Throughout the years owning cars, whenever I do my cars' maintenance at the workshops, I think 9 out of 10 workshops would advise me, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Recently, my car's mileage has reached 150k km, checked with the mechanic the cost to replace water pump, fuel pump, engine mounting, motor and etc. Both mechanics told me the same thing.

I tried to search, but none give me a very satisfied answers on what mileage to change which part as part of the preventive measures. I have checked car manual, it doesn't mention clearly at which mileage which parts to be changed. Understood that a lot of parts are relying on our driving skills and style. I am not considered myself as a car man, but last I changed all my stock tyres clocked at 90k km! (Which these stock tyres have no problem stretch to over 100k km as the indicators show still safe).

We all know that wear and tear thing can't be avoided. The purpose that I carry out preventive maintenance is to avoid car break down out of sudden and maintain good driving pleasure (imagine a leaking cooling coil will cause the journey inside car cabin so stuffy) and tip top condition close to new car if possible.

I would like to list down few common fluids/ items to be changed (advisable):

Fluid:
Engine oil 5k to 10k
Oil filter 5k to 10k
ATF oil 30k
Break fluid (50k?)
Coolant (40-80k)
Air-con coolant (80k?)

Wear and tear:
Battery, Amaron (have it checked annually or show signs of low power, 2-3 years should be)
Air filter (used at own's risk, K&N, slightly dirtier throttle)
Cabin filter (50k?)
Spark plugs (Mine 100k)
Engine mounting (100k?)
Engine hoses (?)
Radiator hoses (?)
Tyre (~80-90k for me, light footed)
Break pad (~120k km for me, don't use break so much, some 20-30k don't know how)
Break disc/ break drum (every 30-50k?)
Engine timing chain/ belt (?)
Air-con belt (?)

Parts:
Shock absorber (Around 120k)
Radiator Fan Motor (Around 150k?)
Air con compressor (?)
Air con cooling coil (150k)
Water pump (150k?)
Fuel pump (150k?)
Alternator (150-200k?)
Starter (?)
Light bulbs (periodically checking, ~70-80k)
CV joints


Periodically
Overhaul (?)
Fuel tank (?)

Understand that it all comes down to driving habits, conditions and fluids/parts used. I always opt for close to original parts (OEM, seldom able to get "genuine original" parts).

This post has been edited by gold member: Oct 16 2017, 01:09 AM

what car u using?
doubt your tyre can last 90k. care to enlighten what tyres were they and what size?

Ultimately, it depends on how much you want to fork out for such "preventative" measurement and how long you want to keep your car.

With the best scenario, I would say

Fluid:
Engine oil 5k to 10k
Oil filter 5k to 10k
ATF oil 30k
Break fluid (50k?) 60k to 80k
Coolant (40-80k) 100k to 120k
Air-con coolant (80k?) Should be refrigerant and compressor oil, 80k to 100k

Wear and tear:
Battery, Amaron (have it checked annually or show signs of low power, 2-3 years should be)
Air filter (used at own's risk, K&N, slightly dirtier throttle) wash and re-oil every 20k
Cabin filter (50k?)
Spark plugs (Mine 100k)
Engine mounting (100k?) 5 years or 200k*
Engine hoses (?) 5 years or 200k*
Radiator hoses (?) 5 years or 200k*
Tyre (~80-90k for me, light footed) 2 years
Break pad (~120k km for me, don't use break so much, some 20-30k don't know how)
Break disc/ break drum (every 30-50k?) 5 years or 200k
Engine timing chain/ belt (?) belt last 80k to 100k, chain last 5 years or 200k*
Air-con belt (?) 80k to 100k

Parts:
Shock absorber (Around 120k) 5 years or 200k*
Radiator Fan Motor (Around 150k?) 5 years or 200k*
Air con compressor (?) 5 years or 200k*
Air con cooling coil (150k) 5 years or 200k*
Water pump (150k?) 80k to 100k
Fuel pump (150k?) every 5 years or 200k*
Alternator (150-200k?) 5 years or 200k*
Starter (?) 5 years or 200k*
Light bulbs (periodically checking, ~70-80k)
CV joints lubricate every time you do a oil change
Periodically
Overhaul (?) 10 years*
Fuel tank (?) 10 years*

anything with a * is my opinion

This post has been edited by JunJun04035: Oct 16 2017, 06:07 AM

For the parts that I can examine with my own eyes, I will do preventive maintenance based on the condition of the particular part. (air filter, brake pads, tyres)

For the parts that cannot be checked, I will do preventive maintenance based on my own instincts and butt feel. (suspension, engine mount, belts)

Bro, thanks, quite close to reality and with what I have in my mind. And some terms use for car fluids etc.

