Vehicle Maintenance

Sticking with the transportation safety topic, lets look at the vehicle maintenance. There are 2 categories of vehicle maintenance.

• Preventive Maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the equipment.


• Corrective Maintenance, sometimes called "repair," is conducted to get equipment working again.

Repairs themselves can be classified in 1 of 6 different types:

• Necessary Repairs would be made as soon as possible because something important is worn out, broken, damaged, inoperative, loose, failed, about to fail or is creating an unsafe condition.


• Manufacturer's Warranty Repairs; made to meet the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations or warranty requirements. Example: Your owners manual says the oil and filter has to be changed at least once every 7,500 miles to keep the engine warranty in effect.


• Should-Be-Replaced Repairs are made for items that are going to fail or wear out with in the next 6 months, are still functioning now, and do not currently create an unsafe condition. Many times, it is cheaper to do these repairs now than when the part fails. Example: Your brakes are low, it is cheaper replace now than when they fail and you need to replace the rotors too.


• Upgrades: sometimes repairs will be recommended or suggested because they could provide some benefit to you (like more reliable starting, improved fuel economy, better ride or handling, etc.).


• Preventive Maintenance is conducted to keep equipment working and/or extend the life of the equipment. The manufacturer has a schedule for these repairs.


• Unnecessary Repairs, repairs that there is no legitimate reason to perform.