Another dumb car maintenance question
 

How do I follow the recommended required maintenance if my mileage is way lower than average? By mileage or by time?

I.e., my car is 7 1/2 years old (90) months) old, but I only have 45,000 miles on it.

If you are a stickler for following the rules, it's whichever comes first.

thank you

I'd go by time in your case, but there are plenty of people here that know a lot more about cars than I do.

Under the hood, for the steel parts it isn't the years, it's the mileage. Rubber parts like belts and boots and hoses may deteriorate a little more, so look at them more carefully.

45K miles, heck, your original tires should still have some tread life left. Do the penny check on any tread groove that seems really pretty darn shallow.

Check your service manual, Cloud.

It will tell you the recommended time lapse between services, as well as the mileage.

My vehicle gets serviced every 3 months due to my mileage, I wish I was in your shoes :)

I have checked the service manual, and do try to follow the recommended service schedule, but the disparity between the months and mileage is confusing me.

@ UG: Gee, I've replaced my tires from the original set twice already. I do think that my driving qualifies for severe conditions, because of the heat and dust here, and because of frequent short trips.

But it sure has been a good little car. Not very stylin, perhaps, but even after it was repaired from an accident (Hallo Santa fe!) it bounced back perfectly.

you should change your oil every 3 months, cloud. short trips, dust, high heat all wear a motor. hoses and belt lives will be shorter too. have them checked every other oil change with a tire rotation. what kind of a car is it again?

Honda civic. I'm way past due for an oil change, too, and need to take it in, so I was trying to figure out what else to ask them to do.

Just tell them how much money you have, they'll know what to do.

er . . . thanks. I think.

Change the oil. Best also use a Honda filter.

Have all fluids checked (coolant, brake, transmission, windshield washer). Check tire pressure. Inspect brakes. Check wiper blades (which need replacement every three months if no using Honda blades and will probably last years is using Honda blades). Check battery. Check belts. If in dusty environment, check air filter.

If most driving is short distance (less than 4 miles in the entire day), then the exhaust system might be checked. Otherwise that should be good for at least 70,000 miles.

Very little actual maintenance is required. All checks are for failures that should not exist or that were created by some previous irresponsible mechanic. Standard technology cars require so little maintenance.

A US law. If some part fails and causes emission failures in the first 100,000 miles, then the automaker must replace that part for free.

thanks!

But that will make her headlights slanty.

I thought it's 8 years/80,00 miles, now?

Hmm. Unless you're bucketing over rocky roads each time you turn the key, eating tires like that, I'd be suspicious of your wheel alignment. You probably know the uneven/localized-wear signs of misaligned wheels; the eventual overall effect is it planes off the entire tread, after quite obviously starting on one edge or the other. If you have to steer to keep the car following the road, constantly having to hold it left or right, check alignment. Well aligned wheels also roll quieter on pavement.

There is no wheel alignment on engineered designed cars. Whereas cars designed by bean counters still have adjusters that must be corrected every year, the engineer designed car has no such adjusters - no need for annual wheel alignment. This has been common knowledge for over 25 years and has been posted previously.

UG may be confusing wheel alignment with wheel balancing. If the wheel throws a weight, then that wheel will vibrate at higher speeds.

Be very fearful of any car that winks at you.

what about from the accident? The alignment could have been affected from that. Obviously, one would assume that was taken care of, but three sets of tires in 70,000 miles is a little much.

I have a car that only weighs 1900 pounds. It's gone through two sets of tires in 44,000 miles (meaning almost no tread left on the front tires).

If alignment is off due to bent metal, then a solution is not to align to bent metal. The solution is to straighten or replace that bent metal.

No reason for any car to do less than 50,000 on a set of tires. For example, my first two Accords did 107,000 and 98,000 on the first tires. Two sets of tires in 44,000 implies a defect.

Same driver who got 107,000 on an Accord could never get more than 40,000 miles (per four tires) on a Chevy. But then the Chevy was designed poorly. Those three sets of radial tires were not the reason for poor tire life.

