5 Ignored Vehicle Maintenance You Should Take Very Seriously

While there’s an element of truth in the above position, it’s only an insignificant part of the overall. In the grand scheme of things, these are only but small fractions that together make up the important whole.

Unfortunately, for many vehicle owners, once engine oil is changed, a vehicle has been ‘maintained’ – and a day, it’s called. The ‘good part’ is that it helps them sleep well at night and get the issue of ‘vehicle maintenance’ off their minds. The implication is that they simply fool themselves, nothing more.

Today, I’ll share the five most ignored vehicle maintenance items you shouldn’t ignore – even in a hurry (if you want to max out value from your car). The good part? These are all things you can do yourself, even if you aren’t a typical auto DIY person.

Periodic Undercarriage Flushes

If you live in a temperate region, you’re no stranger to road salt; if you’re in the tropics, you’re familiar with dust and mud—the twin siblings that accompany your vehicle all year round.

After a wash, you’re pleased with how clean your newly waxed vehicle looks and swear to wash it much more frequently.

What is usually missing from this resolve is an equal resolve to tackle the undercarriage, periodically.

Remember the road salt that makes it manageable to co-exist with snow on the road? Or the mud/dust that makes it necessary to wash your car every day, all year round (or risk looking like a careless/dirty vehicle owner?)

They don’t go anywhere when you wash. Instead, they stick to the undercarriage of your vehicle, and there, cause the most unimaginable harm, bit by bit, and by the time you discover it, it’s already too late: the harm has been done.

Pained, you have no option but to face the new reality of your undercarriage, which in most cases, is RUST.

Advantages of Periodic Undercarriage Flushes

• Rust-free undercarriage. This enhances the integrity of your vehicle and, overall, makes it a safer ride.
• A clean undercarriage makes it easy to detect when things go wrong, things such as fluid leaks or greasy messes.
• When it’s time to move on, a clean undercarriage makes it extremely easy to ask for (and get) a premium. No one wants to miss a car with a clean undercarriage, especially if other boxes are ticked. The silent conclusion is that if you take the pain to keep even the undercarriage neat, then the vehicle was well looked after.

How to Run a Vehicle Undercarriage Flush

• Get the vehicle to an elevated position where you have a great command of its undercarriage, while standing.
• Get a good degreaser, and if not mixed, get your regular car washing fluid.
• Loosen the dirt underneath using plain water. After about thirty minutes, apply the degreaser (according to instructions).
• Wash off the gunk with a good pressure washer.
• Apply a mixture of your car washing solution/detergent liberally, wash thoroughly by hand, and flush out the remainder of the dirt using a pressure washer.
• Let the undercarriage dry up completely on its own before bringing the car down from the ramp.

An undercarriage flush is the first of the things you need to do differently from other motorists, outside the body of your vehicle. Let’s take a look at the next, something right on the engine.

Routine PCV Valve Cleaning

Most vehicle owners run their cars for their entire lives without knowing that they have a PCV Valve or that this valve needs to be periodically cleaned or changed after a certain point.

My mechanic (before I became a full-time auto DIY mechanic myself), knowledgeable as he was, was completely ignorant of what a PCV Valve was or where it was on my then 3MZ engine.

So, what is this PCV Valve that you must take seriously as a vehicle owner?

The Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) Valve is usually a small metal or plastic unit that helps control emissions by recycling crankcase gases. It also prevents emissions (pressured gases, really) from escaping into the atmosphere by routing them back into the engine for burning.

Working properly and doing its job, the PCV Valve enhances overall engine performance, prevents oil dilution, and reduces sludge formation, all while keeping general emissions levels low.

When neglected, however, increased oil consumption, rough idling, engine misfires, check engine lights, oil leaks, sludge buildup, and in extreme cases, complete engine failure happens.

Advantages of Periodic PCV Valve Cleaning

• An engine devoid of sludge.
• Absence of engine oil leaks around the top gasket – assuming there are no other issues warranting the same.
• Low emissions and overall, a greener earth.
• Optimal engine oil consumption.
• A quiet running engine.

