The standard recommendation is to service your car every 10,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first… but do you really need to service it every 12 months even if you don't drive it frequently?
I've had friends not service their Toyota/Honda for 18-24 months and it was fine.
I've had friends frequently service their BMW/Mercedes every 6-9 months but it was still a disaster.
What's the longest you've delayed servicing your car? Was your car okay?
It depends where you get it done. Stealerships have an apprentice change the oil and often just pretend to do the rest. Local mechanic who you know and use regularly will learn about you and your car and use experience to identify other issues as they arise when the y do an oil change.
IMO it’s worth getting an experienced mechanic to look over my car every now and then to see stuff that I don’t. In NSW the annual pink slip helps pickup stuff a backyard oil changer misses.
But is that all a service is? Change the oil and just check to see if there are issues?
Are there any other things that is vital for the upkeep of the car?
The manufacture sets a list of items for the service schedule. They do it for a reason.
The main things need doing are engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, pads and discs and tyres. Most other stuff is inspect and repair as necessary and it lasts a long time.
‘Vital’ is debatable.
They should check other components, belts, brakes etc, for wear and tear.
They should also change the brake fluids every 2 years regardless of KMs.
In the service books, they generally recommend changing the engine filter every 2 years… I'm ok with not changing it based on time. It really only needs to be changed based on KMs. a 10 year air filter for a car that's travelled 12,000km should be fine.
Cabin filter, I'm ok with changing based on KM or time.
6 months service interval is ridiculously short with today's synthetic oils.
Can't believe that Toyota still require you to service the new 300 series Landcruiser every 6 months/10,000km.
I just sold my sisters 2013 Hyundai I30. She did 120,000kms and 6 years without an oil change.
She was the first owner from new. Serviced it until it was out of warranty. Then she didnt give a F. If she took car of it. She probably could have gotten $3000 more. Oil was so dark. But lucky it didnt lose oil.
Yikes! 6 years without a service and someone still bought it?!
Was it the 2.0 / 1.8 petrol engine or the Diesel variety?
I have the Hyundai Elantra with 1.8L 4 banger engine with minimal engine oil consumption.
Still goes ok. Daily runabout use. Nothing fancy just exterior paint starting to peel off & interior plastic coloured buttons peeling off as well lol. Nice job Hyuunndai
1.8L petrol. Honestly the car drove flawlessly despite the lack of maintenance. The only mechanical issue it had was the plastic gear in the steering column was rattling/knocking.
But yes.. The sun took its toll the car. Specifically the window trims.
lately, there have been a bunch of ix35 with siezed engines.
Mostly the 2L direct injected engines.
If you don't at least check the oil level occasionally, it WILL bite you
2005 mitsi 380 owner … last proper service 2.5 years ago.
In that time have topped engine oil twice.
not looking at getting a proper service again (as proposed service cost 1/2 of actual value of car).
live close to work … so only drive 20km/day.
also - daily work is dusty/dirty (even with a towel on car seat, it gets dirty) … so no point getting a new car at this point in time.
planning to run this car until she can't go anymore … then will upgrade to a new (or near new) car.
A diy oil change occasionally will keep it running longer, but how much longer is anyone’s guess.
FYI … in that time - didn't do a DIY oil change - only topped up … as stated above.
If car does pack it in … since do live close to work - could easily buy a bicycle (old style - person powered).
Or even walk??? … Or maybe be a part of the "younger generation" - buy an e-scooter - or the upmarket generation and get an electric bike?
Argh … don't get me started on those 2 +++ how they go down the middle of the road (similar to a car) in my suburb - like they own it … forcing cars unable to overtake them at all.
My previous car was a 2003 magna. I went about 7 years and 300k km (450k km odo) without a service. Occasionally changed oil, maybe once per year by the end. Only love it recieved was fresh tires semi reguarly due to how many highway km it was doing.
I utterly abused the poor girl with offroading, jetski towing, sleeping in it in national parks etc but it served me so well.
The dream finally ended quite predictably with a blown head gasket on a country highway. Extremely good value for a car i paid $1k for almost a decade ago!