I understand what you're saying,tw. I've had the alignment checked, and it's within specification. The question that wasn't asked is: What kind of driving have the tires been exposed to?

Hit the happy medium, Cloud. Like they say some stuff deteriorates with time, other stuff with mileage, but rather unsuprisingly, the manufacturer's recommendations are a little service-happy. (IMeuropeanO) ;)

I would go when you hit the halfway point (timewise) between time and when you envisage you will hit the average mileage for the current age. Or you could go with if you do half the average mileage, get a service when you done 1.5 times the recommended mileage for the next service. Of course these happy mediums requires a little math juggling, but you're smart. What "should" you have on the clock now? 84Kish?

Clearly something is wrong if two tire sets only get 44,000 miles. Type of driving, two foot driving (one always suspended on the brake pedal), parking brake always on, etc. Something has caused unacceptable tire wear.

I think I've replaced half a set, twice. Probably extra wear and tear because of hot conditions, and because I don't keep them properly inflated. I've had flats on the sidewalls, and they keep telling me I can't just replace one, I need to replace both, either the front, or the back, at once.

I do NOT 2-foot drive!

That should have resulted in a full size spare tire; replacing the 'donut' spare tire.

Depends on how worn the other (undamaged) tire is. If the undamaged tire has good tread, then little reason to replace it.

Full sized spare does not fit in the space available in my "poorly designed" vehicle. hmm...

Also re: tire wear - there are tires now that are designed to last for only 40,000 miles.

Do you drive up and down a mountain on dirt roads every day? That could be a contributor.

I drive up and down a mountain on very curvy roads every day. The dirt road is only about an eighth of a mile.

Look at the cars in the Indy and Daytona races. They can't even get 500 miles out of a set of tires.

so, I took car to get worked on today; oil change, state inspection, check all around; and guess what?

They said I need 4 new tires!

They said that all my treads are worn to 4/32". And that one tire has a bald spot, seeming to indicate "I'm putting my brakes on too hard." I told them I'd think about it. What do you think?

Do you own a penny?

Bald spot = tire gone. Getting out of balance too. Don't try and push it, particularly if you expect rain. The tread pattern is there to help keep your car from hydroplaning; it gives water on the road someplace to go as your tires pass over it. If you hydroplane, you have no directional control. You're a hockey puck until your speed drops enough for the water under your tires to escape again and let your rubber touch the road.

Fortunately, not much rain in my part of the country. I'm going to do my research, locate a good tire I want, and buy 4 new. fuck it.

Don't dally, I heard tires are going to jump 35% soon.

good to know

My turn.

Why is the check engine light on and what can I do to correct the situation?

I'll preemptively ignore all the black tape and pull the plug suggestions; just trying to save you some time. :)

TIA.

Open the hood and see if the engine is still there.

In some cars the check engine light comes on at specific mileage intervals.

It takes 8 gallons of oil to make a tire. Or the human head weighs 8 pounds. Something about 8...

Check!

The most common reason for the check engine light to come on is that the gas cap isn't tightened all the way. But that's not necessarily why yours is on. The only way to know why the light is on is to take it in and have them hook it up to the computer. That alone will cost $70 in many places. I see ads for the code readers in places like Harbor Freight Tools, but I think you still need to be able to look up the codes after you read them.

*sigh*

Yeah. I know. I have two diagnostic readers, for cars we no longer own. I don't have one for the Discovery (yet). I know how they work, I know what they can reveal. I also know that a low urgency warning like this (compared to the 710 light or the temp gauge) probably means that some sensor has failed to check in within the expected tolerances.

Which sensor? Who knows. It recently passed the emissions test. I checked the fluids, which needed topping off, but were not in the danger zone. I'm just weary that something else needs fixing. And this something is important, since it's our wheels to work.

As for looking up the codes after I read them, I expect either the manual with the reader, or the factory shop manual (2 inches thick, ~$75) or the intarwebz will provide that tidbit. Then, after all that, I'll need to get the widget and install it. Or them. Or, break my second best screwdriver prying out the old one, smash my knuckles, cuss and smack my head and cuss some more. Then get another specialized tool, hope I haven't marred the socket for the thingy, install it at last, and find out the light remains illuminated.

