Don’t Sweat (or Forget) The Small Stuff

In the hustle and bustle of regular life, car repairs and maintenance can often fall out of regularity. A day in the life of an average driver doesn’t often leave one much chance to remember—let alone complete—housekeeping chores that fall out of the regular essentials like grocery shopping or taking the kids to soccer practice. In the monotonous, unimpeachable cadence of life—waking up, going to work, finding time for community or church responsibilities, spending time with family, making dinner, preparing for the next day’s activities, winding down before bed, and sleeping—it is not uncommon for many things, regardless of importance, to be unable to carve out time for itself in a person’s day. Even more so if those things are inconvenient and potentially expensive, as many car repairs tend to be.

The data supports this. Highlights from a recent study conducted in 2021 regarding divers’ behavior toward their car’s maintenance include:

• Only 36.1% of people bother to take their vehicle to a mechanic, like our South Salt Lake car repair shop, within the first week of the check engine light coming on.
• Nearly 30% of drivers have been known to wait nearly a year to get their engine checked.
• One-fourth of drivers ignore their dash lights completely and never visit a garage like Master Muffler.
• Nearly 10% of people wait until the car’s problem becomes impossible to ignore.
• Men are more likely than women to ignore their car’s check engine light altogether.

Considering that the check engine light could go on for a number of reasons both big and small, it is no surprise that some drivers will forget these small maintenance tasks. Taken all together, these little things become quite important in helping drivers stay safe.

A Thousand Cuts

The secret to effective car maintenance is two-fold: first, don’t wait until something is literally or metaphorically on fire to take an interest in it; if a check engine light comes on or you hear a strange noise, feel a bump, or smell something abnormal coming from the vehicle, bring it to Master Muffler. Secondly, a trip to our South Salt Lake car repair shop doesn’t sting as much if you come in for regular tune-ups and take care of the little things before they become big things. 

Replace Your Gas Cap

Did you know that your gas cap can set off your check engine light? In fact, virtually any disturbance with that little plug on the other end of your car will ping your dashboard about your engine. These include:

• A loose-fitting cap
• A cap with a cracked seal
• Forgetting to screw your gas cap back in

Luckily, if the gas cap becomes lost or faulty our South Salt Lake Master Muffler can replace it easily for you. If you feel like you just had your car serviced recently when the check engine light illuminates, it could very well be the gas cap.

Replace Your Windshield Wipers

While not connected to a dashboard light, the windshield wipers are habitually ignored by drivers all over Utah and the world. At some point, we become used to our wiper blades leaving streaks as they go back and forth, not acknowledging that they should be replaced until we are right smack in the middle of a rainstorm. The problem is, however, that once we get that revelation we may already be in danger. You’ll know the wipers should be changed out when: 

• The squeegee part of the blade is detaching from the arm
• The blades leave large streaks and don’t seem to make visibility any better
• It has been over a year since you installed your current set

Windshield wipers are public enemy number one when it comes to being big enough to be annoying and noticeable but small enough to be an inconvenience to deal with. Luckily, when you come to our South Salt Lake car repair shop we can quickly and easily replace your wipes without any fuss while we see to your bigger needs.

Replace Your Lights

With how well lit our modern roads are, a driver could get away with having a headlight burnt out without it greatly impairing their vision at night. That being said, external lights on the car serve as an aid for both the owner of the car and their neighbors on the road. By having a light out, it might cause another driver to mistake the size or location of your car, which could lead to an unfortunate accident. Good light maintenance includes:

• Cleaning the inside and outside of the light casement
• Staying on top of replacing burnt out lights
• Changing dim lights for brighter ones

Again, the loss of a single light won’t feel like a big deal till you’re out in the country or driving around a dark neighborhood (or being pulled over for not replacing it). By dropping by Master Muffler before small things become big, you save yourself a lot of time and money down the road.