How Often Should Your Vehicle Be Serviced?

Like most responsible car-parents, you wonder how often your vehicle needs car maintenance so you don’t get careless with it because you want to take good care of it. Despite conflicting information from various sources, Go-Green Auto Service Corp still always says that the answer to this question is actually quite simple: Simply follow the factory recommended maintenance schedule for your particular car in its owner’s manual or service booklet.

In-Vehicle Maintenance Reminder System 

If you drive a newer vehicle, it probably has an in-vehicle maintenance reminder system that makes mileage-based schedules obsolete. In-vehicle maintenance reminder systems take a number of vehicle operating conditions into account and provide an alert on the dash when it is time for an engine oil change, fluid level checks, component inspections and other car maintenance services. If your vehicle has one of these systems, trust it to guide your maintenance visits. However, if you don’t put many miles on your car, most automakers recommend an oil change service every 12 months, even if the maintenance reminder hasn’t come on.

Mileage-Based Service

Older cars require service intervals based on mileage. There are usually two different maintenance schedules, one for cars driven in ‘normal’ service and another for those used in ‘severe’ operating conditions. The exact definition of severe service varies with the automaker, but it usually involves operating your car like a taxi under one or more of the following conditions:

• Primarily short trips (5 miles or less)
• Extremely hot, cold, or dusty climates
• Sustained stop-and-go driving
• Carrying heavy loads or towing a trailer.

If your vehicle use falls under the severe service definition in your owner’s manual, follow the more rigorous car maintenance schedule. However, if you drive your car under normal conditions, be wary of spending hard-earned money on services your car may not need or benefit from.

A common example of unnecessary car maintenance is changing the engine oil too often. It used to be the norm to recommend an oil change every 3,000 miles. However, with modern lubricants, most newer engines have recommended oil change intervals of 5,000 to 7,500 miles. If your engine requires full-synthetic motor oil, it might go as far as 15,000 miles between services! You can no longer judge engine oil condition by color, so follow the factory maintenance schedule for oil changes … and all your other car service needs. When in doubt or when you do need maintenance and/repairs for your car, please remember Go-Green Auto Service Corp is at your service in Brooklyn with the highest quality services at the greatest prices, and that we’re a complete one-stop shop that fixes everything cars, including bodywork & paint.