Hi,
I have a 1998 toyota corolla and I haven’t been driving it very much - the last several years I’ve been driving under 5,000 miles a year. The car only has 82,500 miles on it even though it’s slightly over 12 years old (144 months). My schedueled maintenance book says the 82,500 mile maintenance should be done at 72 months. I’ve been having maintenance done according to the mileage not the number of months (but with oil changes twice a year and a “multi-point” inpection once a year regardless of mileage).
About half a year ago, I spoke to a technician at the car dealer and I asked him what to do about the maintenance schedule. He said that all those things they do during the schedueled maintenance depend on mileage and not age of the car so it’s okay to go by mileage regardless of the age of the car.
My question is - is this correct? Is it okay for the car - to do the schedueled maintenance according to the mileage and ignore the age of the car or should I have a more comprehensive maintenance done?
It’s a great car and I’d like to keep it running as long as possible because I don’t have a lot of money for a new car but that financial aspect is also why I have been doing the maintenance according to mileage and not age.
Thanks
Follow the letter of the age aspect of the maintenance schedule only if the car is under warranty. Which I doubt. I have a 1987 Corolla FX-16 that still feels like a new car. I change the fluids when I am supposed to according to mileage. It’s still going.
Well, Toyota didn’t just make up the time-based maintenance schedule for no reason.
I’ll generally agree that you can get away with stretching things a little more with the time-based schedule. The two things you should be sure to do on time are the oil changes (sounds like you are) and the timing belt (broken timing belt=wrecked engine). If it’s an automatic, consider changing the transmission fluid at least a couple times a decade. Doing the coolant flushes approximately on time would also be a good idea.
Read the manual. It is time or mileage whichever comes first.
Many auto parts and fluids suffer wear from use (mileage) AND they suffer damage from age. If you follow the chart in the owner’s manual, you will be fine.
Note: the manual likely will also have a different schedule for severe service. Many of us fit that description and need to follow the more aggressive maintenance schedule for those conditions.
I spoke to a technician at the car dealer and I asked him what to do about the maintenance schedule. He said that all those things they do during the schedueled maintenance depend on mileage and not age of the car
Which means at least one technician has no idea what he is talking about and you should find somewhere new for any kind of service. That kind of comment is what we expect from a quick oil change outfit. Find a better dealer or better yet a good independent mechanic.
About half a year ago, I spoke to a technician at the car dealer and I asked him what to do about the maintenance schedule. He said that all those things they do during the schedueled maintenance depend on mileage and not age of the car so it’s okay to go by mileage regardless of the age of the car.
It depends. Some things tend to be proportional to mileage. There’s also some assumption of daily usage involved that makes a miles or time conversion.
For example, if a car was only driven on weekends many things could still be done by mileage. Some things could not. I’d still be changing out the coolant at the mileage/time interval. Oil and trans service, tune up…air filter …tire rotation… could probably be done over miles. Belts and hoses are iffy, but that’s an “inspect” thing anyway.