To maintain quality performance and safety, it’s essential to pay attention to your wheels and tires. Here are some tire inflation, wheel balancing and wheel alignment fundamentals.

Inflation

Check tire pressures weekly. Properly inflated tires assure maximum tread-to-road contact, giving you optimum handling, control, safety and tire preservation.

Under and over-inflated tires can mean:

• Decreased traction through reduced tread-to-road contact

• Less control

• Poor handling

• Reduced braking effectiveness

• Uneven and premature tire wear (decreased safety, increased cost)

• Higher fuel consumption

Wheel Balancing

A tire is out of balance when one section becomes heavier than the others, causing uneven weight distribution. This can lead to:

• Annoying vibrations

• Increased wear on tires, steering, suspension system – higher costs

• Reductions in handling, control and general safety

Wheel Alignment

Your car should have its wheels aligned at regular intervals. Properly aligned wheels optimize your car’s handling and steering and steering response and can extend tire life.

When wheels go out of alignment they sit at different angles to each other and the road, which can lead to:

• Greater rolling resistance, decreasing fuel efficiency

• Increased tire wear and cost

• Reduced handling, control and general safety

Brakes

Because brakes play such a major role in vehicle control and driving safety, their servicing and maintenance is of paramount importance. Here are some basics to know.

Brake pads

Very worn or damaged brake pads can compromise your car’s stopping power and affect overall safety performance. This why your brake pads are checked for wear and damage at each scheduled service.

Brake fluid

Brake fluid is a hydraulic liquid used to transfer pressure from the brake pedal to the braking mechanism. As brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, reducing the braking effectiveness it needs to be replaced at regular intervals to keep the system operating effectively.

ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System)

If the ABC warning light or ‘ABS Fault’ illuminates when driving, a malfunction is indicated and you should contact your servicing dealer.

Engine Fluids

To keep your car’s engine running at peak efficiency, fluids need to be checked regularly and replaced with correct grade and types according to your service schedule.

Prolonged engine use without oil and coolant replacement can cause major damage to the engine leading to considerable expense.

Engine oil

Using the correct oil grade:

• Prevents metal-on-metal wear by lubricating components

• Dissipates heat from the engine

• Protects against contaminants

• Helps deliver maximum fuel efficiency and emissions reduction

• Increases engine life

Coolant

Coolant keeps your engine running at the right temperature by circulating through the engine, absorbing heat as it passes through and transferring it to the atmosphere via the radiator.

• Protects against corrosion

• Helps the cooling system in hot weather by raising the liquid boiling point

• Helps protect against freezing in cold weather

Suspension and shock absorbers

Your car’s suspension system is designed to keep the wheels firmly in contact with the road.

To maintain good braking, steering, traction and isolation from road impacts, it’s important to have the system regularly inspected as part of the total service.

Worn and damaged shock absorbers affect vehicle safety by reducing road traction. This can compromise:

• Braking effectiveness

• Handling and control

• Overall safety performance