Tune-up – what are the deciding factors?

Have you ever wondered who came up with the rules on how and when to tune-up your car? Well here are a few things to take into consideration. Parts wear out. Whether a part gets tired from mileage, age, or time in general, parts just don’t last forever. If you changed your air filter and went on with life, you would forget about when it was serviced but assume you just did it a few months ago. Unlike a haircut when it’s right there in front of you, we all seem to forget because time does fly by.

What is a tune-up?

Tune-ups usually consist of replacing sparkplugs, air and fuel filters, performing an oil and filter change, as well as checking all the fluids and visual inspections under the hood and under the car. This is done to keep the engines air intake system, ignition system, and fuel system working to the best that it can perform and making sure there are no other problems on the car.

Tune-up items and recommended replacement intervals:

Oil and filter change – 5,000 miles
Air filters – 10,000-15,000 miles
Clean Throttle body – 15,000 miles
Fuel filters – 50,000 miles
Sparkplugs – 50,000 miles
Drive belts – (depending on type) – 50,000 to 100,000 miles
Timing belts (if equipped)– 80,000 to 100,000 miles
Plug wires (if equipped) – 100,000 miles

What determines a tune-up

Most manufactures know exactly how long it takes for tune-up parts to wear down. Studies have been done over the years to try and create every type of condition and driving element that you and I could possibly put our vehicles through. They factor in different driving conditions (easy to hard driving styles), temperature changes (extremely hot and cold conditions), and extreme environment changes (dry dusty conditions to continuous rain and wet weather).

Never mind what these parts are made from; 5 different types of plastic, 10 different types of metals, and an endless number of chemicals involved in the process to make such items as sparkplugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, air filters, fuel filters, belts, hoses…. The list can go on forever.

Ask around

The end result is tune-ups are a maintenance that should be performed at or around 50,000 miles. If you went into 10 different repair shops you would probably get 10 different answers. All manufactures say their parts last longer today. Oh, what makes an air filter last 30,000 miles today when 5 years ago you recommended 15,000 miles?

Give me a break!

My Favorite

If you leave a part on your car long enough I’ll bet you can get a thousand more miles and a few more months than your neighbor. What do you think?

My favorite recommendation that certain manufactures have thrown out there is “the 100,000 mile tune-up”, or “the 10,000 mile oil change”. Yeah, whatever?

Preventative Maintenance

If your car is an investment that you cherish, turn your maintenance into preventative maintenance. Perform a tune-up to keep your engine running in tip top shape and get the best fuel economy that you can while eliminating the thought of needing any major work that could have been avoided by a $12 air filter or an $18 set of sparkplugs.

Helpful Advice

For those who are not mechanically inclined I know you wouldn’t be eager enough to dive head first into your engine to replace sparkplugs or an air filter, but if tune-ups (which are costly) are something that you don’t want to try yourself, separate the repairs individually. Maybe you could do the easy stuff. For those of you who do this kind of stuff and make a living at it, here’s your chance to help family and friends while earning a little extra income.

If you don’t want to attempt the repairs yourself and you are in the Indianapolis area I can stop over and perform these tune-up items at your home. Get in contact with me on my Facebook page for more information.