This is an excerpt from an advisory by ZF to help consumers avoid expensive repairs through workshop inspections. The entire piece can be read by clicking on this sentence.
VERNON HILLS, Ill. – For 2019, 53 percent of Americans were expected to take a vacation by car. These long-haul journeys place a particularly heavy burden on the vehicle: with family and holiday luggage, the maximum payload is quickly reached. In addition, driving on roads that are in poor condition lead to suspension springs, dampers and chassis parts subjected to extreme conditions as a result.
For those that drive somewhere hilly and mountainous, brakes are brought to the limit and often also to the wear limit. Once summer ends, your car absolutely needs a chassis check in order to get through the winter season.
Workshops should check the chassis as part of the seasonal change and determine the need for repairs to brakes, suspension and dampers. With the increasing market share of all-season tires, the regular customer contact has decreased.
Workshops need to find new ways to seasonally bring in customers to remind them the importance of a seasonal vehicle check-up. Slight damage to chassis parts can lead to expensive follow-up repairs due to the winter road salt attack and subsequent corrosion. The following damage information can be included by the workshops in the customer approach:
Regarding brakes, the service consultant should not only pay attention to the wear condition, but also to scoring in the disc. This is because stones whirled up between the brake disc and the brake block can also “immortalize” themselves on this assembly in their own way.
Although car drivers may have eliminated one need for a seasonal check-up, with all-season tires, it does not replace the other need for a seasonal check to the chassis. ZF Aftermarket provides support for this. With its brands Lemförder, Sachs, and TRW, the Aftermarket Organization is the full-range supplier for chassis. The range includes steering systems, chassis and steering components, shock absorbers, brakes, and rubber-to-metal parts. ZF Aftermarket also supports with technical information and installation instructions.
