Hi all
Long story short, bought a Subaru a year ago but driven very little KMs on it.
Service interval is supposed to be 12,500km or 6 months.
I havent reached the KM milestone for servicing, should I service it at 12 months or can I leave it until I actually hit 12500? (im currently at about half of that)
Upon reading some of Subaru's warranty manuals, the general consensus is if it's 12,500km or 6 months. You should service 12,500km or +3,600km max or 6 months +90days.
If not serviced within the extra constraints you'll move to the next service level which would be at 25,000km or 12 months.
So by you leaving it longer, it would be considered skipping the first service.
Under Warranty exclusions were "A failure to have the vehicle serviced in strict accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and recommendations"
Just service it, next service would be another 12,500km or 6 months too
I’m pretty sure it’s 12,500 km or 6 months whichever comes first.
P/s nvm beaten, jeez zonra, refresh the bloody page first!
I can understand the principle of moving parts and fluids needing to be replaced based on usage - ie kms.
I don't really understand the idea of basing replacement of the same things based on time.
Why would an oil filter need to be replaced if the car had just been sitting in a garage, or spark plugs or similar items?
I think it's just another way to get you into the dealership so they can sell you some stuff.
The classic 5000km oil changes I feel are unnecessary with full synthetic oils these days. I'm pretty sure they can easily be stretched to 12,500km but of course the more car dealerships can get you in, the more they can sell you things
More studies are showing that newer Full Synthetic oils are capable of providing good lubricating qualities at 20,000km.
I'm happy to be corrected on this by someone that's done oil analysts or mechanics
Maybe just take some engine oil, place it in a pot and heat it up for 15 mins a day, every day for 6 months. This should be the condition your car's engine oil would be in if you did 15 mins of driving (probably less) a day, which would not make the km requirement of the service interval.
Then compare it with new oil.
Would be interesting to see the results.
Or maybe even just exposed to air. If the degradation is as bad as they say…
TBH once the warranty is over I change my own oil and only bring it in for mechanics service every 4 service intervals or something.
The engine oil picks so soot and other debris as it circulates. I was told that if the car is idle for long periods these particles tend to settle and coat the walls of the oil channels reducing the effectiveness of the oil circulation. I'm not a mechanic so I don't know how true this is. Subaru's use engines with horizontal cylinders (boxers) so they supposedly suffer more from this issue, hence the more frequent oil changes.
I will note that my 2017 Subaru has a 12 month maximum service interval, not six like the previous models.
I service my Subaru on KM's only. Sometimes it can get to 12 months before I reach the KM's but I feel like the time is just a sales tactic and I go to an independent mechanic anyway.
I hope it's outside warranty.
Manufacturer won't honour warranty and ACCC can't force them to if you haven't maintained it as per their conditions.
and Subaru were one of the worst for it.
The argument comes and goes I think as time goes by there will be a shift to hours based running for servicing cars,
Especially as k's aren't a true indicator of how much the car has been used just distance travelled i.e. cars that spend their life going nowhere fast doing 30k's in 3 hours of peak hour traffic
It's something we are looking into heavily on some of the Large turbines we use where the manufacturer has stated 4000 hour service effectively 6 months but the calculation is done manually by days not hours used yes some things need doing at regular intervals but until we can actively track those components on use accurately we can't afford to deviate.
So till then i'm sticking with the whatever comes first at least for a new car. If t wasn't a high yield investment perhaps let it slide a touch out of of warranty
Some car dealers don't do themselves any favours like trying to charge OEM windscreen wipers for $190.00 but it's simple enough buy them elsewhere.
Sometimes it can get to 12 months before I reach the KM's but I feel like the time is just a sales tactic
Not all tasks are necessarily driven by mileage. They are lumped together with tasks driven by calendar time for convenience/simplicity, otherwise you'll end up taking the car in for servicing more often.
It depends on how you drive it. I don't drive my car much and only do "longer" trips (25km+) so I go by km, but if you frequently do short trips <5km then this can lead to higher wear than you'd expect from the same amount of km when the car has had a chance to warm up properly. Likewise, service more frequently if you drive the car hard.
Wow. Can't believe there's still a car manufacturer that has 6 month service intervals
Subaru has been pretty inconsistent with it lately.
2017 XV 12,500 or 6 months followed by another 12,500 or 6 months.
2018 XV 12,500 or 12 months.
So essentially in that first year the 2017 XV would've gone in twice compared to the newer model.
Scam? Most likely
XV MY17 and XV MY18 may look very similar but they are totally different cars on the inside.
