Drive a little or drive a lot: McHenry car and pickup truck owners need to maintain their vehicles

That sweet little lady down the street doesn’t drive much – once a week to one of the grocers in McHenry but not much more than that. She probably doesn’t put more than 100-miles a month on her car. 

The guy living across the street, however, does construction. He puts more than 100 miles on his car every workday, which usually includes Saturday.

On Sunday, he usually goes somewhere, as well. At about 1,000 miles per week, he spins the odometer for 52K every year. At that rate, he’s changing the oil more than 10 times per year as he stays on top of maintaining his pickup truck.

He also uses up a set of tires just about annually, and wears out his brakes with equal frequency. And, with all that driving, if he wants to avoid a stranding on the side of the road because something has gone wrong, he takes a wholistic approach to auto maintenance.

Obviously, the sweet little lady down the street isn’t going to wear out a set of tires every year. Her brakes will last considerably longer, too. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need to concern herself with maintenance. 

The schedule for changing a vehicle’s oil, whether a car or a pickup truck owned by someone in McHenry, is two-tiered. On one basis, the schedule is based on the number of miles driven between oil changes. With the other tier, the schedule for changing the oil is based on a time frame.

The timeframe for changing the oil comes into play if someone doesn’t reach the limit of miles driven in that timeframe. In both cases, you’ll find the schedule for changing the oil in your owner’s manual. 

Tires also have another basis for considering their durability. On the one hand, already alluded to, when you put enough miles on a set of tires, the tread is worn away to the extent that the tires are no longer effective in gripping the road. But there is also a question of the quality of the rubber.

Usually, tires will last for several years before the rubber hardens and cracks. From time to time, even though tires have sufficient tread-life left, it’s a good idea to have the condition of the rubber checked.

Most of us drive a number of miles that fall in between the sweet little lady and the construction worker. According to the Federal Highway Administration, Americans, on average, Americans drive 14,300 miles per year.

All of us want to keep our vehicles reliably and safely on the road, whether we’re in McHenry or heading out somewhere.