Servicing is the key to reliability<\/p>\n
By Barry Lake<\/p>\n
FOR family transport, Indonesia has long relied on commercial-
\nbased vehicles such as Toyota-Astra's Kijang and the Isuzu
\nPanther.<\/p>\n
While these vehicles are certainly reliable, they tend to use
\nfairly simple mechanics, which have enabled many people to
\nmaintain and service their vehicles at home or through the local
\ngarage.<\/p>\n
However, with the steadily-increasing number of new small
\npassenger cars coming onto the market using sophisticated
\nengines, transmissions and other components, servicing habits are
\nbound to change.<\/p>\n
But how reliable will these cars be? And, when they need to be
\nserviced or repaired, will our mechanics be able to cope?<\/p>\n
Such concerns are natural but one of the greatest revelations
\nof modern motor cars is that they are incredibly reliable and
\nneed far less servicing than cars of the past.<\/p>\n
Cars of the 1990s do not need the ignition points replaced and
\nthe timing adjusted, simply because there are no points in
\nelectronic ignition systems.<\/p>\n
The spark plugs are platinum-tipped and amazingly durable. For
\nyears now, many modern cars have been traveling distances of more
\nthan 100,000km before needing new spark plugs, and some car
\nmanufacturers are now claiming spark plug life of better than
\n150,000km.<\/p>\n
That is anything from five to 10 years of average motoring.
\nTop-up your radiator? No thanks. Today's cars have sealed cooling
\nsystems, containing special coolants which resist overheating and
\nprevent rust or corrosion attacking the metal parts of the
\nengine.<\/p>\n
When the engine heats up, excess fluid expands into a special
\ntank, from which it is drawn back into the engine when it cools
\ndown again after being turned off. The cooling system is always
\nfull.<\/p>\n
Adjust your wheel bearings, sir? Thanks, but no thanks. The
\ntrend now is to have \"sealed for life\" hubs with wheel bearings
\npacked with high-technology grease and with no provision for
\nadjustment ... which means also that there is no opportunity for
\nthem to be too tight or too loose. Nor is there any chance of
\ndirt, dust or water entering the bearing to contaminate the
\ngrease.<\/p>\n
Life spans of these sealed hubs are claimed to be upwards of
\n300,000km.<\/p>\n
If a wheel bearing does eventually give trouble, the entire
\nhub unit is replaced. This is the growing trend with many
\ncomponents: replacement of entire units which are sealed for
\nlife.<\/p>\n
Expensive? Not really. When compared to the time involved in
\nrebuilding components on older cars, along with the cost of
\nparts, the new units are surprisingly moderately priced.<\/p>\n
Huge savings in labor costs largely offset the cost of parts,
\nthe price of which is kept down by mass production.<\/p>\n
But what about major repairs, like engine rebuilds and
\ntransmission overhauls?<\/p>\n
Again, these are largely worries from the past. Car
\nmanufacturers around the world have for years now offered long
\nwarranty periods and the same thing is now happening in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
And they do not normally expect owners to be taking advantage
\nof the offer. In fact, the car companies expect their cars to run
\nfor much longer than this before requiring major repairs.<\/p>\n
Disc brakes, as well as operating more effectively than drum
\nbrakes, are self-adjusting and remain consistent in their
\noperation throughout the life of the brake pads.<\/p>\n
Brake relining is not required. When the pads wear out, they
\ncan easily be replaced. So, too, can the brake discs -- although
\nthese last through several pad changes.<\/p>\n
But, when the discs are finally worn beyond usefulness, they
\nnow slip off the hub easily and can be replaced with a new unit.<\/p>\n
Whereas the old carburetor has many parts which can wear, and
\na float which needs periodical adjustment, fuel injection is
\nvirtually trouble-free.<\/p>\n
The main potential problem is dirt getting into an injector,
\nbut this can be avoided by replacing the fuel filter and the air
\nfilter at the recommended intervals.<\/p>\n
Of course, quality fuel is very important. Any petrol outlet
\nthat does not appear to have high standards should be avoided.<\/p>\n
Probably the most feared of all modern automotive devices is
\nthe computer and yet even this is far less daunting when it is
\nrealized that it is very reliable and even when it does give
\ntrouble, the problems are far easier to trace and repair than
\nmost people might think.<\/p>\n
For one thing, automotive computers have what is called \"fail
\nsafe\" systems.<\/p>\n
These are back-up systems which put the car into a \"limp home\"
\nmode. If a component fails, the car can still be driven to a
\nrepair shop. It might not develop as much power and it might even
\nrun roughly -- on less than the full number of cylinders -- but
\nin most situations it will still run.<\/p>\n
When the car reaches an authorized service center, a fully-
\ntrained technician simply plugs a diagnostic computer into the
\ncar and the computer tells him which part has failed.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the warning light system on the dash of the car
\nitself will flash codes that tell the operator what has gone
\nwrong.<\/p>\n
By consulting the service manual and checking the codes, the
\noperator will know that, say, a temperature sensor has failed.<\/p>\n
This part is then replaced with a new unit and the system is
\nagain fully functional.<\/p>\n
However, regular servicing of new vehicles is a necessity for
\nreliable motoring.<\/p>\n
Modern oils can cope with extremes of temperature -- both hot
\nand cold -- and with high engine speeds but the engine oil still
\nshould be changed at -- usually -- 10,000km intervals.<\/p>\n
If the car is used in extreme conditions of heat and dust, it
\nis a good idea to also change the air filter, fuel filter and oil
\nfilter at the same time.<\/p>\n
A good service center will also check the engine coolant level
\nand the drive-belts for the ancillaries such as alternator, power
\nsteering pump, air-conditioning compressor and so on, although
\nthese will normally be trouble-free for tens of thousands of
\nkilometers.<\/p>\n
Major components should rarely need replacing but, if they do,
\nthey should be replaced by genuine components as supplied by the
\nmanufacturer.<\/p>\n
And they should be fitted by a trained mechanic at an
\nauthorized service workshop who knows the product thoroughly.<\/p>\n
If all this is done and the car is regularly and correctly
\nserviced, car owners will be agreeably impressed by the
\nreliability of today's new cars.<\/p>",
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