Service interval change reflects the total rehaul of the car, started with the Imprezza and now the XV. The Forester will be next.
Big reason why we didn’t buy a Subaru (despite my all time car crush on them/the wrx from the 90s) lol
The main reason for the interval is the degradation of the oil. Friction and heat cycling as well as combustion contamination means the oil loses its inherent properties that allow it to do its job properly.
It doesn't hurt to go a little past the interval, and like they say, oils aint oils - you can get some oils that exceed the specs and will last a lot longer than others, but for a lay person or non mechanically-minded you are best to follow the service book recommendations, especially if you are in warranty period and want to retain those benefits.
Other users have summed it up pretty well on here so far. If it is still under warranty, do what they tell you. If something does go wrong, they will look at everything and any possibility to get out of doing to job under warranty.
If it is not covered by warranty, 6mth service intervals are just a money spinner for the dealers. If you lived in harsh climate extremes like high humidity or really cold snow type winter's, yeah, sure. Condensation can accumulate and affect oil quality.
Same goes for extreme driving conditions. If you're doing track days every weekend or always out bush bashing or in dusty environments, then get it serviced more regularly. Same if you use your vehicle for something like courier/taxi work
But, if you live in a relatively normal climate area and you don't beat your car up, go via km. If you hardly drive it each year, then give it a service at least once a year. 6 month service intervals is just way to frequent unless you are doing lots of km/year or pushing your car to it's limits.
Yep I just do supermarket,Train station,School pickup/drop and visiting friends once a month.My car was 3 years old and had 90 k kms when i bought it.In the next 10 years i have only travelled 60 k kms i.e 6000 kms per year.
Dont see the point of servicing every 6 months.
I just service it every 12 months.
Yeah - good call
Thanks mate, I came here and immediately looked for your comment!
Service interval is supposed to be 12,500km or 6 months.
And the question is? You service it after 12,500kms OR 6 months.
Have you travelled 12,500kms since the last service? If so you need to service it.
OR
Has it been 6 months since the last service? If so, you need to service it.
Is the car under warranty still? If so, then you need to follow this schedule. If not, you can get away with doing it every 12 months.
I think the question OP intended to ask was - what is the rationale for servicing based on time? The suggested service intervals are already written in the book, quite literally.
Of course mechanics and manufacturers would advocate time and distance, whichever one due first. It increases the frequency the car is serviced hence increases income.
Used to be, most cars would be on a 6 month cycle because engine oil was not synthetic. It breaks down from the moment it is bottled, and further picking up speed of deteoration as the oil is introduced to heat and contaminants.
Today, many cars use fully synthetic oils. They practically last forever if stored correctly. Filters do not break down quickly either.
There are still many organic compounds in the many fluids the car requires, ie coolant. There is still a time based service schedule requirement but these tend to be years apart.
Your case in specific, I'd do the service asap. The first service oil change usually reveals a lot (relative) of manufacturing debris in the filter.
For older cheap car drivers, it pays to look at the dip stick every now and then to aid in your assessment. If you burn or leak a little oil, it can add up to trouble over time that is avoided with regular servicing, but can cause issues if you leave it too long (as you will be tempted to when you are driving old, cheap cars).
Hahah… I always say this… the time between services is inversely proportional to the age and the value of the car.
in addition to the ability of the driver/owner to be able to assess their own mechanical noises/wierd things to determine when something is wrong.
The timed interval has logic in that if you have not covered the specified distance, it's assumed that you're still using the car regularly for short trips and therefore running a high number of cold starts per Km
It's the cold starts that introduce the most wear and the most oil contamination.
In an ideal world, the service interval would be based on hours of use with Cold Starts adding x hours to the counter.
Thats how most of these oil life monitors work. Plus they add in things such as load, rpm, time spent at idle etc.
Most of the newer engines take much more oil these days and the oil itself is of better quality, so servicing intervals are extended. If you go a little past the manufacturers recommendations it won't be too bad, but how cheap really is an oil change, especially if you do it yourself?
Dropping the oil and changing the filter isn't hard and its required learning for all my kids when they are of age. Repco and supercheap have a sale on at least every 6 months so time your changes with that! Learning a skill is always a good thing in life.
On a tangent, I'm sure everyone has a story about a mate that has an Excel that has done 150,000ks or so on the original oil and filter, just topping it up as required. Those motors are the exception to the rule!
no stamping service booklet = void warranty ?
Ok I'll add the disclaimer: only do this once the warranty runs out if you are so inclined.