How to Clean a PCV Valve

• Locate the PCV Valve in the vehicle and remove it, using the appropriate wrench.
• Shake the unit. If it doesn’t rattle, don’t bother with cleaning; simply replace it. If it rattles, continue as indicated below.
• Use a throttle body cleaner and power it through the threaded-in portion of the PCV Valve.
• Let the valve air dry.
• Fix it back and be on your way. Remember to do all these with the engine switched off and cold.

Fun Fact: A good PCV Valve rattles when shaken. If you shake yours, even after cleaning, and it doesn’t rattle, it’s about time to change the entire unit. Luckily, they are some of the most inexpensive things you can change on your vehicle, generally costing only a few bucks a piece.

Periodic AC Filter Check

There was a time when ‘life happened’, and things were very choked up for me. During this period, I simply ‘floated’ through existence, passively doing things without being deliberate or even in the moment.

Six months passed, a year, and then two. I got myself back and was on track, but there were some things I had missed during that time. One of the most important was to check (and possibly change) my vehicle’s cabin air filter.

Over time, I started to notice that the system wasn’t cooling as efficiently as it usually did. But, to confuse me, I had only recently moved to a new town where temperatures were considerably higher than where I had lived in the past.

Brushing it off as nothing special, the issue persisted – and eventually, I was forced to take a look.

I opened up the cabin air filter, located behind the glove box on the model I drove, then, and that was when I was shocked at the mess in there: the surface was completely covered in trash, trash that extended even to the glove box itself! It was as if someone had deliberately dumped their trash in my glovebox and, by extension, the AC cabin air filter!

I took it off and dusted the dirt and trash as much as I could, and using a broomstick, painstakingly removed the dirt, pending when the order I made for a new one would arrive.

Immediately, I powered the vehicle and tested the AC: the difference was like day and night. Instead of the fan ‘3’ three I used before that time, I left things on ‘1’ but this time around, the AC was more than freezing: there was no need to wait for the circulation while sweating…it was as if the unit was out to damn the sun and generally high temperatures.

Unfortunately, many car owners are perpetually trapped in the loop I was caught in…the only difference is that they don’t make it out eventually, at least, not ‘willingly’, believing at the end that the AC unit has a challenge.

So, why is periodic checking of your vehicle’s cabin air filter important?

Why Periodically Checking the AC Filter Is Important

• Colder, more reassuring AC performance, especially during the hot months.
• A free and more powerful AC flow, perfect for those times when you have company, especially rear seat passengers.
• Cleaner air quality in the vehicle, devoid of many of the respiratory disease-causing pathogens.
• A generally cleaner car (a dirty air filter blows in trapped dirt into the cabin when the blowers are powered up).

How to Check Your AC Filter the Right Way

• For most makes and models, the AC air filter is usually located behind the glove box. Your owner’s manual will specify the exact procedure for checking and replacing it.
• When there, make sure to take out and put in the filter in the manner prescribed by the owner’s manual only (air flow can be grossly inhibited otherwise).
• An air cleaner that isn’t very dirty can be dusted and reused, especially if it’s less than a year old, in the vehicle.
• As a general rule, check the filter’s state once every six months, for asphalt, clean city driving. If you drive in mixed conditions, three months is a great interval. For exclusively dusty, dirt roads, once a month should be the standard.

Drive Shaft Boot Check

There aren’t many experienced drivers who can claim not to know what a drive shaft is, or better, haven’t replaced it at some point in their motoring lives. It’s the part that takes power from the transmission and connects the same to the wheels.

These usually come in a pair, one for the right and another for the left.

Now, these drive shafts are designed and work on the general principle of bearings. To keep things clean and ensure that the system lasts long, the bearings are encased in a rubber boot. This rubber boot holds the grease that lubricates the bearings and protects both from dirt, grime, and the elements.

