Monsoon car care

A simple checklist for maintaining your car can result in increased safety and better performance

Kumar Bhandari, Technical Manager — Passenger Vehicle, Sipradi Trading Pvt Ltd, authorised distributor of Tata Motors, said, “When it comes to the monsoon season, tyre pressure, effectiveness of brake, inspection of wiper, windscreen washer and windscreen washer fluid, condition of wiper blades and rear defogger must be checked and maintained.” He added that all exterior lights — head lamps, brake light, turn indicators, fog lamps et cetera should also be regularly checked and maintained. Due to lack of maintenance, vehicles may also not give the same mileage as they used to generate before. Seat covers, leather wraps and dash board can attract fungus if moisture is not cleaned properly after the drive.

Every year Sipradi Trading organises car service campaigns focusing on the monsoon season. In June, the company conducted their monsoon campaign in Pokhara, Birgunj and Itahari. At the end of July they plan to conduct a monsoon camp at Butwal and also a festive camp in Kathmandu. “Flow of servicing vehicle is not impacted by the season and usually 20 vehicles come for servicing per day to our service centre,” informed Bhandari.

Shyam Bahadur Shrestha, DGM, After Sales, CG MotoCorp, authorised distributor of Maruti Suzuki, said, “Car servicing is very important in order to maintain the mileage, pick-up, engine and performance.” He informed that for an engine to perform well, a car should be serviced every three months. The company have their own essential checklist for monsoon from pre-check up to final inspection of the vehicle. Changing of engine oil, air filter, clutch, throttle, tyres and steering adjustments are some of the essential things on the checklist.

According to Shrestha, CG MotoCorp organises four kinds of maintenance camps every year— seasonal, monsoon, sport and mega camp besides the normal services. The monsoon camp for this year will start in August. “Mainly during the rainy season,four-wheelers have to take special care of brakes, visor and clutch,” he informed, adding that compared to other seasons the flow of car servicing in the rainy season increases by 20 to 30 per cent every year. Approximately, 150 cars come for servicing per day at the company’s service centre. He suggests that car owners should go for servicing at authorised workshops for better maintenance.

Pankaj Tiwari GM, Service, GO Automobiles (Autocare) Pvt Ltd, authorised distributor of Ford, said, “When it comes to monsoon maintenance one should have a checklist that includes maintenance of wiper blade, head light bulbs with proper specification, tyre tread (should not be less than required measure), brakes and through the wind shield.” If the wipers and bulbs are not working properly it leads to less visibility and the chances of an accident is higher.

“To avoid break down of the vehicle proper routine servicing at regular intervals is a must,” said Tiwari, adding that one should first go to the authorised workshop for a general check. The condition of tyres should be checked and if needed replace the wiper blades before monsoon starts.

Ford organised their monsoon check before the rainy season and the company provides service throughout the monsoon season. At Ford the flow of vehicles for servicing is constant whatever the season, but parts like wiper blades, wind shield glass, bulbs, et cetera are more in demand during the monsoons. They receive around 30 cars per day for servicing.