Vehicles built within the 2000s are produced with much more quality than those built in the 1980s and 1990s. The mechanical breakdowns and maintenance required is much less in today’s vehicle. This has shifted the dynamics of the auto repair industry which has lead to the creation of fabricated services. Here are three ‘standard maintenance’ auto services that are complete nonsense:
Power Steering Fluid Flush
Does your vehicle owner’s manual say you need to change your power steering fluid? Anywhere? No. That’s because you generally don’t need to flush the power steering fluid. The power steering is it’s own system. On occasion another part might break and begin to leak other fluids and contaminants into the power steering. That’s the only time it actually needs to be flushed. Although there is some merit in the argument that having new fluid in any system is never a bad idea, a power steering fluid flush is not necessary for standard maintenance.
Air Induction Cleaning
Air induction is related to the fuel system. It’s involved in the process of mixing air with the fuel before it is combusted. Generally when air induction cleaning is advertised as a standard maintenance service it involves spraying a solvent into the intake manifold through the throttle body. This solvent breaks down the dirt and oil residue that has accumulated on the inside of the intake manifold and cylinder heads. The dirt then enters the cylinder and can cause damage. To properly clean an air induction system, the parts should be removed before they are cleaned so that the contaminants don’t get into the engine. Air induction that has some debris in it will work fine as long as it doesn’t block air flow completely. Typically in most cars you never need to perform an air induction cleaning. For some diesel engines it may be necessary on occasion.
Brake Fluid Flush
If the brake fluid is contaminated with water, dirt or oil then it does indeed need to be flushed. In fact, if it has any oil in it then every component of the brake system (hoses, calipers, master cylinder, wheel cylinder, anti-lock brakes hydraulic control unit) would need to be replaced. Also, during a standard brake job fluid is expelled from the calipers through the bleeder. Then the fluid level is topped off which maintains the condition of the brake fluid and it avoids contaminants being forced into the hydraulic control unit of the anti-lock brakes. However, a brake fluid flush is not needed as standard maintenance and you will not find a recommendation for it anywhere in the service manual for your car.
These three services, which are complete nonsense when advertised as standard maintenance services, are easy to point out since they have their own titles and descriptions. Other services may also be nonsense in certain situations. For example, all cars need a standard coolant flush eventually. Yet, in most modern cars the coolant doesn’t need to be flushed at 30,000 miles; it’s more like 100,000 miles. What happens is the customer comes in for a 30,000 mile evaluation and since most modern cars don’t need any maintenance other than an oil change at that point, the repair shop starts telling the customer that they need more maintenance services when they don’t. This example demonstrates that while some services are actually needed for the car, they may not be needed at the same frequency stated to the customer. These tend to be safe services which don’t hurt the car, but still increase revenue for the shop at the expense of the customer.
At Crawford’s Auto repair we strive to live up to our slogan of “quality you can trust.” We treat each car as if it belonged to our own mother and we never try to sell unnecessary repairs. If you’re not within a reasonable driving distance of our shop in Mesa, Arizona, then we recommend finding a mechanic that does business the way we do it. If you are within a reasonable driving distance, then try us out. You’ll see a better auto repair system that is designed to benefit the customer and reward honesty.
3 “Standard” Maintenance Auto Services that are Complete Nonsense is an original article from Crawford’s Auto Repair. Copyright © 2014, Jeff Crawford. Permission is granted to republish this article (text only) for personal or commercial use as long as the content, citation, and copyright notice all remain intact and unchanged. There must be an active “follow” link to CrawfordsAutoService.com. Any image seen with this article is the property of it’s respective author and requires it’s own permission.
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