Redbank Plains and its commute
The Ipswich Motorway at peak hour
By late 2010 close to 100,000 vehicles a day used the Ipswich Motorway, and by 2008 its morning peak had already moved to between 5 and 6 am. A commute in that traffic is the heavy stop-start driving that RACV says can call for servicing more often than the standard interval.
Or the Centenary
The Centenary Motorway runs 43 km from Springfield to Kenmore, meeting the Ipswich Motorway at Darra and the Logan Motorway at Ellen Grove. Springfield Central is 7.17 km south-east of Redbank Plains.
A drive to the train
The nearest stations are Redbank, Goodna and Springfield, all outside the suburb, and a 2019 transport department study recommended a new one at School Road. Until then, a lot of train trips start with a short drive, and short trips are hard on a battery.
Signs a Redbank Plains commuter car needs a look
- A squeal or grind under braking after weeks of stop-start motorway queues
- Slow cranking on a cold morning, or a battery older than three years
- The temperature gauge creeping up while you're stuck in traffic in summer
- A pull to one side or uneven wear on the front tyres
- A service light or sticker that's already past its date or kilometres
Getting it sorted
Put the make, model and odometer reading in the card, and pick the closest match for the job. If it's a noise or a warning light you can't name, "A noise, a smell or not sure" is the right choice. If the gauge climbs in traffic, pull over somewhere safe, switch off and let it cool before anyone touches the cooling system.
Redbank Plains is in the City of Ipswich, not Brisbane, and the council has its own local laws, so ask a mobile mechanic what space they need before they come.
If it were our car
We'd ask the mechanic which column of the service schedule suits a car that queues on the Ipswich Motorway every weekday. If it's the harder-use one, we'd follow it, and have the brakes and battery checked at the same time.