For many drivers or car owners, once the drive shaft gives way, they simply order a pair for replacement. However, there is a way to avoid ordering new ones or, better put, keeping the old ones from giving way: it’s by making sure that the drive shaft rubber boot maintains its integrity at ALL times.

Let me go basic here: rubber degrades after time, especially when paired with a less-than-ideal grease type (read: petroleum-based grease).

With the covering of the drive shaft gone, water, dirt, dust, and grime go in while the lubricating grease gets contaminated and slowly leaks out, creating a ‘dry’ condition.

Without adequate lubrication to the bearings (or no lubrication at all), the bearings fail, and the drive shafts need to be replaced as a set.

A better way?

Periodically inspect the drive shaft boots for damage and compromise; if found, replace both boots as a pair and save yourself the enormous cost of replacing the shafts as a whole, especially if you’re having a shop do it.

Why make such a ‘big’ purchase when you can proactively (and smartly) invest in a small rubber boot costing only a few bucks and run the drive shafts almost infinitely?

And, why tarry when this is something you can do yourself on the driveway?

Why You Should Check the Drive Shaft Boot Periodically

• Checking the drive shaft boots periodically helps you catch tears and compromises early, avoiding costly repairs down the line.
• By catching tears and compromises early, you stand the chance of driving the longest without any strange sounds or weird noises.
• Checking the drive shaft boots periodically also gives you the chance to inspect other components like the ball joints and tierods – serviceable parts with a boot all requiring periodic replacement, especially when their boots are compromised.

How to Inspect the Drive Shaft Boot

• Drive the vehicle up a ramp, over a pit, or crawl under if you have enough ground clearance.
• Using a flashlight, inspect the inner and outer drive shaft boots for tears, leaks, or grease splashes. Beam your flashlight on anything wet under as it’s a suspect.
• While under, take a look at the general condition of the tie rods, ball joints, and other components prone to wear and tear (such as the exhaust flex).
• Replace the drive shaft boots as required. Handle every other thing discovered as needed.

Tire Rotation

I once had a friend who always cursed his Mercedes E Klasse for being ‘tire hungry’. According to him, he changed tires way more than others (and his past cars). I was reluctant to comment: the vehicle is a heavy one and was bought used. Theoretically, there were a million and one things that could have gone wrong and caused the challenge.

Since his (numerous) complaints were disturbing our hangouts, I decided to take a look, if only to get him to shut up.

Immediately I saw the tire wear pattern, I asked: “When last did you rotate these tires?” He rolled his eyes up like a slay queen and replied: “What’s that?”

I explained what tire rotation was to him and rounded up with the fact that I believed the lack of it was his (major) challenge. I wrapped up that his owner’s/service manuals would indicate the correct procedure for his make, model, year, and drive setup. I concluded by saying for my drive setup (FWD), the process was rather simple: back to front, front to back (assuming the spare wasn’t factored).

Beaming with smiles the next day, this friend simply rotated his RWD setup in the manner I had indicated I do my FWDs! Needless to say, he had to do it again, this time, correctly, and that was the last time the issue of ‘tire eating’ came up again!

Why You Should Rotate Your Tires (Correctly)

• Correct tire rotation ensures that tires wear evenly, delaying the purchase of a new set for as long as (safely) possible.
• Correct tire rotation also ensures safe and reliable motoring, ensuring that each tire is as fit as possible to ferry the vehicle.
• Traction and handling are also improved – and greatly maximized. For performance inclined vehicles, the difference is usually night and day.
• With all four tires rolling as they should, fuel efficiency is also greatly maximized.

Tire Rotation Procedure

• Tire rotation procedure is a drive setup, make, model, and year dependent affair.
• However, generally, for FWD setups, it’s front to back, on the same side, when not factoring the spare in the setup.
• Look up your vehicle pattern from your owner’s or workshop manual. If you don’t have access to any of these, a simple online search should point you the right way.

