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What preventive maintenance have you preformed on your car lately to keep it running in tip top shape?
I was preparing for a trip from southwest Florida to Maryland last week. Tire air pressure was checked and tires were rotated, oil and oil filter was changed. I also checked and topped off fluids. The only fluid that needed topping off was wiper fluid. Transmission oil was also changed as per recommended maintenance each 30,000 for manual transmissions. I also do a 6 month reset of fuses and relays by simply pushing them back into their sockets. Also changed my A/C clutch relay as a preventive maintenance to catch an issue before it occurs.The old A/C clutch relay had failed and was replaced at the cars 8 year old mark so I figured the relay was on borrowed time and better get it done. I also replaced the 16 year old plastic interior door handles on the front doors. The passenger side failed and I figured the drivers side wouldn't be far behind.
So far I figured that the A/C has done 6,000 hours of work here in Florida and other then that relay replacement the A/C has never failed to do it's job. And yesterday was a hundred degrees coming home through Florida so A/C was certainly appreciated. Also checked the accessory belt, it's a 100,000 mile change item on my car. I changed the belt 40,000 ago and all was looking good in that department.
Total time to complete the work was minimal as was the total cost. The good news in doing the little bit of work I fixed a couple of issues. One issue was the led clock faded over time and popping the fuses back in place brightens the led back to new again. Another issue was the windshield washer fluid waxed and clogged the strainer on the fill tube of the windshield washer container. Cleaned it up with hot water and made it brand new again. .
For what it is worth I would also like to mention the car had a check engine light come on about 800 miles into our Maryland trip. The OBD2 code reader I have used for years explained it as the oxygen sensor picking up issues with fuel combustion. I do a lot of cross country driving with this car and have experienced this issue many times before. The issue always takes place in rural area's just after I have fill up the tank with gas at a small gas station. The good news is after reading and resetting the code it has always gone away. It may have taken a full tank of gas but so far in 240,000 miles the car has always driven out of it. I attribute it to bad gas and so far it has been the case.
My Forester was just bought in the end of Feb this year, only has about 10K miles so far, so just an oil change. Traded in a 2013 Accord with 125K miles, which had recently had the spark plugs changed and engine valves adjusted, and CVT fluid replaced.
I just had to spend my first major bucks on my 2008 Audi S4 Avant. It has about 110,000 on it and, though I’ve never added any oil between changes, it suddenly started using a quart about every 3,500 miles. My shop diagnosed a leaking valley pan gasket. So had that replaced and while they were digging everything out, had all other associated gaskets replaced along with a sensor that was buried beneath it all, back to good as new.
Do you mean tasks that AREN'T listed in the back of the owners manual...
with recommended frequencies for time/miles etc ?
Use the both book and the supplementary stuff as well. I'd like to see the overall response to this question. Also I like to see how much additional maintenance is required on cars beyond the owners manual recommendations. Any addition information relating to cause (such as a pothole damaged tire and rim but my alignment never had any issues) would also help in the understanding of abnormal circumstances.
With city and rural people responding there should be a pretty clear picture of car maintenance overall. Thanks for responding.
Recently changed the plugs in my car at 210,000 they use Iridium plugs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OutdoorLover
My Forester was just bought in the end of Feb this year, only has about 10K miles so far, so just an oil change. Traded in a 2013 Accord with 125K miles, which had recently had the spark plugs changed and engine valves adjusted, and CVT fluid replaced.
Recently changed the plugs in my car at 210,000 they use Iridium plugs. It was the second set I had changed. I figure at 300,000 someone else can change them. Here's a picture of the old ones below. Always request the old plugs after a change. If they are oil soaked and filthy at under 100,000 you may be in for some major repair expense in the near future. Black oily plugs is at 100,000 miles is sign of an abusive driver or fudging on oil changes.
Plugs should look like these after being in the car 100,000 miles and the car having 210,000 miles.
Considering it's a lease that only gets around 6k/year on it...nothing aside from the annual service.
That makes life easy and if it works for you that is all that matters.
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Use the book and the supplementary stuff as well.