For Bros who inquired tyre and brake. Well, I would say I am a light footed, anticipate my moves, try not to rush if possible. Example, I do see some drivers who drive fast for a distance when they saw it's red light, maybe want to Queue in front of traffic light. Also, some drivers driving with brake light "on" which makes me wonder do they driving automatic gear car with both feet? Similar with this driving habit, I practice brake slowly (I make my own evaluation that slow braking is better than harsh braking (stimulate the mechanism, e.g.: brake pads & disc, springs, overall integrity etc.) And averagely travelling more highway than city (less stop-start).

This post has been edited by gold member: Oct 17 2017, 04:15 AM

technically you already have your answer in the first post.

i would like to talk more about the brake issue. i also think it is a little bit abnormal to change your rotor more than your pads.

i have to disagree with the slow braking part, i myself i a calm driver, but i cannot stand people who are cruising too slowly on a multiple lane straight road between lights (i mean c'mon la, at least a sane person speed and not 20-30kmh, dont hog up those people behind you). usually i dont drag the brakes for too long as it will glaze the surface of the brake and the rotor and make the brakes less efficient over time.

do you ever feel that the brake bite harder every time after you bedded in a new brake pads? over time, holding on to brakes after you come to a stop from high speed with burn and glaze the surface between the pad and rotor, that's why brake feels spongier over time. the longer you drag the brake will build up more heat as well as compared to short spurt of harder brakes with time in between for the heat to escape.

For the lifespan of fluid and spare parts, it's just my own estimation, gathering information from various sources and experiences throughout the years. Just want to know what guys here have to say about this topic. I will have to refine my maintenance list and check with my car SC. Understand that this list is different from model to model.

Bro, thanks for the advice. Talking about rotor and pads, actually I changed brake pads close to 120k (which I think can be stretched to another 10-20k. No sound heard from the brake system yet but that at time need to ferry some important guests, for safety concern, have to change). As for rotor, it was skimmed once when I visited my friends' shop at around 70k km mileage but I believe it is unnecessary to be skimmed at that time, just to support my friend's business. The rotor until now, still fine at 150k km and still going strong. I believe I do car wash regularly (wash off the sands and dirt) and seldom experience sudden temperature change which make the rotor last more that 150k km and other factors that will cause the deformation on the rotors.

Talking about braking. It is a huge topic. I would like to make it short: first scenario, when I drive pass traffic light at usual route, my acceleration will depend on the distance and the traffic. I have seen car that drive fast but waiting in front of the next traffic light. There is no point to accelerate when making turns, or when I know the traffic light is going to turn red. No need to accelerate when the next visible traffic light is in red or in green (which going to turn to red soon). Nowadays a lot of traffic lights in Malaysia using sensors, which means the timer will start the timing when a vehicle hit the "line". Other thing is to understand the correlation between the RPM, speed, acceleration and fuel consumption. This is a huge topic, again to cut it short, There is no way to beat the law of Physics. Having say that, it is not saying that I hog the road with slow pick-up nor causing traffic to slow down. In fact, I watch out for the traffic and once clear acceleration and deacceleration zones, I do drive at normal speed (normally observing the set driving speed). I do give way most of the time when it allowed. This also involves with route planning and I normally select route with less traffic. Another interesting point to note is that, for a group of vehicles (I noticed quite often) to travel from point A to point B. Unless there is one car which is exceptionally fast, if not, these vehicles normally arrive at point B about at the same time. The differences in in minutes depends on the distance. Therefore I rather "waste" the extra minutes in more pleasant driving experience and peace of mind. Just my two cents.

This post has been edited by gold member: Oct 20 2017, 04:09 AM