Dear All,

This will be pretty much my personal observation (with a bit of prejudice) about vehicle maintenance. I am currently in Japan, but hopefully I can return to where I am used to living, be it the United States or Canada, wherever in North America, as soon as possible. Anyway, this will be a long essay, so read only when you have time to.

I've joined this forum last September and so far I've been happy with the people on this forum (especially those in the 850 section), many of them are extremely knowledgeable and are willing to help others, while expectingno returns. I always believed that this is the kind of American Spirit I always admired. Unfortunately, all the world's mediaare as prejudiced as I am, and I only believe half (or less) of what theytell us.For instance, if you live in a country like Japan, you never get to know the day-to-day lives of ordinary citizens of the United States, and all you hear is either the federal government & military taking advantage of other countries, or some super-hero kind of stories. This is undoubtedly biased, but if you didn't know the truth, you believe what they tell you.

I visit this forum almost everyday and spend a few hours, trying to share technical ideas and improve my expertise as avehicle maintenance technician (though I work on aircraft).

Anyway, I wanted to share with you 2 little stories about myrecent experiences. The first one is about Penske rental truck. I made a 2-day trip from Chicago to Vermont in a new Penske truck. Before I left, I bought a quart of specified engine oil (SAE 5W-20), as new engines tend to consume more oil. After a day's drive, I checked the oil level and it was down by a half quart, so I added oil up to "FULL" mark on the dipstick but no more. When I returned the truck, this elder lady at the counter told me that I didn't need to add any oil, as the truck was new. Iassumed that I had more knowledge in automobiles than the lady did, so I argued but the lady kept saying, like a robot or scratched CD, that "you didn't need to add oil". Well, this lady was a classic case of what I call "average driver". In my prejudice, average drivers are those who think they know about cars but don't even know the rudimentary basics, and start screaming or get taken at average shops, after neglecting scheduled maintenance or frequent fluid checks. Whether the truck needed oil or not, the brochure they gave me in Chicago clearly stated that "All engine fluids you buy will be reimbursed". So, afterarguingfor a couple of minutes, the station manager came running down and told me in a pleasant manner that they would reimburse the cost of oil. When the station manager came running down, the elder lady's attitude changed 180 degrees and suddenly became amicable. Oh well, what can you do when you have to argue about cars with"average drivers".

Here's the 2nd story. I stayed at a friend's place before I flew back to Japan, and I offered to inspect their vehicles. One of the vehicles was a 2003 Toyota Corolla, and my friend's wife thought the car didn't need any maintenance, as it had been maintained by their favourite "average" mechanic. Well, after I checked a few items, the air filter was undeniably dirty so I put in a new OEM filter at my own expense, without her knowing. I also added a bit of coolant, as the coolant level was below "MIN" mark in the expansion reservoir. I assume the car also needed a good tune-up, but I didn't bother because I was sure that my friend's wife would say it didn't need a tune-up.

I also checked friend's truck ('97 Ford Ranger), and this one was pretty bad, or I should say it only had "average services". After about a half-hour of inspection, I found quite a bit of items that needed immediate attention, and assumed that there were more items that needed servicing. So, I wrote up a list of items that needed immediate attention, such as the coolant (it was brown), radiator hose, etc... But they didn't seem concerned and were not going to have them serviced any time soon. To me, it seemed that they would rather save $200 for servicing the truck now and pay more money for towing & servicing later. I think this kind of attitude is commonly seen among "average drivers".

2 days ago, ANA's (2nd largest Japanese airline, with better customer satisfaction than JAL-Japan Airlines) Bombardier DHC8 airplane (twin turbo-prop) had a stuck nose gear and landed on its nose. The media, with their limited knowledge in aircraft, has reported that the nose gear was stuck retracted due to a bolt & bushing that fell off due to missing cotter pin. While this probablywas a manufacturing defect,it could have been detected but went unnoticed. Almost every airline is trying to cut down on the cost of maintenance, and having heavy maintenance done overseas where labour is cheap. In case of the two Japanese airlines, they have made their maintenance dept into subsidiaries so that they could cut down on cost. As a result, motivation among the technicians went south accordingly and aviation safety is in danger.

After all, you get what you pay for, and cannot expect top-quality work for less money. This is but one reason why I recommend people to go either to the dealer or to specialised shops to havetheir cars serviced, preferably by a fully certified ASE technician. However, most of the people I talked to weren't concerned, and ended up paying more later for unnecessary jobs. Whether it is a car or an airplane, vehicle maintenance is critical for everyone, but many people seem to realise this fact when it's too late.

Volvos are not cheap cars to buy or service, but by following scheduled maintenance and having it serviced at qualified shops,they go a long way at minimal running cost.

Good day to All,


JPN

 

Hello,

I enjoyed your stories and I also feel the same way. Some people just have different feelings towards cars than others. To some it's just a machine to take them from A to B. To others it's more like the car has a soul, a feeling to it. Of course it's helps if the car is actually worth keeping up. It really depends on ones perception of the car.

Atfirst when I was reading your story I was beginning to think maybe you are just a little overly conscious/careful of the maintenance issue. But then I read that your friends coolant level wasBELOW theMIN mark! not the max mark! That is alot of neglect. But who knows maybe they know something we don't. Maybe BELOW the MIN line is still ok? Is is worth the troble for them to find out? To them it is. To people like you and me, probably not. However, it might be interesting to find out.

 

Hello 98v70,

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. It also keeps me in perspective, as I admit I'm narrow-minded & prejudiced sometimes.

I personally feel that keeping vehicles in good condition benefits everyone. When I buy a used car, I want it to be in good condition and I'm sure most people feel the same, who would want to spend extra for parts & labour. It also helps the environment, by keeping the engines at peak operating conditions. However, manufacturers & dealers alike wouldn't be too happy if many drivers start thinking like I do[8D].

>Atfirst when I was reading your story I was beginning to think maybe you are just a little overly conscious/careful of the maintenance issue.

You actually are correct, I don't deny it!

The coolant story was a classic case of what I call "average drivers" situation. Luckily, the coolant level was only about an inch (2.54cm) below the min mark, but if I didn't replenish it, the car might have gone out of coolant eventually and might have overheated. But it was something that a good technician (or even the owners) would keep an eye on, and my friends' average mechanic didn't seem to bother. Thecar was only 3 years old and had only about 1,400 miles (2240km). Generally, coolant level should be at about the middle between Max & Min.

Thank you again for your input.

Regards,


JPN