Keeping Up With Routine Maintenance

Did you just get a car from your Honda dealership in Hollywood? Congratulations, it’s going to be exciting to drive your new car off the dealership lot and make plans to adventure through Hollywood! However, before you get your car, we want to make sure you know everything about your routine maintenance and how it can affect your warranty coverage.

Without spoiling the article too much, we can tell you that you’ll be happy to see some myths busted about manufacturer warranties!

Clearing Up Warranty Confusions

Contrary to popular belief, you DO NOT need to bring your car back to your new car dealer in Hollywood to get all your routine maintenance done for the warranty to be valid. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) forbids manufacturers and dealers to limit their customers to getting serviced at their service shop — in fact, it’s illegal to deny coverage just because you went to your mechanic to get your car inspected in accordance to your maintenance schedule.

You are also not obligated to get Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts for your car. Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, you cannot be denied a claim based solely on the reason that you got aftermarket or recycled parts.

However, it is advised that you do your research and go to a trusted mechanic to carry out any maintenance work or parts replacements. If there are any damages caused due to improper inspections and installations, the manufacturer and dealer have the right to deny your claims. The good news is, they would have to provide sufficient evidence that the damages were due to a faulty part or inspection.

While manufacturers and dealers can’t force you to go back to them for your routine maintenance, they can deny any claims if you can’t prove that you’ve followed the maintenance schedule strictly, so it is best if you keep all receipts for any services or repairs you’ve gotten for your car.

Do note that they can also require you to go to specific body shops to get any repairs done for free under warranty. They are also allowed to ask you to pick from parts that they have available for you to get a free repair covered by your warranty.

Routine Maintenance

Now that you are informed of the relation between routine maintenance and your warranty, it’s time to take a look at what routine maintenance involves:

Vehicle Inspection To Check For Any Issues

The longer you’ve had your car for, the more problems will pop up due to natural wear and tear. However, doing routine maintenance will help you discover any issues during their earlier phases, where they can still be repaired for free under warranty. However, if these issues grow into much larger problems because you have neglected regular maintenance, the dealer can deny taking responsibility for these problems.

Oil Changes

Over time, your engine oil will form sludge from oxidation, high temperatures and dirt such as carbon and metallic particles. This sticky substance can be damaging to your engine if you let it build up too much, which is why regular oil changes are a must. Fresh engine oil will also lubricate your engine and keep it cool better.

There isn’t a specific period in which you need to get an oil change done, but how often you need oil changes depends greatly on your driving habits and where you drive often. If your driving involves a lot of stopping and going, you’ll have to change it more frequently.

Fluid Checks And Refills

These fluids include motor oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, and windshield fluid. These are all vital for the car to function properly and should be kept at their optimal levels. Your owner’s manual will tell you what the recommended levels of each fluid are so you don’t have to remember. You can actually fill these yourself, as long as you don’t put fluids into the wrong compartment. Pouring windshield fluid into the coolant section is bad news!

If you’re not confident with refilling fluids, you should go to a mechanic to have them do it for you. As the saying goes, it’s better safe than sorry.

Tire Rotations

Depending on how you drive and the road conditions you often drive on, the wear and tear on your tire treads could be unbalanced. For example, if the road has a lot of potholes on the left and is very smooth on the right, your tires would be more worn out on the pothole side. Having your tires rotated periodically will ensure that the tires all wear out at the same rate and thus prolong the lifespan of the whole set of tires.

While you can do this yourself, it’s a lot more hassle and stress-free if you get it done by a professional so you don’t have to worry about balancing your tires. When you bring it into the shop, they have devices to determine the best way to place your tires and ensure your car doesn’t produce weird vibrations from an imbalance.

Belt Replacement

Engine belt replacement isn’t something to worry about until your car is 4-6 years old. This is quite a huge gap, but it depends on the road conditions of where you live. Varying extreme temperatures and dry climates will shorten the lifespan of the belt, as it causes it to be more brittle when it’s dry and cracks could form.

Regular routine maintenance will help you identify this issue before it snaps while you’re driving, which is very dangerous for you and the pedestrians.

New Brake Pads

Your routine maintenance will include inspecting your brake pads to check if they still work effectively. Your driving habit plays a big role in the longevity of these brake pads — if you’re one to brake heavily or drag out your braking before reaching the red light, your brake pads will tend to wear out faster and will require a replacement sooner.

Keeping your brakes fresh ensures that your car can stop safely and properly, and you can only have a good idea if you get your car checked on schedule each year.

Routine maintenance can seem like a hassle and an expensive upfront cost just to check out a few things in your car. However, the long-term benefits trump the hassles by extending your vehicle’s life, as well as minimizing your expensive repairs due to neglect.

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