How do I handle maintenance on a car with low miles?

July 17, 2016 11:52 PM

My car is a 2012 Mazda 3. See my post when I bought it. So it's four years old but still has less than 24,000 miles on it.

I have a 2012 Mazda 3 with about 23000 miles on it. I just haven't driven that much. I get mail from the local Mazda dealership about how I need my 50,000 mile/4 year service or something more. I had my oil changed and my tires rotated at about 17K. How important are my periodic maintenance appointments? Is time more important or are miles?

posted by bendy to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

You should observe the recommended maintenance intervals, which are usually in terms of "X miles or y months, whichever comes first". Even though the primary warranty is already expired based on time, some systems have a longer warranty, which could be voided if you haven't followed the maintenance schedule. And 17k miles is too long to go without an oil change. Even with synthetic oil, 10k is usually the longest recommended interval. But it's probably wise to change the oil at least once a year with your low mileage accumulation rate.
posted by jkent at 1:41 AM on July 18, 2016

Best answer: I have a 2010 Mazda with about 37,000 miles. My mechanic told me to stop by every 9-12 months or so, even if I hadn't hit the mileage for my next oil change. Back when I lived in Minnesota, I was told to have the oil changed at the start of winter and start of summer every year due to the extreme temperature differences and the types of oil used. I also bring it in every time I'm about to do any lengthy drive (8 hours+ or so).
posted by JannaK at 3:18 AM on July 18, 2016

Best answer: I only drive about 10,000 km a year. I was told by my dealership that to stay under warranty, I need to bring it in for oil changes at least every 6 months if I haven't hit the mileage requirement for an oil change.
posted by barnoley at 5:23 AM on July 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We put less than 7,500 miles a year on our car, and we have for a decade or so. Time is equal to or maybe more important that miles in our case. Since we do a lot of short trips I follow the 'severe maintenance' or shortest possible intervals. Obviously if your brakes and tires are worn, they need attention.

Oil doesn't get heated up on short trips in cold weather, it breaks down faster, so waiting until I hit 6K for an oil change might be hurting my engine. I change it on a time schedule. You might want to get your cooling system flushed and filled after four years even though you might be far from the recommended mileage interval. How about air filters, and cabin air filters? Wipers?
posted by fixedgear at 6:08 AM on July 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

I had my oil changed and my tires rotated at about 17K. Plus your car has nearly 24,000 miles on it? Well, being as Mazda recommend oil changes every 5,000 miles, you're already not servicing your car often enough, and it reads like you're trying to look for confirmation that you can do it even less?

Short answer, nope. Long answer, nope and it will cost you money in the long run. If you are using good quality oil (ie not the basic stuff from Jiffy Lube) you can go 5000 - 7,500 miles between changes, but with the larger temperature changes Portland sees (although not 'severe') I'd suggest changing your oil at minimum every year (Spring or after the dampest season) at best twice a year. If you do shorter journeys, a more aggressive oil change schedule ( so nearer 5,000 miles) is a better bet because in those short journeys, pollutants and moisture that builds up in the engine (like condensation on your windows, kind of) will not be fully burnt off, which can cause long term harm to your engine.

If you really want to do minimum servicing, I'd do the following:
Wear items (brakes, clutches, spark plugs etc) - on mileage.
Corrosion-prone items (timing belts, ancillary belts, tyres, oil changes etc) do on a mileage basis or (time * 1.25) - whichever comes first. So in the case of your 50,000/4 year service mile service, I'd do it at 50,000 miles or 5 years, whichever came first. That way you stretch servicing, but not at risk to your car so much.

In short - you aren't servicing your car enough. It is a long term investment for you, and a large one. Treat it as such and remember that following the service schedule rigidly is the best care for it you can do, but if you want to budget your servicing more (bearing in mind this may have an implication later) you can stretch the servicing a little as suggested above.

HOWEVER. Do not scrimp on oil changes. Those are what affects the long term health of your engine the most by far.
posted by Brockles at 7:30 AM on July 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Oh, I forgot - air filters and cabin filters should be done on time also. You can often do these yourself, to be honest, and will be a significant improvement to your environment (cabin filters are surprisingly good at filtering dust and if clogged will slow down air flow from the vents) and also with engine air filters (usually a clip-in installation) will affect mpg if clogged.

You should already be buying a new set of wipers at the start of each winter anyway. I consider wipers to be very much a safety item and a year is the most they should be on a car for as they deteriorate a surprising amount.
posted by Brockles at 7:33 AM on July 18, 2016

Best answer: I own a 2010 Mazda 3 that was brand new when I got it. Mine has about 150,000km (~93,000 miles) on it. Decent car and has needed very little outside of regular maintenance, brakes, wheel bearings, etc. I did the maintenance and servicing at the dealership only until the vehicle was out of warranty. Now I'm free to shop around and do things on my own schedule.

My dad is also a low mileage kind of guy. Spends a few months of the year down south and is more or less semi-retired. A few years ago he had the engine blow in a leased Subaru Tribeca with only 60,000km on it. He had a recent oil change but because he didn't maintain the regular maintenance schedule Subaru had set out, they refused to honour the warranty on the engine, which we soon discovered was well within their rights to do. So my father ended up with a $7,000 bill to replace the engine on a vehicle he was returning only a few short months later. It was a very expensive lesson in understanding your vehicle warranty.

Get your oil changes and regular servicing. For something that may only cost a few hundred dollars a year, it will save you BIG TIME should something go wrong with your vehicle as a result of irregular maintenance.
posted by futureisunwritten at 7:53 AM on July 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I owned a 2001.5 VW Passat that I drove new off the lot with 89 miles on the odometer, and drove very little -- a big year for me was 7k miles, and 3k was not atypical. In fact, when the first battery died of old age, I had it replaced by a deep cycle battery to prevent it from dying when I went months without driving. I got the maintenance done on the basis of time, not mileage, and it was still in nearly perfect condition (dammit, whoever backed into me and knocked out the logo on the front grille with a truck hitch) when I left the country and gave it to a friend in 2014. Plus, if you're irregular at driving, it's just so much easier to only think about time. Who cares if it's only 2000 miles, it's July! Time to hit Jiffy Lube!
posted by sldownard at 11:07 AM on July 18, 2016

Best answer: Another Mazda owner who doesn't drive a lot here (we have a 2015 3 and a 1994 Protege, both bought new). At approx 13,000 and 176,000 miles respectively. We do services on time, not distance. Have had Protege's oil changed about every 4 months for most of its life. The 3 goes in on the severe schedule of 5000mi/6 months because we short-trip a lot. The milage on the 3 is unusually high because it was used to commute 120 miles a day for several months, but that is not typical of our usage.
posted by monopas at 1:46 PM on July 18, 2016

Response by poster: FWIW, I have had the oil changed at least every 4000 miles or so, it's just that the last change was at 17K - I'd never go 17K without an oil change! That said, it's definitely overdue for one now.
posted by bendy at 2:36 PM on July 18, 2016