CC:

When any vehicle’s brought in for a service for maintenance… It could be an oil change. It could be something for the transmission. You need to investigate all of the fluid levels on the vehicle. If a fluid level is low, you need to make sure that you know why it is low. Fluids on a vehicle never magically vanish. If it is low, well, depending on the system, you need to investigate.

Engine oil, for example. Older vehicles: they used to consume more oil. Newer vehicles do not. Older vehicles typically had a specification of one quart every 3000 miles. If it exceeded that, well, there might be problems with the piston rings or other things on the engine to make it consume oil. Newer vehicles: it may be a quart every 5,000 miles. Just keep this in mind if the vehicle is brought in with a low oil level.

Transmissions: if you’re able to see the level of the transmission fluid, make sure that you know who serviced the transmission last. In some cases, the level of the transmission fluid is not properly set. There are OEM procedures to make sure you’re doing it right. This typically involves a scan tool and making sure that the transmission fluid is at the appropriate level before a plug is taken out of the pan so an overflow tube can let out the excess transmission fluid. In some cases, they don’t follow this procedure. The transmission may have too much or too little transmission fluid. The same goes for transfer cases and also differentials.

Cooling: if the cooling is low on a vehicle, make sure you’re testing to see if the head gasket is in good working condition by either doing a pressure check or looking for hydrocarbons in the cooling system.

Also, brake fluid: if the brake fluid looks low, it can indicate a couple of different things. It could indicate that the brake pads are wearing and that they should be replaced. Also, it can indicate, if there is a leak in the system, that the fluid may be making its way into the brake booster. If a fluid is low, it is critical that you find out why. If you don’t, well, that customer could be back with another repair and not too happy. I’m Andrew Markel. Thank you very much.

This video is sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper.