Corner Wrench: What to expect when your car turns 10 years old

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Driving a decade-old vehicle is very common for Canadians. There are too many variables and liabilities for automotive execs to ever admit what lifespans they design and build their products to achieve, but according to various industry sources, the average age of an automobile in Canada is now 11 years. That’s pretty impressive when you consider the havoc and deterioration that our environment and winters conditions inflict on what we drive.

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In my long career in the industry I only met one manufacturer’s rep (from one of the Detroit Three) who said that their goal was 10 years or 250,000 km. Vehicles respond to age in a variety of ways, much of it depending on the nameplate and how it’s maintained and driven; but here are some things to look for.

Rust

If it’s a year-round daily driver, corrosion is the biggest enemy to long life, and parking outdoors on a poorly drained surface will almost guarantee it won’t near a decade of service before something rots out. After as few as five years, undercarriage and vulnerable areas should be checked for corrosion that’s gone beyond surface rust and is starting to weaken structures.

It’s never too late to begin a rust-proofing treatment regimen. Products such as Fluid Film and Rust-Oleum are available from most auto-parts stores and give you the option of getting as deep as you like by removing trim panels for improved access.

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Hoses

Cooling and heating system hoses have come a long way over the last few decades, but they’re not lifetime units. As late as the 1970s, some carmakers were recommending their replacement after as few as two years. Hoses should be inspected carefully for weather-checking and swelling around the clamps, and be replaced as required.

Belts and chains

The same goes for belts as for hoses. If your vehicle’s engine uses a timing belt it should be replaced per the maker’s recommendations, but at the 10 year mark, even those using chains should have this critical component checked for excessive slack. If a belt or chain fails with the engine running, the resulting damages are seldom cheap to fix.

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Automatic transmissions

Automatic transmissions are an engineering marvel, but any component that includes a magnet to collect metal filings from day one should be inspected to see how much that magnet has amassed after 10 years of the road. A small amount of metallic fuzz is okay, but if you can’t see the shape of the magnet for all the accumulation or if there are any fragments whatsoever, the writing is on the wall. Regular fluid- and filter changes are a great way to extend the life of a transmission, as well as ensuring its cooling system is up to snuff.

Rubber bushings

Rubber suspension bushings are known to develop cracks on most vehicles with age, and they’re fairly easy faults to inspect and identify. Sometimes they’ll give you some early warning with a few clunks over bumps, but don’t count on it for sometimes they’ll just fail completely at the most inconvenient time.

This is just a partial list but it gives you the idea. You don’t have to tackle all of these at once or just because you’ve put 10 candles on your chariot’s birthday cake, but it’s a good time to take stock of what you need to repair, prioritize, keep the budget in shape, and to save a few hours for leisure.