Maintenance of your vehicle at regular intervals is crucial to ensure your safety and people driving their cars around you. If you own a car, you need to understand that you are operating a moving piece of machinery that needs to be maintained and kept in the safest possible condition. Timely maintenance can save you money as well as help you in avoiding potentially devastating collisions. Irrespective of regular maintenance, you may still sustain injury-causing accidents. If you get involved in a car wreck, our car accident attorneys in Lafayette are there for legal assistance. Here’s how a lack of regular maintenance may put your life in jeopardy:
Tires:
Failure to maintain tires regularly can cause dangerous tire blowouts, thereby causing severe accidents. Tires are, in fact, essential in ensuring the safety of your vehicle on the road and allowing it to perform as it should. Some of the most evident problems in tires include:
- Damaged or punctured tires
- Worn out tires
- Inflated tires
- Under-inflated tires
Brakes:
Lack of brake maintenance may lead to devastating accidents. Brakes play a dominant role as they stop your car before a collision occurs. Here are some of the common signs of problems in brakes:
- Leaking fluid
- Squeaking noise
- Vibrating steering wheel
- Burning smell
- Warning lights on the dashboard
Headlights:
Whether driving your car on days of adverse weather conditions or at night, headlights are crucial. Failure to maintain headlights can heighten the chances of accidents. Some of the steps to ensure that headlights are in working order, include:
- Cleaning the headlights at regular intervals
- Ensuring that the high beams are in working order
- Testing indication lights and other turn signals
Engine oil and filter:
As per manufacturers, engine oil needs to be changed every 8,000 km or after four months. On the other hand, the engine air filter needs to be inspected every six months.
Automatic transmission service:
According to manufacturers, it’s important to change the Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) every 50,000 km for two years.
Wheel balancing and alignment:
Once new tires are installed, tires require re-balancing unless there’s any damage. Again, having a technician to check the wheel alignment every 25,000 to 40,000 km is essential. This process is imperative if you observe uneven wear in the tires.
Power steering service:
Make sure you inspect the power steering flush service annually. Some manufacturers recommend that the replacement of power steering fluid every 50,000 to 100,000 km is necessary.
