4 Car Repairs You Should Fix Immediately

Your car can be a temperamental beast. In fact, sometimes it may feel like your car has something new broken on it every couple of months. And for someone who is on a budget (who isn’t?)< sometimes you might not always be able to get every single thing fixed. So what repairs are more cosmetic, and which ones are simply necessary? How can you tell between something that really needs to be fixed immediately or something that can be alright for a little while? Here are five car repairs that you should fix immediately:

Oil Light:

Some people have fallen to the misconception that when the oil light comes on, that means that their car needs an oil change. This is not the case! When this light comes on it doesn’t mean you need an oil change, it means that you are running low on oil and you need to add some oil or you can end up doing serious damage to your engine. This is a serious problem and driving for more than a few miles with the light glowing can permanently damage your engine. If this light comes on, pull over at the nearest stop and add extra oil to your car. If this problem persists and you constantly need to add oil to your car, then you likely have a hole or leak under the hood, and you’ll naturally want to bring your car in to get examined by a mechanic.

Brake Problems:

Obviously, brakes are crucial for your safety. If your brakes aren’t working properly, bring them in to get looked at immediately! This could be a case of life and death — not just damage to your car. If your brakes start making metal-on-metal grinding noises, that’s a pretty common indicator that something is wrong with your brake pads. Other signs of bad brakes include the light coming on or your brake pedal suddenly going hard or soft. If any of these happen, it’d be worth your while to get your car looked at immediately! You simply can’t afford to wait another day for this one, because the safety of the people in your car depends on this as well as the safety of the other people driving on the road.

Ball Joints:

These are the joints that allow your wheels to steer. If these are damaged, your wheels can potentially fall off. Never let a car with this drive on the road, because it can really damage the car and be dangerous.

Oxygen Sensor:

The reason you should fix this immediately is because it is simple and easy to fix, and can it up saving you hundreds of dollars in fuel costs if you fix it. If you can work a wrench you can fix an O2 sensor: Just locate it using your manual, unclip it and slip in the new one. Oxygen sensors monitor unburned oxygen from your exhaust, but if it is broken then it can reduce your gas mileage up to 40 percent. That’s a lot of wasted fuel!

These are just four car repairs that you should fix immediately. There are several others that you should fix immediately as well, depending on your car. Always check with a professional mechanic if your car is broken in some way, and they will be able to tell you if the problem is serious or not. A broken radio? Probably not… But broken brakes? Get your car to the shop!

Written by the staff of Custom Complete Automotive. Custom Complete is your go to solution for the best car repair, inspections and an oil change Columbia MO has to offer.