Do you Service by mileage or time?
Discussion
Was having a debate with a friend the other day, he was saying that because he drives very low mileage - particularly over the last two years, that his car is saying it doesn’t need a service for what would effectively be over 5 years from the last one.
I like to change at least the oil on a regular basis even if the car isn’t being used much.
My apologies if this has been discussed before, but is it ok to rely on the manufactures mileage only for servicing (and what the car says it needs on the dashboard!), or should time come into play?
Many thanks
I like to change at least the oil on a regular basis even if the car isn’t being used much.
My apologies if this has been discussed before, but is it ok to rely on the manufactures mileage only for servicing (and what the car says it needs on the dashboard!), or should time come into play?
Many thanks
Some cars are mileage-only in the schedule, some are time or mileage whichever comes first. Most are the latter, but I did have an Alfa 159 with the 2.0 jTDM engine which was mileage-only so they definitely do exist.
If you do a very low mileage, then it might mean numerous short journeys which means the oil never properly heats up. That’s not good because condensation can form in the engine and the oil can turn acidic. This is the primary reason service schedules have a time component as well as mileage.
If you do a very low mileage, then it might mean numerous short journeys which means the oil never properly heats up. That’s not good because condensation can form in the engine and the oil can turn acidic. This is the primary reason service schedules have a time component as well as mileage.
livinginasia said:
Was having a debate with a friend the other day, he was saying that because he drives very low mileage - particularly over the last two years, that his car is saying it doesn’t need a service for what would effectively be over 5 years from the last one.
I like to change at least the oil on a regular basis even if the car isn’t being used much.
My apologies if this has been discussed before, but is it ok to rely on the manufactures mileage only for servicing (and what the car says it needs on the dashboard!), or should time come into play?
Many thanks
Both.I like to change at least the oil on a regular basis even if the car isn’t being used much.
My apologies if this has been discussed before, but is it ok to rely on the manufactures mileage only for servicing (and what the car says it needs on the dashboard!), or should time come into play?
Many thanks
Brake fluid by time (because it's hygroscopic, it absorbs water over time and ultimately needs replacing - usually every 2 or 3 years).
Oil is done by miles (which I suppose you could back calculate into hours if you wanted, and if you know your average speed). In most industries, equipment is serviced on running time. Cars are a bit odd that way, but even then some cars do it by time and just tell the user when to service.
My car’s are on variable servicing which is upto 18k miles or max two years
Brake fluid is every two years
So even if you only do 5k in two years they still need servicing
My weekend/summer car gets serviced annually regardless as it’s getting a bit mature now and doesn’t do many miles
Brake fluid is every two years
So even if you only do 5k in two years they still need servicing
My weekend/summer car gets serviced annually regardless as it’s getting a bit mature now and doesn’t do many miles
I’m a service history nerd but I’ve got a couple of cars I use for a few drives in the summer and they do tiny mileages.
So far I have stuck to the annual service regimen, But it seems just mad to get a car serviced that’s done maybe 400 miles since the last one.
So I’m going to start servicing these cars every other year at least. They will still only have silly little mileages between services.
It’s not as per the service schedule, but I don’t think these were ever drawn up to cater for the likes of me.
So far I have stuck to the annual service regimen, But it seems just mad to get a car serviced that’s done maybe 400 miles since the last one.
So I’m going to start servicing these cars every other year at least. They will still only have silly little mileages between services.
It’s not as per the service schedule, but I don’t think these were ever drawn up to cater for the likes of me.
motco said:
PastelNata said:
The car tells me when to taking it in. 
As does mineAs said, the car should be asking for (and getting) a brake fluid change every 2 years.
If the annual mileage is low, most will ask for an oil change after 2 years as well.
The sheds we have run over the years have always had an engine oil and filter change every MOT time, and repairs or consumables as and when. Never changed the brake fluid and never had an issue, all of them owned for 5/6 years each and all well over 100k miles.
Never changed a cambelt on any of them with no engine failures, just run until they are not worth repairing, scrap and buy another
The Mercs I ran for business were always serviced properly as per the manufacturers recommendations. I still have the complete service history and every single invoice for my last one, up to 318k miles, eighteen services, everything done as required and on time. The paperwork fills an A4 folder.
My current BMW gets serviced as specified by BMW but at a well respected local garage.
Never changed a cambelt on any of them with no engine failures, just run until they are not worth repairing, scrap and buy another
The Mercs I ran for business were always serviced properly as per the manufacturers recommendations. I still have the complete service history and every single invoice for my last one, up to 318k miles, eighteen services, everything done as required and on time. The paperwork fills an A4 folder.
My current BMW gets serviced as specified by BMW but at a well respected local garage.
Joey Deacon said:
Earthdweller said:
My car’s are on variable servicing which is upto 18k miles or max two years
Same, but I still change the oil every year even though I only do 5 or 6K a year. Oil and filter costs £30, much cheaper than a new engine.I've had long life service diesels for 20 years. Always done DIY 6 monthly, 6/10k miles oil+filter. Doesn't cost much, £40 or so.
Never had a single engine, turbo, injector, dpf etc issue in 400k+ miles over several cars.
5years + on the same gallon of oil is foolish at best - not a car I'd ever buy on the used market.
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