If you changed the oil, that’s effectively a service.
by changed I mean let it run out and top up haha. Didn't do a flush in probably the final 5 yuears.
Sad update too, about 5 hours after posting my first comment some trashbag stole my current car (xtrail) out of my driveway…
Moral of the story: As soon as you start looking after something the universe will ruin it :)
I feel you my man, first brand new car, (profanity) ford ranger smashed the whole back today
220,000 kms, Mazda 2 2006.
Something tells me you have a friend that's a mechanic.
About 2 years during Covid because I was either out of work, or working from home. Other than that I try and not go later than three months.
3 months! What car??
Almost 3 years because of Covid border closure, man, it was fun time.. not. Car wasn’t ok, I think even some plastic bits on the headlights randomly cracked or something.
A family friend who used to run a mechanic shop recommends yearly check anyway, they say it’s better to rule out any problems for safety’s sake. Oil needs to be changed regularly too.
I once went to see a corolla hybrid, the owner was honest to admit that the car hasn't been serviced for 3 years… Apparently it has been used by his girl friend and she didn't know that cars need regular servicing.. Lol. It was still driving fine however..
Do hybrid engines really need yearly oil changes? Any idea how dark the oil was after 3 years?
Of course they do need oil changes (now I can understand why she thought the way she did lol). Oil seemed fine but that's from just looking at the stick but would be pretty thick and dark if you remove oil to a basket I'd imagine.
Note that in the European market it's common for cars to have 2yr / 20,000mile service intervals.
I don't know what the Corolla Hybrid schedule is over there, but if it's 2yr / 30,000km as above then that car was almost certainly just fine 👍
Mates missus drove her corolla without servicing till she cooked the engine. From new. Replaced the engine for quite a lot more then the services she missed.
Damn. Expensive lesson. Sorry but some people are really clueless.
How long did it take to stuff the engine? time/km
Not sure on ks. Wouldn't of been much. She lives right near work so probably hardly got to operating temp the majority of the time.
Think it was a few years, say 4ish I think.
Light come on, went to the mechanics. Said engine was gone.
2 and a half years. The mechanic wasn't happy.
Oil and filter every year, one car gets driven about 10km and the other one 5km.
l
Use a good oil filter, its as important as oil.
I am proud of the things I own, and I take great care of them. I have also been heavily reliant on my cars, so they've all been serviced mostly before due. I also use far better spares than OEM specifications.
The longest number of days I have put off servicing my cars would be a negative number.
Good lord
When I used to fly in the Cessna 172 which had a reciprocal engine at the old flight school. I refused to accept the plane if the engine oil wasn’t changed either by the time or by the hour it was meant to change.
I bring that over to car as well. 12 months or 10000 kms whatever comes first. Although an engine seized while operating in a car is much less troublesome.
Of course, Engine manufacture recommendation has a healthy safety buffer built into it but finding out what that buffer is with the cost of potentially your life isn't worth it.
I service mine every year driving under 5000km per year. After reading the comments, I think I will be safe to service it every 2yrs???
I have a question here. I have a Mercedes B180 that we barely drive, its first service was back in 2019 and it only had 2000kms on it. Haven't serviced the car since then however it has 25,000 kms now. Reckon its time to get it car service this year?
Did the car come with a service manual? I have a hunch that it might have the answers you want.
Manufactures also tend to know a lot more about their own products than random people on the internet desperate to pinch a few cents off everything.
If the car is under warranty and you intent to keep the warranty, you need to be servicing it within the kms and timeline they specify. Otherwise anything that goes wrong, they will tell you that the car was not looked after and will deny warranty.
Also. If the car has been serviced regularly, through the manufacturer and you continue this outside of their warranty period, because of aus accc guarantees, you will likely have continued coverage if something major goes wrong outside of the warranty period. Within reason.
If you have an old car. Or a second hand car where theres no chance of warranty from the manufacturer. Then every 10,000kms will be fine. If the car hasn't been driven for a long time though there can be moisture in the oil that needs to be either eliminated by long drives or replacement.
Mazda 2 2012.
Reckon I went about 5 years without servicing it, daily driver too.
