Your car or truck won’t run forever without some care and maintenance. If you buy a brand-new car, you can expect it to run well for up to 100,000 miles. Buying used means that you are buying something that might have been abused or taken care of, but it’s hard to tell. No matter how many miles are on your car or how old it is, it will tell you when something is wrong. Pay attention to your vehicle so you don’t miss the signs your car needs a service.

Drips Under the Engine

Car engines run on different fluids, and they are designed to keep those fluids within. If you move your car and there is an oily patch on the pavement or garage floor, there’s a problem. Something is leaking from the engine, and it could be oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, or something else. Leaks from an engine aren’t the end of the world, but they won’t get better with time. The next time you get gas, check the oil level and keep checking it. If you’re adding oil once a month, you are leaking oil and need to have it looked at.

Smoke Coming From Under the Hood

The only time smoke is good is when you are sitting around a campfire. Smoke coming from your vehicle is a problem. The smoke could be attributed to several things, so you should get it looked at. The engine could be short on coolant and overheating. A belt could be rubbing and about to break. Oil could be leaking and burning off while you’re driving. Whatever the cause, smoke is a sign your car needs a service.

Grinding or Squealing Tires

Squealing the tires doesn’t mean laying a patch off a red light. If your wheels are making noise when driving, it probably means you need new brake pads. Some pads are designed to make noise when they are thin and nearing the end of their life. Pay attention when applying the brake and listen for or feel any grinding of the pads. Get those changed soon, or they will grind the rotor down to nothing, and you won’t be able to stop.

Loss of Power or Acceleration

This one isn’t easy to notice. We drive our cars so often that we don’t notice when things happen gradually. If you have a V8 muscle car and are getting smoked by SUV grocery-getters, then your car is missing power and acceleration. The engine probably needs new spark plugs and cables at a minimum. There could be gunk in the fuel injectors, or a piston isn’t firing right. RNR Tire Express tire shop in Spartanburg, SC, can perform tire alignment and rotate tires and fill them with nitrogen. Come in and let us help you.