“I’ve been warned that the wheel could come off, and as much as I believe them and don’t want this to happen, nothing has ever happened. Is this something to do since there has been no change in symptoms or car performance in a couple years?”
Hmmm…That type of reasoning is the automotive equivalent of a person saying…Well, my doctor tells me that I am likely to get lung cancer or Emphysema if I continue to smoke, but I don’t have either of those diseases yet, so…Why should I stop smoking?.
Do you really want to find out the hard way that an earlier automotive or medical diagnosis/warning/prediction was correct?
And, in case you might think that a wheel coming off is not serious, please bear in mind that catastrophic failures are much more likely to take place while driving on a highway, rather than in a parking lot or in your driveway. For some reason that I can’t fathom, most folks seem to think that their car will break down in a convenient place, at a convenient time, and will not pose a safety problem. Unfortunately, all of that type of reasoning has the potential to be wrong–possibly fatally wrong.
The first thing that you need to do is to take the car to a competent mechanic (note: that means NOT going to Midas, Meineke, Monro, Sears, Pep Boys, Firestone, AAMCO, or another chain), have the car put on a lift and have the entire suspension, steering mechanism, wheel bearings, and CV joints checked.
Are oil changes necessary every 3,000 miles? Not necessarily.
If you are driving only 30 miles per week, you may need to change the oil every 1,000 miles!
Oil changes need to be done on the basis of elapsed time, as well as on the basis of odometer mileage. If you look in your Owner’s Manual, focus on the SEVERE SERVICE maintenance schedule, because a car that is driven only 30 miles per week is being subjected to the worst type of usage imaginable, and this makes the engine very prone to damaging oil sludge. Under the type of conditions to which you subject your car, the oil should be changed ~every 4 months, no matter how few miles you have accumulated in that time period.
That being said, there is much more to automotive maintenance than just oil changes and replacing spark plugs. I strongly suggest that you read the maintenance schedule that is contained in your Owner’s Manual, paying careful attention to what it states regarding how to maintain a car that is subjected to severe service.