Very often vehicles are towed in need of major repair. Burned out ignition coils, bad fuel pumps, broken timing belts and so on. The owner is often surprised by the failure. A common remark is, "There were no symptoms." On older vehicles there were normally symptoms that preceded breakdowns. For instance, an engine in need of being tuned may have idled rough, become harder to start or even loss fuel mileage.
Such symptoms are not the case with today's vehicles. Though extensive computerization, engineers have largely eliminated such symptoms being relayed to the driver. In fact, none of the above symptoms is likely to indicate need for engine tune at all. Rather they are more likely to indicate failures in the system. Lack of engine tune may show no symptom at all, until there is a failure.
So with no symptom, why be concerned? If it’s not broken, why fix it? "Run Till Fail" is very expensive reasoning. The symptoms we used to feel are now being masked. For instance, worn spark plugs simply demand more energy from the ignition coil(s). They keep increasing their duty cycle until they fail. The driver does not experience symptoms. A restricted fuel filter over-works the fuel pump, until the pump fails. A worn timing belt just breaks, no symptoms at all.
This is why scheduled maintenance is so very important. Vehicle manufacturers specify intervals for certain parts to be checked and/or replaced. This is because they realize there will be no symptoms, in most cases.
Further complicating matters, manufacturers have extended intervals to the absolute limit. They extend intervals, knowing it makes the vehicle appear more attractive to buyers. They also realize, extremely high repair bills, down the road, is likely to drive the client to a new vehicle purchase. This "run till fail" mentality can cost drivers big.
Properly performing maintenance is the surest way to prevent huge repair bills and lower the over all cost of driving. It is also wise to consider the level of service received. Service standards vary greatly from one shop to another. Let us show you how AGCO can lower your cost of driving and why we feel our maintenance service is superior.
