Cars, no matter what they’re powered by, are complex machines and, as such, there’s plenty on them that requires upkeep and maintenance in order that the car can continue to function as it was designed to – and of course there’s also plenty on them that can go wrong, no matter how well you look after the vehicle.
Here are our top red flags that tell you your car is in urgent need of some serious, professional maintenance.
Warning lights in the dash
We’ve got a full feature elsewhere on the site breaking down what every warning light in your car’s dashboard means, but this is the earliest indicator that something is amiss with your vehicle. But then that’s the whole point of a ‘warning’ light – giving you the most amount of time to warn you that a component or system isn’t operating as it should. Indeed, your car might be driving perfectly, yet if the engine management light (EML) or some other yellow icon illuminates in your dashboard when it shouldn’t, you’re best off taking the vehicle to the pros as soon as you possibly can. If a red warning light shows up, get the car checked out ASAP.
Strange noises and shuddering
Bits of the suspension and chassis can wear out through natural use, and when they are nearing the end of their service life then it can affect the way the car drives. So use your ears to become attuned to what your car ordinarily sounds like when it’s working perfectly and try and pick up when it starts making noises that it wouldn’t do otherwise. For example, a worn wheel bearing typically manifests as a loud rumbling or whooping noise that increases with vehicle speed. Steering bushes that are worn or steering arms that are out of true will generate a background vibration that ought to be discernible through the steering wheel. Old brake pads and/or discs can often make squealing or, even worse, grinding noises as they approach the point they need swapping out. Listen to and feel how your car drives, and if it doesn’t sound or feel right, get it checked out.
Smoke signals
This one will only apply to vehicles with combustion engines, so if you’ve got a pure electric vehicle (EV) then you’re safe. However, to everyone else – including people with hybrids and plug-in hybrids, that still use a combustion engine as part of their powertrain – there’s a surefire way to know something is going wrong in your engine, and it comes at the back of the car. Excessive white or even worse, blue smoke coming out of the tailpipe when you accelerate away from junctions is a surefire sign that the turbocharger on your vehicle is about to go pop, or that the engine is burning oil in some way (this is the worrying, bluish-tinged smoke). Signs of either of these is very bad news and you should get the car checked out immediately.
Time and tide…
A very simple one: your vehicle will have a scheduled maintenance programme that is when the manufacturer recommends you take it in for servicing. So if there’s nothing seemingly wrong with it, you’ll still need to book it in if an allotted service is coming up. Carmakers usually suggest either a period of time or an amount of distance, whichever arrives sooner – so, as an example, every 12 months or 15,000km. This means that, if you’ve only done 2,000km in your car since it was last serviced, but that was a year ago, it still needs to go in for a professional check-up. And, conversely, if you only had it serviced six months ago but you’ve done 14,750km in it in the interim, it’ll also need to be booked back in for maintenance.
The car stops working
The last red flag, and clearly the biggest, is that you have a breakdown – where the car will not complete your intended journey, sputtering to a halt somewhere along the line. It might be something as simple as it has run out of fuel or battery charge, but if you’ve got plenty of either showing then something else has critically failed. And, respectfully, at this point it’s less of a red flag and more of a three-line whip – you’re going to have to get the car recovered to a professional service centre or garage to get it fixed and working again.