Owner’s manuals specify work based on mileage AND time. We are low mileage drivers. Our '07 Murano has finally reached 30K miles, but it has also been our auto for 4 years. The 30K service does not require coolant change; the 4 year service list of work DOES specify coolant replacement. How do I know what is really needed for my auto without creating a bigger rerpair bill than necessary? The same issue is true for an '07 Frontier p.u. and an '08 Subaru Impreza cars we have.
"Owner’s manuals specify work based on mileage AND time. "
There’s your answer.
Every maintenance schedule that I have ever seen states “XX,XXX miles or XX months, whichever comes first”.
To me, that seems to be a very clear statement of when to perform specific maintenance.
Have you actually read those maintenance schedules?
If you had only driven 100 miles in four years, your coolant (and quite a few other things) would still need to be changed now. Your owner’s manual is very clear about this. You just don’t want to believe it.
Similar to the milk in your fridge, some fluids and systems are in fact TIME sensative in your car.
My 1979 Chevy pickup has a grand total of merely 71,000 miles on it !
When do I change my oil, anti freeze, trans fluid ?
By mileage ?
What mileage ? I went to Home Depot with it only once this year.
By TIME !
No matter how many or how few miles or months you do which ever comes first.
There is one exception to that rule. If you have an automatic transmission and the owner’s manual does not specify when you should service it, then replace (drain and refill) and clean the filter no less than once every 30,000 miles or three years.
BTY it is not too late to read your owner’s manual. You might be very surprised at what is in there.