How often should a car be serviced?

Question

At what intervals should cars be serviced these days? Is it by time period, or mileage? Does it depend on the type of car? I have a 2005 Renault Clio which I bought in Feb 2006, and now has a mileage of 18 000 miles.

Answer 1

A CAR SHOULD have a service every 6000 miles, and a super type service every 24000 miles.
and the 'cambelt' changed every 60-75000 miles, depending on make.

Answer 2

Do you have the owner's manual? There should be a table in there somewhere that tells you how often to have various things checked/replaced.

Oil should be done every 3000 to 5000 miles depending on what kind of driving you do. I live in a rural area so I go cloaser to 3000 miles because I drive on dirt roads a lot. People who do a lot of paved road, relatively easy driving can go closer to 5000 miles.

The table in the owner's manual should tell you how often to have each individual thing done. Most really good garages will let you know if your car is due for maintenance when you get your oil changed.

I just got a long lecture from my boyfriend because I hadn't replaced my air filter and when he looked at it he asked if it was the original fromm 2002 when the car was new. I think I turned ten shades of red because I know better, but kept putting it off until I had the time to do it myself. I'm glad I have a man who pays attention to my car.

Talk to your mechanic about the maintenance needs of your car. Look at the owner's manual. And take care of the car so it will last longer.

Answer 3

It all depends on the car, the usage, the conditions it's used in and the time.

Too many variables to be specific but most modern vehicles(yours included) generally need servicing Once every 12 months, diesels sometimes still have a 6 month oil change only, and the mileage varies between 10,000 and 12,000.

Best to pop into a local dealer and ask the question, or look in your user handbook if you have one

Answer 4

Renault Clio I should imagine needs a service every 10 to 12,000 miles. (servicing at 3,000 miles is excessive... although frequent oil changes, say once every 6000 miles is good for the car... but I do mine every 10,000)

Check your log book... there should be a service manual which suggests what needs checking/replacing at main service intervals.

Also consider getting your car serviced at a Renault specialist. These are trained and time served Renault mechanics, but who don't charge the same high costs as you mostly get at the stealers (dealers). You mostly get quality work done at a specialists... not some fresh faced trainee at the stealers who skips doing some jobs or the stealer charging you for work which didn't need doing.. or that they didn't even do.

Answer 5

Every car needs to be serviced basing on mileage and time period, which ever come first.

For the very basic preventive maintenance - engine oil change, replacement/cleaning of spark plugs, air filter, replacement of oil filter. For mineral oil - every 5,000km (3,000 miles) or 3 months, whichever come first. For synthetic oil - every 10,000km (6,200 miles) or 6 months.

However, as your car aged, there are more and more items to be inspected or replaced during each servicing stage, example, Your radiator to be flush and replace of coolant at the 20,000km (12,000 miles) or 2 years, auto transmission oil at 50,000km etc etc.....

Take note: If you seldom use the car does not mean that no servicing is needed! Use the time period as a guide. In fact, car under use or seldom run will has more problems in the long run.

18,000 miles - long overdue. For details check your car maintenance schedule which you can find in your car maintenance or servicing manual.

As a car owner do take care of your car as your life may depend on it. Just imagine, a car with low steering fluid, will resulted in lost control of the vehicle during an emergency resulted in lost of life or property which we can help to prevent from happening....all because we are too lazy or to save some money....

Answer 6

It depends on the car.
It should be serviced according to the manufacturer's schedule - which for new Renaults is mostly once every 18,000 miles, or two years (whichever comes first).
So by pure coincidence, it is probably due now.

With other brands the interval varies between 6,000 and 20,000 miles, while it may be even shorter in older cars.

Answer 7

If you have the owner's manual it will tell you exactly what you need and when.

I do think that if you've had it for a whole year already, you are probably due for some servicing -- at least an oil and filter change and a check of your fluids and tire pressure if nothing else.

I get my 2000 Nissan a general service like described above every 3,000 miles, which comes out to about every 4-6 months. My last really big, thorough, check-everything service was at 30,000 miles. And I think prior to that, I had a thorough one at 22,500 -- all as recommended in my owner's manual.

Answer 8

no less then every 5,000 miles
if you live in very dirty dusty roads..rural setting..then change it every 3,000 miles.

a rule of thumb is if the oil looks pretty dirty, then it probably needs changing. some people only go by the looks of the oil but i find this answer too iffy and an oil change is cheaper then replacing a worn out engine...that's $$$

also i am retired and they told me at the FORD garage that you can go longer then three monts if you don't put on a lot of miles..but i would not let it go a year..maybe the longest is 5 or 6 months because oil and fluids do deterate..
also you should be checking your fluids and air pressure with every fill up or at least once a month
I AM GUILTY OF THIS AS MY VEHICLES DON'T LOSE FLUIDS..BUT THE TIRES DO SOMETIMES NEED a few pounds..so by the way I was told also to put in 40 pounds per tire (don't forget to check the spare tire"duh.") 40 pounds give you a little stiffer ride but you save on gas and tires also you have more control over your vehicle

Answer 9

It depends whether you are a girl racer i guess... Oil changes are the single most important thing you can do to look after your car. Honestly 3000 miles is not excessive if you only do short journeys or thrash it a lot. Motorways are a lot kinder to your car... There is a volvo in America that has done over One and a half MILLION miles on its original engine due to regular servicing...

Answer 10

your car is over due for a service. a car should be serviced after every 10 000 km and make sure you get a service book to be stamped and enquire about the life period of your cambelt.

Answer 11

Every 9000miles or 6months, whichever comes up first... though some people who really want to look after their cars ignore the manufacturer's manual and do it half way between that period for oil changes.