Proper Maintenance Saves Money & the Environment

Do you want to do your part to help reduce global warming, and minimize your gasoline expenses each month? Keep you car regularly serviced and always repair a check engine light.

It is amazing to see the results of emission inspection tests from vehicles from the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. The 80’s vintage vehicles usually have very high emissions of the gases that are the primary contributors of global warming. Vehicles from the early 90’s emit about half as much as 80’s vehicles. Vehicles from 1996 – 2000 emit about one tenth of the pollutants of their earlier counterparts. But many 2000 and newer vehicles have hardly any measurable emissions.

From my vantage point in the repair industry I see two pictures. Environmental activists complain very loudly because the laws for vehicle emissions are not tightened. But in reality vehicle manufacturers are continually improving vehicles to emit less and less pollutants. The changes come about when a model is significantly redesigned by the manufacturer, especially when a manufacturer introduces a new engine design. All of the manufacturers have been replacing many of their older standard designs with very advanced engine technologies. So despite being bashed in the press, the manufacturers have really delivered on their part of the equation. They have provided very clean running cars.

Now it is time for your part! These vehicles only run clean when they are properly maintained. The worst offender is driving with the check engine light on. The check engine light is a constant reminder that some system on your car or truck is not running properly. Many times, the computer has to compensate for bad or missing information from a failed sensor. It runs on a predetermined value that will keep the engine running, but not at peak emissions efficiency – and not at peak fuel efficiency. So a car that could be producing almost no emissions is instead belching out invisible pollutants like a 1980’s car, and frequently using more gasoline.

Another good reason to have a check engine light diagnosed quickly is that uncorrected faults left for a period of several months will often cause expensive collateral damage. A bad oxygen sensor can ruin a catalytic converter. Other problems can result in a burned valve or damage to other engine internals.

Low emissions and optimum fuel economy are also  compromised by not maintaining your car to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule. Most newer vehicles use spark plugs that will last 80,000 to 100,000 miles. As many of you know, they will keep running after that mileage, but they are no longer firing correctly. Higher combustion temperatures produce NOx gas, one of the gases that attacks the ozone layer and contributes to low level smog. Dirty air filters or malfunctioning PCV valves cause excess production of hydrocarbon gases – basically unburned gasoline. You guessed it, you are paying at the pump for the gasoline that is contributing to global warming and air quality alerts.

The new engine designs are using amazing technologies, but technologies that demand clean engine oil. New vehicles from GM and Honda actually turn off some cylinders under low load by using complex hydraulic systems based upon engine oil. Owners of these new vehicles that do not change the engine oil at the recommended intervals will face expensive repair costs.

So do your part for the environment and your fuel bill – maintain your car regularly.

Brian Klaubert owns Christian Brothers Automotive – Hamilton Mill, on Braselton Hwy in Dacula. They are winners of “Best of Gwinnett” in both the Gwinnett Daily Post and Gwinnett Magazine.