Call us: 612-788-8686
YOU DRIVE IT - WE FIX IT​
MAXI AUTO CENTER
2803 Central Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418
HABLAMOS ESPANOL
MAINTENANCE
Preventative Maintenance
BRAKES
There’s no clear-cut schedule that tells you when it's time to replace the brakes; you will need to rely on your ears and the advice of an experienced automotive technician.
Most vehicles should have their tires rotated at least once every six months, and that is a good time to have the brakes inspected as well. A mechanic can check the thickness of the pads and the condition of the brake hardware to spot wear.
The life of brake pads (the friction material that gets pressed against a metal disc or drum to stop your vehicle) varies depending on their use. If you drive only 10,000 miles a year but it's mainly in Minneapolis or St. Paul, you will need to replace brake pads more often than someone who drives 30,000 miles a year driving to Duluth and back on a regular basis. You use your brakes a lot more in high-traffic driving than on a traffic-free highway.
Brakes are designed to wear out. If you go too long between brake jobs you will run into additional costs you could have avoided if you had checked the brake pads regularly. If the pads wear too far, the metal backing on the brake pad comes in contact with the brake rotor. Once you make metal to metal contact, you've not only damaged the rotor, but put yourself in a dangerous situation. And, you've added a good bit of money to the costs for new brakes.
SERVICING
Having your vehicle serviced and inspected periodically is a good way to extend its life and keep it operating efficiently.
New spark plugs should replace the old ones in your car at least once every 100,000 miles, and the air filter should generally be replaced every 30,000 miles. The computers that control today's engines adjust the air-fuel mixture and spark timing to compensate for wear, such as when the electrodes on spark plugs are worn down. New spark plugs help improve this timing for optimum performance. Replacing a clogged air filter will improve acceleration 6-11%.
Our service technicians will inspect and test the fuel, ignition and emissions systems to look for faulty vacuum hoses, oxygen sensors and other parts that can hurt performance. A bad oxygen sensor can give engine computers false readings and reduce fuel economy as much as 40%.
Look in the owner's manual for your vehicle to find what the manufacturer recommends, or give us a call and we can help determine when you should schedule some preventative maintenance services to keep you on the road running as smoothly as possible.
SUSPENSION
The suspension system of your car includes springs, ball joints, tie rod ends, control arms and bushings. As cars age and the miles add up, they may lean more in turns, shimmy or make noises over bumps, or develop looseness in the steering. Because suspension parts wear gradually, vehicle owners may not recognize warning signs until something breaks.
A small amount of looseness in the suspension or steering that doesn't get fixed can lead to rapid tire wear, cutting tire life by as much as HALF! In some cases, suspension parts may be on their way to the graveyard without obvious signs in how the vehicle drives. Ball joints, for example, which act like a hinge or a pivot point to attach the suspension to a wheel, can steadily wear to the point that one day they just break.
Suspension problems can show up in less than three years. The potential for problems is higher in areas such as ours that have lots of potholes roads that put more stress on suspension parts and winters with road salt that causes a lot of rust under the car.
It can be difficult for a car owner to know whether the vehicle needs new ball joints or control-arm bushings; this is where Maxi Auto Center becomes your best safety advocate! Our technicians will measure the height of each corner to see if the car is still at the manufacturer's specifications or is closer to the ground. We will also do a visual inspection underneath to check the springs and other parts.