Makes me respect the car all the more because it's still going.
I used to drive so much that 10,000km would only be like 5 months, so I would keep driving probably until about 15,000km. So only a few months extra.
Around this time the oil light might come on and I'd book it in.
Now days I don't drive much and 10,000km is like 18 months or longer so usually do it around the 10,000km mark.
No major problems, car still going strong 280,000km in.
If my car was newer with less KMs I would be more diligent in getting it serviced.
I'm a carhead with a collection of various sports cars and bikes and this is what I've learned.
Engine oil changes (with their filters) should be mileage based. You could consider 5,000 km engine oil changes for heavy stop and go city driving or highly tuned engines that deal with stop & go and occassoinal high revving if you wanted to be conservative. 10,000 km intervals are normal and standard for most cars. Some modern cars will tell you when they need to be changed dependent on what type of driving you do (eg highway driving in top gear / low revs would require less frequent oil changes than city driving). My BMW M5 computer seems fine to go over 20,000 km but I think that's too much for a highly tuned V10 engine so do it at every 10,000 km.
Engine air filters are either cleaned (if they're the cleanable type) or changed at every oil change.
Brake fluid changes should be every two years irrespective of use. This fluid is hygroscopic so they absorb moisture over time. But you can stretch this out to three or four years IMO.
You've also got to consider spark plug changes (eg every 30,000 km) and belt changes (if you car has belts this is typically at every 100,000 km). These will be noted in your car's service manual.
About ten years and it was second hand already
I got insurance then crashed it into a Tesla to write it off
Used the insurance money to help buy another old car
Apparently it didn’t go so well for the brand new Tesla owner lol
You guys service your cars??
Have a Hyundai. Only service every 15000 kms. Done this way for last 6 years. Now car is at 100k kms and still works fine.
Your warranty will not be honored if you don’t follow the manufacturer instructions and guidelines. My Peugeot (bought new) was serviced every 12 months (sufficed to say the cost was high) despite low driving kilometres. Did had an expensive repair job- some coolant mechanism. Not covered by warranty as it was pass 5 years. After 9 years it’s only done 64k always on premium unleaded from day 1 till day zilch when it was traded in for a 2023
Unless the engine is specifically designed for premium fuel you’ve just been wasting money putting premium in. Anything more than the minimum RON listed by the manufacturer (or tuner) is a waste.
On the other hand and most European cars must use premium and you try to penny pinch- warranty void instantaneously.
There is no ‘on the other hand’. You use what the manufacturer recommends. Saying ‘I’ve only ever used premium’ in a car that requires premium means nothing.
People who say ‘I’ve only ever used premium’ in a car that doesn’t require it have done nothing for the car other than let you know they don’t know about cars.
@Euphemistic: Already said before mine was and still is a European vehicle and does not take e10 or normal either
Little bit freaked out by these stories of complete lack of vehicle maintenance.
Proper maintenance identifies things like coolant leaks, warped or badly worn brakes, cracked hoses, clogged filters, timing belts ready to snap, bald tyres and a host of other life threatening vehicle faults.
Just because you can get away with it, doesn’t mean you should. Playing this game you’ll eventually end up with a major vehicle fault that could kill you or someone else.
Sure modern cars are pretty damn reliable, but eventually like anything they will fail. Staying on top of maintenance prevents catastrophes like engine seizure or brake failure.
And so the saying goes EV are more reliable being less mechanical.
It is the same folks that complain when their car dies sooner then they should and call the brand a lemon maker.
I was new to Australia, never owned a car. I bought Toyota Echo 2001 recently serviced. I started doing Ubereats on it, I was not aware you had to service it every 10k kms lol.
Did 30k within 10 months on the car, it displayed engine oil red sign on the car, googled it. Bought $15 engine oil from the servo, put it in and did another 5k kms. Sign came back on it again, asked my friend about the advice and he told me to get it serviced. Took it to the mechanic and he said when did you last service this lol.
EDIT: searched about that engine oil and engine oil from servo idea from google :D
7 months.
