far as 10,000 miles between oil changes. Transmission, brake, and power steering fluids also need to be checked and filled to its proper level, if necessary, making sure not to overfill. Engine coolant and antifreeze needs to be diluted properly so that the engine can perform in either extreme warm or cold weather to achieve optimum performance. Consequently, radiator fluid not properly diluted could result in the engine freezing in the winter and overheating in the summer. A radiator flush can be performed as...