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Truckipedia Blog Category - Annual Maintenance – What You Need to Know

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22
Mar 2022
Truckipedia

It’s always exciting when a new truck hits the road. It can be the sign of a growing business or a sign of renewal as something old is replaced by something fresh. When you do purchase a new truck, you want to keep those good feelings rolling by having your vehicle perform at its highest level for as long as you can. That means an appropriate annual maintenance plan is critical. Here’s what you need to know:

Ensuring that proper maintenance is performed makes certain that you have the lowest possible total cost of ownership. Depending on mileage, proper prescribed OEM maintenance may cost up to $7,700 the first year. But if you cut corners or don’t do what is prescribed, you will pay for it down the road. Whether it’s through more expensive failures as your truck ages or the need for an entirely new vehicle much sooner than expected, there is little doubt your total costs will be significantly higher without taking the right steps.

Pay attention right away, not just when your truck gets older. For a new truck, there is a typical break-in period of 24,000 kilometres.  Many components need to examined and retorqued during this initial “seating in” period.  Don’t assume just because your truck is new that nothing needs to be proactively done during the early stages of life. You should be paying a high degree of attention to how your vehicle runs – catching issues early will help ensure bigger problems don’t arise as your truck’s odometer climbs.

Don’t neglect the little things. Tires. Engine. Transmission. These are the items that come to mind right away when it comes to maintenance. Don’t ignore the little things that keep your truck running smoothly and generating revenue, though. For example, some customers think disc brakes are maintenance-free, but they do need to be looked at every six months. Others aren’t aware of the diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) filter but it needs to be replaced periodically, too. Bonus tip: Make sure diesel fuel isn’t put into the DEF system, as it will result in very expensive aftertreatment repairs!

Velocity Truck Centres will help you however you need. Each of our customers is unique, which means how we work with you must be tailored to your specific needs. We have some customers that work exclusively with our service team and others who have their own shops with their own mechanics, only periodically requiring our expertise.

Whatever you require for support, we’re here for you. Bring your truck in to our service center and we’ll perform a no charge 20 point Quality Service Plus inspection on it to ensure that there are no issues that may lead to failure, causing downtime issues down the road. If our inspection identifies an issue, you can have us fix it while your truck is here or take the information back to your own team and have it fixed on your own.

Curious what a typical maintenance schedule looks like for short and long-haul vehicles? And what gets looked at along the way? Download our sample maintenance schedule.

Need support? Reach out to us – we’d be glad to help.

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