Common Franklin Auto Maintenance Myths to Ignore
Many people know very little about modern-day automobiles, but there are certainly enough Franklin auto maintenance myths floating around about how to maintain these sophisticated machines! These myths may cause vehicle owners to do some pretty silly things, some of which could actually damage the vehicles, and many will cost them a whole lot of unnecessary money. Some of these Franklin auto maintenance myths were started by auto accessory companies to help drive up their profits, but many were started by clueless vehicle owners that believe they know what they are talking about. Here are five common Franklin auto maintenance myths that should be ignored by car owners today.
Get an Oil Change Every 3,000 Miles
While this might have been true 40 years ago, it isn’t any longer. It’s often possible to drive 7,000, 9,000 or even 12,000 miles on a single change without running into any issues. Most new vehicles come with an oil life indicator that you should rely on to dictate when you change the oil, stop changing it too often because you’re just throwing your money away in the process.
Clean Your Fuel Injectors is One of the Franklin Auto Maintenance Myths
There are a bunch of products out on the market today for cleaning up your fuel injectors. Sometimes you add a bottle to your gas tank, some garages will even offer to wash out these units for you. This is almost always unnecessary, so only use these products if your vehicle manufacturer calls for them in the manual.
You’ll Void Your Warranty
Dealerships try to scare owners into continuing to come back for services in order to avoid voiding their warranty. It’s quite difficult to void the warranty as long as you’re performing proper service procedures. Have the work done at a reputable garage, or even do it yourself and you won’t void the warranty as long as you keep the receipts and do the work when it’s called for.
Flush Your Transmission Fluid Regularly
Transmission fluid is a very rugged material that’s designed to perform for an extended period. Don’t allow service centers to convince you to have this procedure done on your first few services. It’s a procedure that often doesn’t need doing until 60,000 miles or more.
Replace Filters with Every Oil Change
You’ll find air filters, transmission filters and oil filters throughout your vehicle. Some people believe that they need replacing with every oil change, and this isn’t typically the case even with oil filters. Read through your owner’s manual and maintenance manual to see the recommend filter intervals for the many different filter types throughout your vehicle. You’ll quickly see that you can keep those old filters going for much longer than you might think.
In general car maintenance is very simple today. There are so many Franklin auto maintenance myths that will have you doing unnecessary work and spending more money than you have to. Instead of following along with everything that you hear, rely on your owner’s manual for car care facts, and only have maintenance tasks performed when you know they are necessary.
Speak with us here at the Auto Clinic of Franklin to find out how we can maximize the value and performance of your vehicle, without costing you further cash down the road.