Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. If you want to sound knowledgeable. The next time your car needs work, don't tell your mechanic that your car needs a tune up. That's because the term tune ups specifically refers to maintenance that modern cars generally don't require anymore. Traditional tuneups on older cars can help keep them in good shape and enable maximum gas mileage. Getting your car tuned up means having necessary
adjustments of certain engine components. At the same time, regular parts that were out over time, like spark plugs and condensers, are replaced, but the engines in many newer model cars don't even use those components any longer, and today's engine parts are designed to last much longer than those in years past. So what you might think is a tune up on a new car probably isn't, and that's because
your car is much more advanced. Consumerist says the cut off year for whether or not your car will need a traditional tuneup, though there may be a little wiggle room on either side of that depending on other factors. In general, though, if your car was built in the last twenty years, you should use the preferred phrasing routine maintenance or scheduled maintenance rather than tune up. You should opt to have routine maintenance completed about every thirty thousand
miles or is recommended by your car's owners manual. So let's break down the difference in those terms. Tune ups actually involved tuning or physically checking and manipulating engine parts that regulate engine timing, idle, and other functions for optimal performance. A tune up requires a certain level of mechanical skill
and an understanding of how an engine works. A traditional tune up would involve cleaning or replacing the carburetor, which is now obsolete thanks to electronic fuel injection, uh the cap rotor and spark plug wires, which have all been replaced with ignition coil packs, the fuel filter which is obsolute thanks to returnless fuel systems, and the timing belt which has been replaced with the more durable timing chain, and also inspecting and adjusting the engine timing and idle,
both of which are now controlled electronically. Modern cars don't need most of this manual labor. Instead, they require routine maintenance that generally consists of replacing fluids and simple parts, changing the engine, oil transmission, fluid break fluid and power steering fluid, replacing the cool engine cabin air filter, and
inspecting and possibly replacing various belts and hoses. Note that the newest cars on the market or certain types of cars like electric cars, may have eliminated some of these parts, especially certain belts and hoses. Consumer Reports cautions that getting a tune up is a common upsell by mechanics or charge. One might even tack onto your bill indiscriminately to make you pay more than necessary. In other words, if your mechanic or shops as your car needs a tune up,
be wary, especially if it's a late model car. That said, some trustworthy mechanics or shops may still use that term. Amount of habit. Pricing for routine maintenance does vary based on several things. Those factors include everything from where you live and the type of car some cars might use more expensive parts, to whether you're visiting a dealership, a chain or an independent shop. The recommended maintenance schedule for late model cars takes a lot of the guests work
out of the equation. If you follow the schedule for your car, you should be in the clear, though there are always factors that can make a fluid go gunky or a part where out earlier than expected. Maintain your car according to the schedule laid out in your owner's manual and deal with problems as they arise. Just don't ask for a tune up unless the term genuinely applies. Today's episode was written by Schre's three Wit and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart
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