I just brought my car about two weeks ago. Do I need a tune up? My car's a '99 Malibu LS with 92,220 miles. The dealership that I bought it from didn't know if it had a tune up or not. Should I go ahead and get it done? The car's fine now. The only problem I'm having is the headlights will dim for a second when I first start the car and am braking after leaving a parking lot at night. I had the alternator checked and my mechanic told me the alternator's good.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated! :)

I just brought my car about two weeks ago. Do I need a tune up? My car's a '99 Malibu LS with 92,220 miles. The dealership that I bought it from didn't know if it had a tune up or not. Should I go ahead and get it done? The car's fine now. The only problem I'm having is the headlights will dim for a second when I first start the car and am braking after leaving a parking lot at night. I had the alternator checked and my mechanic told me the alternator's good.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated! :)

If its running fine, I wouldn't worry about it right now, as the manual says to have it done at 100k miles. I've heard it will make it run smoother, perform better, and get better mileage. It uses platinum plugs though, so its not cheap, I was quoted about $250.

I have a 1998 Malibu LS with 98,000 miles and it does the same thing with the lights sometimes, but it's not a big problem.

About the tune up though, I was wondering how necessary it is. Sure, it will make the engine run better, but will it do any damage to postpone it? (as long as the engine is running reasonably well, of course)

Thanks

Thanks!

The extreme cost of doing a tune up on the malibu comes from the added labor of having to remove parts from the top of the engine to replace the spark plugs.
Do the work yourself. Take your time to replace the plugs and you do not even have to remove anything. the other thing they would do is adjust your timing but they can't because that is computer controlled. Soooo, you are just paying them to replace your plugs. Just remember to stick with platinum.

Do Basic Tests Including Test Your Battery Before And After It Is Started To See If The Charge The Battery Is Getting The Charge From The Alternator. Just Sounds Like A Marginal Battery Problem To Me

one of the other things often included in a "tune up" is replacement of the air filter which is a bit of a joke because a new one costs about 5 bucks and it should take you about 30 seconds to change it. this also helps power and fuel mileage.

My 1999 Malibu 3.1L has done the same thing with the headlights dimming for about 5-10 minutes after startup at stops and then it goes away, i've had the car for a couple years and I replaced the battery about a year ago and it still does it to this day.

Its a minor annoyance but i've quit worrying about it because my battery is getting charged, it starts every morning even in the cold of winter.