(Very) Important Addendum: Transmission Oil & Filter

General Motors was one of the first companies to introduce the concept of a ‘sealed for life transmission’ containing ‘lifetime transmission fluid’. The ‘theory’ then (and now) is that you don’t need to mess around with tranny fluid – it’s good for the ‘life of the car’.

Unfortunately, nothing can be more FALSE.

Tranny fluid – like all other automotive fluids, degrades, loses its principal qualities and ultimately becomes useless as tranny fluid. Before such a point is reached, the fluid needs to be changed, irrespective of what the manufacturer says.

This ‘lifetime fluid’ and ‘sealed for life trannies’ are essentially good for the warranty period. That ‘lifetime’ is essentially 3-5 years, depending on how long the manufacturer wants to be held accountable for defects arising from their faults.

With this wrong notion fixed, it’s good to replace (not flush) tranny fluid every 30-40k miles and for the filter, change it alternately to the tranny fluid change (which would be between 60-80k miles).

Do this irrespective of what the manufacturer says (unless they have a regime that clearly acknowledges these services and spells out shorter times for them.

Why These Maintenance Items Matter

Three things, to put matters simply: vehicle longevity, trouble-free motoring, and ultimately, peace of mind.

Vehicle Longevity

The average vehicle on the road today lasts about 200k miles before major issues begin to pop up, needing an overhaul. With meticulous maintenance and a well-engineered vehicle, more (easy) miles are possible, and sometimes, that may even mean a million!

Why move on from a vehicle when you can stick in and extract good old miles from it, saving money in the process (just by doing a few DIY-friendly maintenance items yourself)?

Trouble Free Motoring

It’s okay if you don’t want to drive a vehicle to a million miles; heck, it’s also perfectly fine if 200k seems like an awfully long time to keep (and drive one vehicle). These concerns are valid and understood.

However, no matter where you stand on the average miles before you dispose of your vehicle, you’ll agree with me that you’ll want those miles to be trouble-free. Fortunately, taking these maintenance items mentioned here seriously ensures that trouble-free motoring becomes a reality – and not simply a dream.

There’s a fun fact that it’s important to share while here: stress is a major cause of sudden and unexpected death in today’s world, according to this Yale study. Since a bad vehicle will keep your blood pressure and stress levels high, it makes sense to conclude that looking after your vehicle and going the ‘extra mile’ to incorporate these points will not only ensure vehicle longevity and trouble-free motoring, but also ensure your own longevity, indirectly.

Peace of Mind

When Lexus launched in 1989, it promised one thing (two, primarily): luxury and reliability, two hitherto mutually exclusive realities for the segment. Strange as it was, if you ask me, I’d tell you without blinking an eye that this, more than anything else, was the reason for Lexus’ instant hit and success, right to this day.

Now, you don’t need to own or drive a Lexus to appreciate this reality: peace of mind is at the core of what every man (or woman) does and ultimately, what we’ll all in pursuing here on earth.

A vehicle that is maintained, inclusive of these points mentioned here, is very likely to drive you straight to a state called ‘peace of mind’. A state where you don’t have to worry about your vehicle…you fuel, crank, and are sure it will take you to wherever it is that you need to be (and back) without fail.

After all, there’s no honor in always soiling one’s hand with grease and engine oil, nor is there joy in being stranded by the roadside when you should be cruising to an appointment (or fun location).

Summary

Regular vehicle maintenance is great, and just by changing your engine oil and filter, you’re very likely to hit a reasonable mile range before you run into serious challenges.

However, there are other things that by periodically doing, you’re MOST likely to pass the generally accepted 200k miles and head closer to the elusive looking one million miles mark.

And, they’re all simple things:

• Periodic undercarriage flushes.
• PCV Valve cleaning.
• Routine AC cabin filter check.
• Occasional drive shaft boot inspections.
• Timely tire rotations.
• Routine tranny filter and fluid changes.

Do these consistently and you’ll one day, sooner rather than later, join the one million mile club or at the very least, have a car that serves reliably, all the time, all seasons without as much as a failure!

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