Real or Fake? 5 Car Maintenance Myths You Should Know

If you are devoted to maintaining your car in mint condition, you probably have some super secretive maintenance tips up your sleeve. The car upkeep has been something of great interest for vehicle enthusiasts worldwide. However, not only enthusiasts want to keep their cars clean and working. Every average Joe wants to do it as well.

As it turns out, there are plenty of solid car maintenance tips out there. But there, the great interest has also resulted in some myths that some people blindly believe in. Today we are going to give you five car maintenance myths you should know about.

car maintenance

Wait for Your Car to Warm Up

If you start driving your car before it warms up, it won’t deliver its best performance. Or, worse, you might damage something, and your engine will not last long. This is definitely a myth. Although it might be rooted in truth, that truth has been outdated for quite some time now.

If you are driving a modern car, it comes with a modern engine. Modern engines don’t need to be warmed up before driving your car. In fact, the best possible way to warm up a modern engine and achieve optimal performance is to drive your car.

Change Your Oil Often

Some oil companies have marketing campaigns with a very strong impact. You will be even able to see that some people firmly believe that you should change the oil every 3,000 miles. However, if you consult your owner’s manual, you will be able to discover something completely different. This myth can potentially be viable if you are driving a racer car or a car which was modified.

However, if you are driving your car in average driving conditions, you won’t have to change your oil before you travel 7,500 miles. If you strongly believe in this myth, go for it. Change the oil as often as you would like. You won’t do any harm to your precious 4-wheeler, but it is money for oil out of your pocket.

It’s OK to Wash Your Car with a Dishwashing Detergent

Many people love cleaning their cars. While there is nothing wrong with it, what’s wrong is that they believe the myth it’s ok to do it with a dishwashing detergent. Or even worse, they use a laundry detergent. These detergents are too aggressive for cleaning the car’s exterior and interior. You can damage your car’s wax finish or even cause tiny cracks in the paint.

If you want to do it yourself, you should invest in a car-wash liquid. You can even use tea bags to keep your car’s interior fresh. The alternative would be to outsource it to professionals who have all the knowledge, experience, and tools to do it properly. Do a car detailing near me search and visit the most reputable service providers.

The Coolant Should Be Replaced Along With Oil

Oil and coolant share nothing in common except one thing – they are there to keep your engine temperature in check. However, the myth of replacing the coolant along with oil has somehow found its place in the world of car maintenance myths.

There are only two instances in which you should replace the coolant. First, check your owner’s manual to see the manufacturer’s recommendations. They often state that you should do it every 60,000 miles or five years.  If your coolant reservoir has a leak, you should not keep adding coolant. Instead, get it fixed.

It Only Takes a Couple of Minutes for a Car to Recharge Battery

Many people who experience car battery problems jump-start their battery. After jump-starting your car, the myth is that it only needs a couple of minutes to recharge your battery. Don’t forget that the car does it thanks to the alternator, the same alternator that has to supply the power to all your car’s other systems.

In other words, your car might be able to recharge the battery, but only if you don’t turn on anything electrical in your car and if it can hold a charge. Even if you want to do it while driving, it will take a couple of hours for the alternator to charge your battery. The more practical approach would be to run a load test to check if it can hold a charge and then use the right battery charger to charge it fully.

These are the five most common car maintenance myths you can encounter across continents. As you can see, they are not rooted in science, and there are no facts to back them up. Some of them might even cause damage to your precious car. To ensure you don’t blindly follow advice from inexperienced people, you should always consult your owner’s manual or take your concerns to a licensed professional.

Share this: