Car Maintenance Vs Tune Ups: What’s The Difference?

Your car might not be starting properly, the brakes might be faulty, the mileage might have been reduced, it may be your malfunctioning wipers. It’s difficult for a person without technical know-how to determine what a car needs when it runs into vehicular problems. Some problems require changing the car fluids. Some require the replacement of parts but many car owners do not know the difference between car maintenance vs tune ups Here’s how to determine if you need car maintenance or a simple tune-up.

What is a tune-up?

What a tune-up is has changed a lot over time. It is now widely and mistakenly used to describe any procedure requiring car parts replacement. In reality, tune-ups refer to a series of minor repairs or changes made to a car engine to keep it working optimally and more efficiently. It is a maintenance procedure that requires replacement of parts of the car engines that are easily susceptible to wear and tear (components involved in the combustion process).

For instance, you may need to install new spark plugs to make an engine easier to start or restore lost power to the machine in a tune-up. This will work if the deterioration in engine function is caused by worn out or damaged spark plugs. A tune-up isn’t what you need if the problem isn’t from the engine. In this case, you might want to schedule major car maintenance and inspect all subsystems of the car.

How often should I get a tune-up?

If you have a vehicle with a non-electronic ignition, you should get a tune-up about every 10,000–12,000 miles. Newer cars do not need tune-ups as regularly as older models because of improved technology. Vehicles with electronic ignition and fuel ignition can go 25,000 to 100,000 miles before requiring a tune-up.

Furthermore, here are the procedures involved in tune-ups typically involve replacing the following:

• Spark plugs
• Plug wires
• Distributor cap and rotors
• PCV valve
• Fuel and air filters

In tune-ups, carbon/fuel cleaners are used to clean fuel injectors. There’s the cleaning of the throttle body. Also, you get to adjust your ignition.

What is car maintenance?

Car maintenance is simply inspecting or testing the condition of all the cars’ subsystems and servicing or replacing parts and fluids. Hence, It is more encompassing compared to a tune-up. Technicians perform additional in-depth inspections on all the car subsystems and preventative replacements where necessary.

How often should I get car maintenance?

Car maintenance depends on time and season. Some car parts require daily care, some monthly and some only in the long run. Car maintenance checklist may include:

• Air filters, oil and coolant levels inspection and replacement
• Tyre pressure and tread depth check
• headlights, turn signals, brakes, and parking lights check
• Battery and exhaust check
• Painting the car and others

In a nutshell, car maintenance is a tune-up plus much other damage prevention or replacement procedures. Tune-ups should be under your car maintenance checklist. We recommend taking the car for a test run after a tune-up or a primary scheduled car maintenance service. Now that you know the difference between car maintenance vs tune ups, which one do you think you need?

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