Misconceptions About Maintenance

The phrase “old wives’ tales” means a story that has a message but isn’t necessarily true. Think eating chocolate gives you pimples. The same can apply to car maintenance. Here are a few to re-consider.

Change the air filter at an oil change


Some people believe that changing the air filter when an oil change is performed it is going to help performance. Unless you’ve spent a few days on the dusty trails in the beautiful outback, an air filter’s life expectancy is generally far more than an oil filter’s.

Oil changes are needed at exactly x amount of kilometres


Once upon a time, perhaps. But now the quality of oil and the varying kinds of oils available mean that the gaps between services is increasing. Some cars even have a built in sensor and a display to let you know when a new change may be needed, but certainly not at every, say, five thousand kilometres.

Cheap oil is good oil


Consider for a moment what it takes to build an engine that goes into a car. It might be a Korean sedan, a Japanese off-road ute, a hi-po sports car. Each and every engine will have an oil specifically recommended for the fuel type, the expected use of the car (short haul, long distance) and they’ll be formulated to perform across a range of environments. Budget oils generally are a multi-purpose fluid and potentially not suitable for your car’s heartbeat.

Dish washing detergent is just the same as a car wash


Although we all have skin, we all have different types of skin. We have different kinds of hair. That’s why there are so many different types of soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and not one size fits all formulation. Dish washing detergents are designed to strip oil, fat, grease, from crockery, utensils, and pots & pans. Use these on a car’s paint and it can be the same as using fine grade sandpaper to clean the paint.

Punctured tyres need binning



Unless the tyre has had a severe impact and that’s resulted in a substantial fracture, most punctures that happen from a wayward nail or screw should be ok with a seal. A specialist tyre service centre has specific tools and products that will air and moisture seal the small holes. So there shouldn’t be a requirement to haul out the plastic for a possibly not needed new tyre.


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Published Nov 6, 2020
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