What is a tune up and how do I know if I need one?

If your vehicle hesitates, misfires, lacks acceleration and power, stalls or has failed an emission test — that’s a sure sign you need a tune-up, right? Well, it’s a sure sign something is wrong.

If you have maintained your vehicle according to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule you don’t need one. Sticking to the manufacturer’s time table already services all the relevant systems.

A vehicle that has not kept up with regular maintenance or older vehicles (with more vacuum lines and carburetors and fewer computer modules) may enjoy a tune-up to help them purr like a tiger and improve fuel efficiency.

Let’s Go…

In proper working order a car runs, goes and stops. To make that happen, at its most basic, your car performs two functions that just happen to make your life easier when you go along for all that going and stopping (and shopping and sightseeing and…).

Inhale…

First your car breathes. If you were running up a set of stairs and something interferes with your breathing, like a stuffy nose, it is more of a challenge to reach your destination. To make sure your car can inhale without obstruction, you will want to inspect and regularly change out dirty air filters. They aren’t expensive so a good rule of thumb is to change them with each oil change.

And Exhale

Then it exhales as burned fuel and air is pushed through the catalytic converter and out of the tail pipe. Your exhaust pipes, catalytic converter(s) and muffler(s) need to be in good condition so your car can exhale properly. That means that leaks in your exhaust throw off the balance of fuel and air that the onboard computer tries to maintain. The result, besides failing your emission test, is poor fuel economy. So it is important to keep your exhaust in good shape.

The second thing your car does is burn fuel. In a gasoline engine, that means delivery of fuel to the engine and spark plugs.

A Weak fuel pump or a clogged fuel filter will interfere with the delivery of fuel. This causes your car’s performance to be sluggish or could cause you to stall. It might even make it impossible to start the engine.

Over time spark plugs can become coated in a build-up of carbon and/or oil that will interfere with spark. This can lead to incomplete burning of fuel, rough running and poor fuel economy. At regular intervals you need to replace the spark plugs to provide optimal spark and fuel economy. Damaged, worn or cracked spark plug wires can also interfere with spark, so you’ll want to replace those when appropriate too.

There are many supporting players that help these two primary functions perform smoothly. We’ll clean corrosion from your battery terminals to ensure a solid connection. We’ll check your battery’s condition to make sure it still provides the power required to start and run your car. Related to that, we’ll check your starting and charging systems as well.

…and stop.

When you first learned to drive, you probably hit the brakes more than the gas — and that’s a good thing. We usually think of the long distances we can travel as the best thing about a car but being able to stop might be the most important feature of any vehicle. To keep you safe, we’ll look at the condition, wear pattern and thickness of your brake pads and discs (also called rotors). We’ll check the condition of the braking system including the condition of your brake fluid.

Brake fluid absorbs moisture leading internal brake system components to corrode. Any air that has seeped into the brake lines makes braking soft and spongy. That’s because, when you hit the brakes, air in the brake lines must compress before it can push the brake fluid through the system and stop the vehicle. We’ll inspect the entire length of the braking system’s pipes, hoses and connections for leaks and corrosion as well. We can even drain and refill old, tired brake fluid so you can stop with confidence.

We’ll look at all the belts and hoses to check for wear and cracking. We’ll recommend replacing those that are in bad shape to prevent a breakdown and damage to your vehicle. Getting stuck on the side of the road is no fun no matter what the weather.

When driving, it is important to see and be seen so we’ll check your wipers and all your lights and replace any of them as necessary.

What about those lights on the dash? Doesn’t a check engine light mean I need a tune-up?

Those lights on the dash, including the check engine light, alert you to a problem but the onboard computers in today’s vehicles track many systems. Take your vehicle in to a qualified mechanic to find out what the problem is. So, when you ask your mechanic for a tune-up, they should have a few questions for you. To begin with, they should ask you to describe the problem that makes you think you need a tune up. Describe what it feels and, if you are brave, what it sounds like.

If you are in need of scheduled service or a tune-up, drop in to your favorite mechanic to keep your vehicle in top condition. If you don’t already have a trusted mechanic, come see us at BenzWorx AutoHaus at 164 Dundee Avenue (Rt. 25), in East Dundee, IL. Feel free to give us a call beforehand at 847–844–0349 but you don’t have to. Check us out online at www.benzworx.com.