Maintenance Required
WHAT IS A MAINTENANCE CUSTOMER?
A MAINTENANCE CUSTOMER IS AN EDUCATED CUSTOMER WHO SAVES REAL MONEY BY MAINTAINING THEIR VEHICLE
VS.
A BREAKDOWN CUSTOMER IS SOMEONE WHO DRIVES A CONTAMINATED VEHICLE AND TRIES TO SAVE MONEY BY ONLY FIXING WHAT’S BROKEN
IT COSTS 46% MORE MONEY TO FIX WHAT’S BROKEN VS PERFORMING PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
PROPER MAINTENANCE
- Enhances Performance
- Maintains Warranties
- Reduces Costly Breakdowns
- Is Safer And More Reliable
- Increases Resale Value
- Pollutes Less
- Uses Less fuel
THAT’S GOOD FOR YOU AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Let the professionals at Mid Island Automotive tailor a maintenance schedule that suits your driving needs.
Maintenance Tips
Do I Need Service?
Even if your vehicle seems to be running smoothly, unseen problems could lead to expensive repairs down the road.
A recent survey by a group known as the Car Care Council found:
- 38% of cars had low or dirty engine oil
- 54% had low tire pressure
- 28% had inadequate engine cooling
- 19% needed new belts
- 16% had dirty air filters
- 10% had low or contaminated brake fluid
Your vehicle owner’s manual can be an excellent source of information about required service intervals – just keep in mind that most Canadian vehicles need to comply with “severe” service schedules.
A scheduled stop for maintenance will allow you to plan a day without your car. A breakdown will simply leave you stranded.
Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd and the Maintenance Mindset
As responsible Nanaimo motorists, we know we need to take care of our cars, but it just seems really hard to remember to do it. We generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to our vehicles. For example, we water and mow the lawn every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. We go to the dentist twice a year, take our clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids for a checkup before school starts. So people really are maintenance minded. Nanaimo motorists just need to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done, we learn our lesson and start to take better care of things. Unfortunately, Nanaimo drivers too often learn the hard automotive lesson when they have to bring their vehicle to their Nanaimo auto center on a tow truck. So many times, a little routine maintenance would have prevented a breakdown. Here’s something that will help Nanaimo drivers: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change at Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd, your appreciative service professional will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why. If your serpentine belt is worn, he’ll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered. All of this takes a trained and experienced eye. And they’ll check to see if your auto maker has recommended any services at your current mileage. So when you come in for an oil change at Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd in Nanaimo, you get a visual inspection and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your appreciative Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and avoid expensive breakdowns. Give us a call
For Your Information
As a vehicle owner, there are few things you can do for the long term health of your vehicle that are as beneficial as a transmission fluid exchange. Check your owner’s manual – it probably calls for a transmission fluid exchange every 60,000 or 70,000 Kilometers. Yet many vehicle owners, either through a lack of awareness or due to a belief that this service isn’t really critical, defer or completely neglect this vital service.
Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) breaks down from heat and wear and loses its ability to properly lubricate and dissipate heat from the inside of the transmission. ATF, when broken down, can leave deposits (sludge & varnish) inside the transmission, potentially causing poor shifting and erratic transmission behavior. When left untreated, permanent damage can occur, costing thousands of dollars in needless repairs.
Automotive Solutions from Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd: Serpentine Belt
Let’s talk about your serpentine belt: that long belt that snakes around the front of your engine. The serpentine belt is powered by the engine as it turns. Your alternator, air conditioning compressor, and power steering pump depend on your serpentine belt to run. On some vehicles it also runs the water pump, radiator fan, and power brakes.
If your serpentine belt breaks, your battery won’t last long. If it runs your fan or water pump, your engine could overheat before your battery dies. Steering and braking would also be affected. Hopefully, we’ve made a good case for replacing your critical serpentine belt when it’s worn out.
Your owner’s manual will advise you when to replace your serpentine belt. Your appreciative service advisor at Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd can inspect the belt as well to determine if it’s close to failure.
You may have heard that it’s a good idea to check for cracks in your belt to see if it’s time for a new one. However, with the newer belts, belt thickness is a more reliable indicator of the status. At Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd, we use a nifty tool to measure the depth of the grooves to see if a replacement is in order.
A worn belt can cause problems even before it breaks. It can slip out of place and put undue stress on the accessories it runs.
There’s a tensioner pulley on your engine that puts pressure on the belt to keep it at the right tension. Since the spring on the tensioner wears out like any other part, Mid Island Automotive Repairs Ltd recommends replacing the tensioner pulley when you switch out the serpentine belt.
Replacing your serpentine belt on schedule will save you from a dangerous breakdown.
Did You Know?
The average vehicle on the road today requires $1,000 in maintenance per year. Those five or more years old need an average of $1,400 in maintenance per year.
Listen to MIA’s Commercials below:
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MIA Maintaining Nanaimo’s Vehicles
MIA Maintenance Commercial