What car maintenance should an owner do?

Maintenance

Every Auto Manufacturer lists their required maintenance on their web sites and in the Owners Manual the maintenance service intervals vary between manufactures.

Your car is a moving piece of machinery, it needs maintenance, if you want this car to last you need to service it. not just the minimum recommended services that are listed in you service manual but also the extras like the cooling system - prolongs the life of the radiator and water pump, or like the power steering system service this will extend the life of your cars power-seeking pump and gear box or rack which believe me will cost more than you want to spend when they fail due to lack of maintenance I recommend that you review your owners manual and get acquainted with a reputable auto repair facility. A good relationship with you car and your car's mechanic will benefit you in the long run, providing you with a long lasting and safe car.

The typical services are

3000 - 5000 mi oil service 7500 - 10000 mi mid service Oil service 15k service Oil service Mid service Oil service 30k service

See the pattern here?

At 30 k you should also service your cooling system, transmission, fuel system and power steering; this should be repeated every 30k miles. I recommend flushes of the later mentioned items to prolong these systems life span. 01-02-05 AFR

Car care

Basic car care can be simple and take only a short time to complete if you know what to do and look for.

Check your oil every week by first starting the vehicle and letting it run for at least 30 seconds. This allows the oil to fill the oil filter and will give you a proper reading on your dipstick. Shut the engine off wait 2-5 min to allow the oil to settle, and pull the oil dipstick, wipe it clean and replace it in the dip stick tube. Pull it out a second time and check the level. Fill if needed, but do not over fill, and it's best to use the same weight of oil last used.

Check your transmission every month by first pulling the transmission dipstick and checking if it requires the transmission to be in neutral or park. You can do this by reading the dip stick usually near the fill line. Start your vehicle and run it through the gears ending in the recommended gear, set the parking brake and pull the dipstick, clean it off and recheck it for a proper reading (remember that transmision fluid expands when hot). If the fluid is in the checked area do not add. If you do need to add fluid be sure to use the correct type recomended for your vehicle and again do not overfill.

I recommend never pulling the cap off your brake fluid. Brake fluid draws moisture from the air and can contaminate the system. If you think there is a problem with your brakes, have them checked by a certified brake specialist. You should not need any fluid added to your brakes unless you have a problem such as a leak or the brakes need to be replaced. Most new vehicles have a sensor built into the brake system that lets you know if you need brake work, and this is activated by the amount of fluid in the resevoir. By adding fluid you can do more damage than good. (Make sure you know what fluid it takes dot 4 and dot 5 are not compatible. Cars with Anti-lock brakes should get there fluid flushed every couple years or every 30,000 miles. A $1500.00 ABS module that went bad from dirty fluid can be avoided)

Intervals

Here is what I recommend for maintenance intervals. There are exceptions to all of these. including severe duty-which most northen cars fall into.

Change Transmission filter-30,000 miles,90,000 and 150,000 miles and fluid at 60,000, 120,000 and 180,000 miles.

Change oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, unless you use Mobil One, in which case 6 months/6,000 miles.

Chassis lube every 3,000 miles, assuming there are fittings.

Spark plugs:Conventional plugs: 30,0000 miles, Double platinum: every 50,000 miles (100,000 mile plugs are best to be changed well before that, although some can reach it).

Fuel filter: 35,000-40,000 miles. Unless it is in the tank. But if the tank is ever dropped, do it then.

Ignition cap, rotor, wires: 60,000-80,000 miles. (if it has them).

Timing Belt, if applicible: 60,000 miles on many but check with gates or dayco or the manual or dealer, as many different intervals are now present.

Coolant flush -- green: 2 years/24,000 miles.

Coolant flush -- dex-cool or long life: 5 years/50,000 miles.

Tire rotation: 5,000-8,000 miles.

Alignment: 15,000-20,000 miles., unless tire wear is not a problem and car goes straight.

Brake fluid flush and power steering fluid flush: 2 years or when dirty or discolored.

Air filter, pcv valve and cabin air filter: as needed.

Professional fuel injection service: 40,000 miles.

Throttle bore plate cleaning: 20,000 miles.

Air induction service: 20,000 miles.

This answer is closed to changes. This is done in rare cases when questions are being vandalized or answers have become debates. E-mail WikiAnswers @ Answers.com if you would like it to be reopened.

First answer by anonymous. Last edit by Ganderton. Contributor trust: 1538 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 406 [recommend question]

Can you answer other questions about auto repair?