What happens when you delay car servicing?

First thing’s first, you should keep in mind that cars are designed to compensate for delays on servicing, but that doesn’t mean you should purposefully put off a car service for a significant amount of time or mileage.

If you delay a servicing for about 1000 km after reaching the recommended servicing point of every 15 000 km, or wait a few months after your 6-month mark, chances are that your car will be just fine, especially if you don’t use it often.

On the other side of the coin, putting off a servicing by more time or mileage than listed above will run the risk of your vehicle breaking down. Let’s look into a few of the things that can happen if you delay taking your car in for a service.

What happens if you delay a car service for too long

The biggest risk to delaying your car’s servicing for a significant amount of time is your oil filters, and oil in general, giving out. Basically, your oil filters aren’t made to last for a very long time after missing a scheduled servicing date; that is, they won’t last very long if you keep on delaying your servicing.

Likewise, you also need to change your oil regularly, something that a servicing does effectively. Leaving your oil and oil filters for too long after missing a scheduled servicing could result in a totalled engine:

Geoff Gwilym, CEO of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, said “the single biggest risk of skipping a service is a breakdown of oil or the sludging of oil, both of which will destroy an engine.

“If you’re missing servicing, you’ll run the risk of a totalled car because you haven’t changed the oil regularly. It’s sludged or overheated. Thick or thin oil will both destroy your engine,” he concluded.

Besides worn-out filters and thick/thin oil that could all destroy your engine if left unchecked for too long, you also run the risk of being surprised by a potentially lethal problem with your car.

From worn-out brake pads that can result in crashes, misaligned wheels that could put you in a dangerous situation, or transmission issues that can cost your thousands of Rands in repairs, there are simply too many risks associated with delaying your car service for too long.

We’ve got your back though, get in touchwith us to get access to seasoned car mechanics who know what it takes to keep your car in the best condition possible.