Your car is in for service at a local dealership or independent shop. You receive a call telling you that additional services are needed. How do you know if the additional services are needed or not? As you will see, it’s as simple KNOW. So let see how this works.

Knowing the vehicle’s service history, how often was the oil changed? When was the last time the air filter last replaced? When were the transmission fluids changed or flushed and the filter replaced?

Now, how the car is usually driven. Does it get driven 1 -2 miles to work and back every day? Or is it driven 25 miles each way to work? Is the car usually driven in stop and go traffic, or is it on the open highway? Does the vehicle get driven slowly all the time to save gas, or is do you often accelerate quickly to meld with traffic?

Okay, what kind of additional service is being recommended? Is it an engine coolant change? A brake pad replacement or a fuel injection flush? A coolant change is a preventive maintenance item. Brake pad replacement is a safety issue. And a fuel injection flush is a fluff job, meaning it’s not always necessary.

When you know all this it’s easier to make a decision on whether or not to do the additional services. A vehicle’s service history helps because it not only keeps a vehicle running properly, it also saves money. How can servicing a vehicle save money? A properly serviced vehicle breaks down less often. It also runs more efficiently which uses less fuel and that’s good for the environment.
How a vehicle gets driven is an integral part of the equation. A vehicle that only gets driven in short trips needs to be serviced more often . A vehicle driven on short trips or in stop and go traffic all the time needs to have the engine oil changed every 6 months or 3000 miles. I would recommend using synthetic motor oil with this type of driving, but change the oil once a year no matter how many miles it’s driven. If the vehicle is driven long distances all the time, it can go 5000 miles on regular motor oil and 7500 miles on synthetic motor oil. It all comes down to this—does the engine warm up completely? How long does it get driven once it’s warmed up? The longer you drive with a warmed up engine, the better it is for the car.

Another thing is, what is being recommended. If the mechanic finds a coolant leak and the radiator hoses or water pump need to be replaced, this seems necessary. If the brakes need to be replaced, ask them if they could tell when the brakes were replaced last (or better yet, check your own receipts)! If approximately the same amount of miles has passed since the last time the brakes were replaced, then it seems like a necessary recommendation. But if they recommend a fuel injection flush and the vehicle has low mileage, this would be deemed unnecessary.

So let’s add all this together and see what we get. Know the service history of your vehicle. Now, take into consideration how the vehicle is usually being driven. Okay, what kind of additional service is being recommended? When this is all put together, you KNOW what to do.

For example: A shop is recommending a safety item or regular scheduled maintenance on a vehicle. The service history has been checked, the recommended services have not been done in a while, and the vehicle is driven normally. In this case, the recommendations seem necessary.

But what if the recommendations made were for fan belt replacement and a fuel injection flush in a vehicle that has 45,000 miles on it and is 4 years old? Neither of these services has been performed before, and the vehicle is running smoothly before it went in for maintenance. The fan belt replacement is necessary because four years is usually the lifespan of fan belts. But if the engine was running smoothly before it went in for service, the fuel injection flush is unnecessary.
Tire rotation is something that should be done between 5,000 and 10,000 miles, depending on the vehicle type. Some shops will recommend a tire rotation and balance . If the vehicle is driving smoothly and no vibration is felt through the driver’s seat or the steering wheel, then a balance is not needed. Since a tire rotation is usually part of a service, and a rotation and balance can cost anywhere from $45 to $100, you can save money by not authorizing the wheel balance.
When is it time to do a fuel injection flush? When a vehicle has high mileage (100,000 miles or more), and is idling or accelerating roughly, then a fuel injection flush would be recommended. It might not fix the problem, but it wouldn’t hurt.

If you purchase a used vehicle with high mileage I would recommend doing a complete maintenance just after the purchase. Have the oil changed, and maybe an engine flush at the same time . Have the engine coolant flush. Replace the spark plugs and install a new fuel and air filter. Have the timing belt replaced if it has one, and while they are replacing the timing belt, have the water pump replaced . You might also consider having the fan belts replaced at this time since they are already removed to replace the timing belt .

So figuring out if you really need to spend that extra money on those recommended services is as easy as KNOW. If you still have doubts, you could possibly have a second opinion, ask a friend or go to www.LAAutoReferral.com where there are more articles like this that will educate and help protect you.
WWW.LAAutoReferral.com does your auto service shop selection homework for you. Run by automotive consumer advocate Alan Cohen, they put each shop through a multiple step pre-screening process, then a 10 step certification procedure just to qualify for a listing on LAAutoReferral.com. They help you the consumer, eliminate your stress and anxiety, by providing LA Auto Referral Certified Shops, and professional independent service shop reviews.

Water condenses inside the engine when it’s cold. Driving a vehicle only for short trips does not allow for hot engine to boil the water out of the oil. This water mixes with the exhaust gases inside the motor and makes sulfuric acid which etches away integral parts of the engine like the bearings. It also creates sludge inside the motor. A vehicle that gets driven long distances allows the heat of the engine to boil out the water, and combat the sludge buildup.
Tires are balanced because the rims and the tires are not always perfectly round and might have a heavy spots. The balancing counteracts the heavy spots making the wheel (a tire mounted on a rim) roll smoothly. If a vibration is noticed while driving a vehicle at a certain speed, it might need a wheel balance. The vibration would be noticed between speeds like 40-45 miles an hour as an example. It would start at the lower range then go away at the higher range.
An engine flush consists of having the engine oil drained, the oil filter removed, and having equipment attached to the engine that sends warm pressurized solvent through the whole engine whenever oil would be. This cleans out all the sludge, grime and dirt inside the engine.

This would be recommended because #1 with the timing belt removed the water pump is easily accessible. Doing this saves money because there is far less labor to replace the water pump at this time than it is to do it at a later date when the timing belt is has to be remove again. #2 if the engine coolant is being changed at this time, new coolant doesn’t have to be used again when replacing the water pump at a later date.

All this is called overlapping labor. If a part like a fan belt has to be removed to replace a timing belt, and it’s been used for 3-4 years replace it. There is no additional labor to do this because it’s already off.