How To Keep Up With Car Maintenance – Scheduling car maintenance by mileage milestones can keep your car running for many, many miles. Stay on top of key maintenance milestones with this car maintenance schedule.
Your car’s odometer can give you a clue as to when you need to carry out necessary car maintenance. Here are the mileage milestones to watch for and what to do when you hit them.
How To Keep Up With Car Maintenance
5,000 miles: Schedule an oil change every 5,000 miles. If you drive an older, less efficient vehicle, the owner’s manual may recommend oil changes every 3,000 miles. Choose synthetic oil, which has a longer life than conventional motor oil. Also change the oil filter.
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10,000 miles: Rotate the tires. Continue to rotate tires every 10,000 miles to ensure even wear and extend tread life.
36,000 miles: Whether you bought it new or used, your manufacturer’s warranty will likely expire after 36,000 miles. Take the car in for a check-up to ensure that all the systems covered by the “bumper to bumper” warranty, which may include the suspension, heating and air conditioning, and car stereo, are in good working order. The brakes must also be inspected.
50,000 miles: The 50,000 mile service is a particularly important milestone in your car maintenance schedule. When your car hits 50,000 miles, you’ll need to replace worn parts such as brake pads; install a new fuel filter; and drain and replace the automatic transmission fuel and filter. The exhaust system, muffler, catalytic converter and suspension components should also be inspected and worn parts should be replaced. If your car is a used car, be sure to ask for maintenance records so you know what services have been performed. Go to the mechanic to take care of the rest, depending on the mileage.
60,000 miles: All belts, valves and hoses should be inspected for wear and replaced if necessary. It’s also time to replace the spark plugs and install new tires.
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100,000 miles: Add high mileage coolants and spark plugs. Schedule a thorough inspection that includes evaluations of the transmission, water pump, timing belt, and other components that begin to fail when the vehicle reaches this “high mileage” milestone.
125,000 miles: It’s time to replace the O2 sensors and inspect the A/C compressor and belt tensioner and install new parts as needed. Change coolant, fuel filter, brake fluid, shocks and struts, monitor the suspension and get a car tune-up.
180,000 miles: Inspect the seals on the vehicle’s axles and drive shafts and replace any that are leaking. Also clean the airflow sensor, inspect the timing chain and engine and transmission mounts, and change the power steering fluid.
250,000 miles: Clean the fuel injectors, inspect the chassis and check the catalytic converter for damage to ensure the car is not releasing harmful pollutants.
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Performing the vehicle maintenance recommended for each mileage milestone is just one step toward staying safe on the road. Get the protection you need from day one with Farm Bureau auto insurance. Contact your Farm Bureau agent to get the coverage you need today. Many or all of the products shown here are from our partners who compensate us. This has an impact on which products we write about and where and how the product is displayed on a page. However, this does not affect our ratings. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here is how we make money.
Regular car maintenance keeps your engine running and prevents many serious problems. It is also relatively inexpensive compared to major repairs.
The routine maintenance your car needs – and its cost – depends on the vehicle and where you get the work done. There are some services that almost all cars require periodically.
Basic maintenance will probably cost you a few hundred dollars a year. Most cars need more maintenance as they reach mileage milestones, which will increase the total cost of owning the car.
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The vehicle maintenance schedule in your car’s owner’s manual will tell you what services it needs and when. Almost every car requires a set of basic services at certain intervals.
Manufacturers often note that the intervals between these basic services need to be shortened if you frequently drive 5 miles or less, drive in extremely hot or cold temperatures, or regularly drive in stop-and-go traffic, for example. In these cases, you may need to have the car serviced more often.
As cars age, they tend to develop different maintenance needs that can be more expensive than in their earlier years. So be prepared to add different types of maintenance to the schedule as your car earns more miles.
The standard advice used to be to change your oil every three months or 3,000 miles. Most cars today can go much longer – often between 5,000 and 7,500 miles, and sometimes up to 10,000 miles – before needing an oil change. Check your car’s owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommendation. If you only drive a few thousand kilometers a year, you should have your oil changed at least every 12 months regardless of the total mileage.
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Some newer vehicles have oil monitoring systems that alert you when it’s time to change your oil. These systems often calculate when to perform an oil change based on driving conditions and habits.
The cabin air filter removes pollutants such as dust, pollen and exhaust from the air before they reach the inside of your car. It also helps circulate air through your air conditioning and heating systems to improve their performance. It is best to replace your cabin air filter every 15,000-25,000 miles or at least every 12 months. If you drive in areas with poor air quality, you may want to replace the filter more often.
Rotating your tires allows them to wear more evenly, keeps an even tread level on all of them, and can even create less stress on other car components. You should rotate your tires every 5,000-8,000 miles – or every six months – so it’s a good rule of thumb to rotate your tires with every oil change. But your manual will have the car manufacturer’s recommendation.
These vary in scope and price, depending on your mechanic. A multi-point inspection usually looks at your car from bumper to bumper – including battery, filters, belts, hoses, fluids, tires, brakes, powertrains and shocks and struts – to identify any maintenance or repairs it may need.
Things Car Enthusiasts Should Know To Keep Vehicle Up To Date
Some mechanics will use a multi-point inspection to call “necessary” maintenance that is either not required or not yet due. If you think your mechanic is exaggerating how much maintenance you need after an inspection, do your research before accepting the job.
All car parts eventually wear out from normal driving. Some are designed to last longer than others, but it’s likely that you’ll need to replace some while you own the car.
The price of tires can vary greatly depending on the type of terrain you drive in and the climate you drive in. A cheaper tire can cost around $50, while an expensive tire can cost over $1,000.
How often you should replace your tires depends on the type and quality of the tires, as well as your driving habits. Check them once a month for cracks that indicate the rubber has dried out. You can also use the penny test to check the pattern depth.
Keep Up With Tire Maintenance
Windshield wipers do the dirty work that you can’t do while you’re driving, and making sure they do their job properly makes for a safer drive.
How often you need to replace your wipers depends on the quality of your current wipers and the conditions you use them in, but a good guideline is to replace your wipers every 12 months. They usually need to be replaced when the rubber is loose or cracked, they leave streaks on the glass, or they make a strange noise when in use.
Replacing your brake pads will cost you between $115-$270. The total cost depends on the brake pads you choose, your type of vehicle and your location.
Brake wear varies depending on your driving style and terrain. If you do mostly highway driving with fewer stops, you can get as much as 80,000 miles out of a set of brake pads. But with regular stop-and-go traffic, you’re more likely to get about 35,000 miles out of them.
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To find out exactly what maintenance your car needs, see the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual. For example, a 2017 Subaru Outback has the following maintenance schedule for its first 30,000 miles or 30 months:
*Estimated costs are from Kelley Blue Book for maintenance performed in the Houston area as of October 2022.
As with most cars, some maintenance is repeated often, like an oil change every 6,000 miles and changing the cabin air filter every 12,000 miles. However, some maintenance doesn’t start until a car reaches major milestones, such as inspection of key drive systems at the 30,000-mile mark.
The total cost of routine maintenance for the example above is estimated to be $658-$871 over
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