I drive maybe 5000-6000 kms per year but I still aim to get it serviced every 6 months.
just over 6 mths so far
Didn't service my car for the entirety of COVID lockdown and beyond, almost 2 years.
A golf mk5 for 32000 km for nearly an year. Still going great and current odo is Round 320000km.
Just service it to the schedule? The only vehicle I don't is laid up and currently does 0 km per annum.
I just recently had my car serviced after 2 years. Only did around 4K km during that time and the oil looked pretty clean so didn't see the point of "over servicing" the car.
The date-based service intervals is due to many oils having detergents and the like that have an expiration date. If you push it past then you will be slowly running fluids that aren't working as well as intended. It is how you end up with crud build-ups in parts. If you intend on getting the maximum life out of a car then it is important. If you don't care the worst you might see is some drop in performance and fuel efficiency.
i have done 45 000km in 8 years and subaru wanted me to service every 6 months but i do it every year.
I changed my oil every 6,500 kms when I bought my car at 100,000km. Change the filter every 12,000. I do about 20,000km per year. I'm on 227,000km at the moment. Car still runs well.
About three years for my old Mazda 2 and it was fine, even though probably the third owner
Drove until engine oil warning light comes on. Drove approx 12-15k km
When I was younger I never got my cars serviced, was just a waste of money that I did not have.
Did the oil and filter changes regularly myself, and a few other bits and pieces on occasion as needed.
Mechanic here.
Service intervals are based on many factors. Most Toyotas are 5000km/6 months. Some cars are 2 years/30,000km. The engineers work this out based on the engine design, turbos, and oil grades to give the best operating life. Heat, tolerances and the environment all play a part in determining this.
Oil is a big factor. Oils are not all the same. At the bottom are mineral oils, which should only be used in cars that specify them. Then there are semi-synthetics and full synthetics. The base oil rarely wears out, which is why oil can be recycled. The issue is the additives. The oil comes in different grades and specs eg 5w40, SG etc. You can have multiple 5w40 oils but some can damage your engine and components while others will be ok. The correct grades and specifications ensure that your DPF, cat convertor etc remain undamaged. Oils also have detergents in them that clean out the engine. Some additives attach to water, as oil and water don't mix otherwise, and you don't want water pooling in your engine.
Now a car that operates normally, gets up to temperature etc and does normal km each year gets serviced and all of the additives have done their job, and all of the bad stuff gets drained out.
But a car that doesn't do that many KM also needs to be changed. Why? The additives deteriorate due to oxidation and wear. They will no longer meet the specifications that they are designed to meet. Engines that get little use tend to get oxidation on the metal components, which ends up in the oil when used. This doesn't happen with engines used daily. Engines that don't get up to the correct operating temperature for long enough will accumulate water vapour, which the oil has to absorb. Water is not like oil, and therefore the oil loses some of its lubricating properties. You might think that it isn't much, but you don't have much oil there to dilute. In addition, some of the additives are hygroscopic. This means that they will absorb water from the air. Brake fluid is like this, which is why it needs replacing at a set time even if it hasn't been used. So while the oil will physically look okay, it will not be.
If cost is a factor, it would be better to use the correct spec but use semi-synthetic oil, and change it every 12 months rather than use full synthetic and change it every 2 years.
Modern engines are expensive to repair or replace. Oil is cheap in comparison. You also get the added benefit of looking over the vehicle to spot any issues before they develop into major problems. A modern car needs preventative maintenance, not just oil changes.
Thanks for the detailed explanation but I'm still a little sceptical (just my nature).
I'm annoyed because my BMW 335i M Sport has the "check engine" light on more often than not lol
My other 2 cars are fine :D
I'm trying to service mine every year just for the logbook and potential resale.
However, some years I only drive 5,000 km and compared to my year of manufacturer I'm 80,000 km ahead of where my current service should be.
It runs alot better after an oil change, so I do the minimum every 12 months of that.
Close to 45k and 3yrs with zero service. Tesla model 3 SR+ 2019..
Probably will need to replace the tyres early next yr.
And soon not even an oil change! Spot on though, none of the "mechanics" at the car dealers know anything and they expect people to buy new cars once their warranty is up anyway.