When should you go in for service/tune ups?

[Fuzzmuncher]

I'm on 38k now & have never gone in - is that bad?

 

[bolomite]

are you saying you've never ever had anything done before, even oil change??

 

[vi edit]

In the glovebox there is this thing called a "manual". In there there is a section called "maintenance". If you flip to it, it will tell you what you should be doing, and when.

 

It would help greatly if you told us (If it's a plane, car, motorcycle or aircraft carrier) the Make, model and year of the vehicle.

 

[Ogg]

Originally posted by: Roger
It would help greatly if you told us the Make, model and year of the vehicle.

Na dont listen to Roger. Just take it in somewhere around 100,000 miles.

 

[chin311]

lol @ AWG.

you should have got a 30,000 mi service, but some people around here say "dont bring it in till it breaks" , you should go by the preventive maintence section in your manual.

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

2000 Impala, damn movers removed my manual & everything else when I had it shipped here from Hawaii

First owned car - know very little about this stiff. I feel so ignorant.

 

[Turin39789]

you shouldnt ever take it in for a tune up, do it yourself

 

30,000 mile service ;

Change the following ;

Air filter
Fuel filter
Oil & Filter
PCV valve
Spark plugs
TRansmission fluid and filter
Serpentine belt

Lube the following ;

Door hinges and latch(s)
Trunk hinges and latch
Hood hinges and latch

Check the following ;

Front and rear brakes
Coolant
Brake fluid
Power steering fluid
Rear end fluid
Front wheel bearings
U-joints
Suspension bushings

 

[peterskm]

Normally, I look through the manual to see what is included with the services. Generally, they are pretty lame and very expensive.

If it is a newer car, it probably has platinum spark plugs which most manufacturers don't recommend changing for 100k miles. You do, however, need to get your oil changed regularly at 3500. Some manufacturers recommend up to 5000 miles, but I'd be a bit afraid of going that long with nonsynthetic oil.

If your car has grease fittings, these will need to be lubed regularly. Get yourself a grease gun and do it with every oil change if you decide to do them yourself. If you take it somewhere for the oil change, they should do it for you.

Also, you should get your coolant system flushed (check manual). I usually do this about every 50k if the car uses the green coolant. Transmission and axle fluid are the other maintenance items that are covered by the services. These should be changed as per the servicemanual recommendations. What I normally do is pick a service that performs a lot of stuff that I don't/can't do. For my last car, it was the 75k service which changed all my fluids for $200-300.

Other than that, check your belts every so often for cracking.