Then take my box of parts, and my bruised vehicle down to the local Land Rover mechanic (to whom I still owe money), leaving behind the scorched and smoking ruins of my mechanical pride and throw myself on the mercy of the garage. "Yeah, I need it by Monday. No, I don't have any more hundred dollar bills, why? Yes, I know where the bus stop is." I'm not looking forward to that conversation.

Bitter much? Not really. I'm just not recharged after my recent doubleheader with the fridge and the dryer. Shit, the washer was supposed to be next anyway.

Well I'll be dipped.

Free Diagnostic checks at Auto Zone

is this meant to be a dig at me because I asked for help?

you big meanie!

If you car didn't just pass 30,000 or 60,000 or whatever miles as HLJ was saying, You can access the "on-board computer" yourself. All you need is a regular screwdriver and you can get the code. It will be a series of short and long flashes like morse code. If you have the Haynes manual for the car it explains what the code is and means. Actually, that info is probably online now too - I'm just too lazy to look it up. I've did it a lot with my previous car. Saved a lot of money when it turned out to be something really simple to fix.

In my Honda, the light came on at 30,000 miles, and it's coming on now at 45,000 miles. It begins with just a few seconds of flashing when the car is started, then stays on longer as the mileage approaches the landmark.

Good grief. What are you talking about? Are you seriously asking if I'm :stickpoke you because you asked for help? Ok, straight question, straight answer: no.

Big meanie indeed. Quotha!*






* Look it up.

Well then, I apologize. It seemed like it might have been a facetious question.

No, sorry. I was referencing the topic of the thread. You posted the thread, it had exactly the reference I was looking for so I quoted it, crediting you. There was nothing at all facetious about my post. Credit where credit is due. I asked my own dumb car maintenance question.

Indeed, with the help of the others here, including you for creating the helpful place to post my question, I believe I'm well on my way to fixing this problem. I benefitted from a bit of conversation about the light and the code reader, etc etc. Now I have an appt with the clerk at Auto Zone after work. They still provide this service, no doubt hoping to sell the part indicated as defective, while I'm there in the parking lot. I would be happy to give them the business and solve the problem.

My immediate concern was how to interpret the inscrutable light. Now I have a plan. No jab at you Cloud, really. Ok?

see apology above. Glad other people have dumb car questions!

Or PM me. :cool:

Apology accepted.


It was never needed, but I accept it nonetheless.

It's good to have a spare or two sometimes.

like money in the bank.

okay, well--not really.

but, still!

How come everyone else's check engine light is always some false alarm? Every time mine comes on, the car is dead within a few days if I haven't already taken it in because of shuddering or other obvious accompanying symptoms. I'd like a false alarm once in awhile.

it's not a false alarm. It usually means something in the emissions equipment is bad. Mine came on once for a vacuum leak. Some cars allow you to input a code via the ignition and the light will give up the code(s) by flashing. Online, Google OBD II diagnostic codes and you'll find the meaning, although it may or may not tell you what you need to know.

Primary culprits are gas caps, O2 sensors and vacuum leaks. Usually. The free diagnosis is a good thing, let them tell you the faults and if you can make sense of them, fix away. If not, I took mine to a mechanic friend in Cherry Hill (plug plug) at John's Car Care.

So is this a forum for useless griping - or where the diagnostic code number results in useful replies; ie a list of potential suspects? Those diagnostic codes always report a failure. Even when the car still starts, the diagnostic code still reports a failure. When the mechanic says nothing is wrong, find a mechanic that knows how that car works. What is the code number?

thanks for the tailpost there T-dub. We already covered that, but as your sig says- - - "tw Read? I only know how to write." Truer words were never spoken.

And the question was answered where? Oh. Another post from classicman that did not answer the question.

What were the diagnostic codes?

I gave the same advice or direction to assess the issue, not the answer. That, of course, can only be derived from the source - the vehicles on-board computer.

we have a forum for useless groping? (looks around) well? where is it? (heads on over)

Isn't all groping useful, at least in some small way?