What is a "tune-up"?

What is a "tune-up"?

A tune-up is a function that is probably something your father or your grandfather did on the family vehicle years ago. It's something that with today's new technology and computer-controlled systems on engines, is not quite as common. In essence, a tune-up would be going through all the fine systems of the vehicle to make sure they're all in optimum working order, and making sure if there are any adjustments to the fuel delivery system or the braking system, to make sure that it's working to the best of its ability. In today's modern cars, however, a tune-up is really nothing more than plugging the car's computer up to the mechanic's computer, allowing those two systems to speak to one another, and giving a full diagnostic report and then making adjustments based upon that. It's somewhat funny, because the term "tune-up" is something that has really become an old-world term. It's something that is not necessary. Many vehicles, even inexpensive vehicles, now offer 100,000 mile tune-up schedules. In essence, over the entire life of the car, it never needs to be tuned up. That's again because the computer systems that are controlling a lot of the systems in today's cars are so advanced and high-tech that they keep the car's engine in a optimum set of tune.