All my cars have been second hand so I've never bothered with taking it to a dealer to do logbook servicing, I look up whats needed and do it all myself.
Never had a problem with any of my cars, plus I personally know the service history and what exactly was done, and IF it was done. I trust my own work more than a dealers.
Plus I keep the receipts and everything for all parts that I've used, so when I sell the car I can produce evidence the car has been serviced and when. Never had a problem doing it that way either when selling.
Service book stamps mean nothing to me. A friend told me that he knows a guy in a service centre that stamps his mates service books for them. They do their own service (maybe), and he stamps their books. If they have an itemised receipt of the service I would trust that far more than just a logbook stamp.
so when I sell the car I can produce evidence the car has been serviced and when. Never had a problem doing it that way either when selling.
also the fact that you are selling an already out of warranty car indicates it is of an age where the service history is of less concern than the overall condition of the car.
While the service history of the vehicle is a factor in a purchase, is is not the most significant factor in old cars. More often than not it is the appearance, a short test drive to listen for noises and the price.
If I had a car I would only be driving it once per week. Public transport is cheaper for commuting journeys to/from work in the city so I would always get the train.
So…every 6 months would only be after every 52 journeys. I just can't see any value in servicing it so often.
The last time I had a car I serviced it every 2.5 years…after 260 journeys which in my opinion is similar to servicing it every 6 months when driven daily to/from work.
If you want to maintain your vehicle properly, follow the book limits, as 'whichever comes first' has good reasons behind it. These numbers are also the maximum kilometer and times limits, as harsh usage requires more frequent attention. Read you book to understand 'harsh usage'.
There are many expensive items that will deteriorate regardless if you drive a kilometer or not.
Manufacturers spend zillions on dollars on getting the servicing ratios to reliability to repairs and warranty claims with their reputation all mixed in to give you the most economical solution to your question.
Everything has a shelf life, and cars are more so. As stated above, along with cold starts being the true engine/oil killer, sitting for extended not moving is the next.
So unless you are the technician doing the maintenance on the vehicle, and you can afford premature failures of various components when you finally do a few k's, get is services as per makers specs. Or are you one of the lucky ones?
I've always warmed my car up in the morning or when I drive it for the first time of the day. Apparently this is wrong and cars without carburetors apparently only need to warm up for approx 30 seconds. I'm a bit confused as I always believed that a cold start is an engine killer, however the internet says otherwise.
It takes 30s for my gate to open so unless I want to drive from the parking to the gate, shut the engine off, and turn it back on in 30s, my car gets a 30s warmup anyway
Your gate is probably suffering from a contaminated motor from all the cold starts.
Most modern cars have alloy heads and blocks. Alloy parts heat up quicker than the older cast iron style blocks. Manufacturing has gotten a lot better with better tolerance and engine oils have also improved a great deal.
For example, my car is at operating temperature by the end of my street, about 500m away.
While yes, wear is greatest while the engine is cold, provided that you don't go pedal to the metal out of the driveway and keep the car relaxed until it comes up to temp, you should be ok.
The other issue that I see people doing is, the car has barely started and they are already slamming it into gear. The problem here is that in an auto car, the oil has not had a chance to get all the way round the gear box for it to function. My solution to this is, get in, start the car and then put your seat belt on. That 10 or so seconds is enough to give the gearbox time to come up to operating pressure.
TL;DR: Don't thrash your car when it's cold. You don't need to idle it up to temp before you drive it. Don't slam it into gear as soon as the engine fires. Give it a good 10 seconds at least to get the oil circulating in both the engine and gearbox before you load either up and drive…
Fek. I've been reversing out of my driveway "Riccardo style". I've always imagined checkered flags in my rear view mirror.
I cringe and die a little inside every time I see reverse lights come on before the starter motor has even had time to slow down…
A week ago, customer came in complaining about their transmission slow to engage just after startup… and I couldn’t fault it. They said “how can you not fault it? It does it every time I drive”. I asked them to drive it, and they had not even got their hand off the key before before pulling the car into gear with the other hand…
It is true that cold starts are an engines worst enemy, but take it easy for the first few minutes and you'll be fine.
As an example, I live in an area that has two ways to leave. The shorter way is over a steep-ish hill. When the engine is cold, I take the downhill direction so it doesn't need to work as hard initially. I don't lose much by doing this, it's only a matter of maybe 10-20seconds further. Warm start, I'll pick the shortest way each time.
I was talking to my mechanic about this recently, as I have an old 4WD that was previously used as a daily driver but is now a weekend warrior. I only anticipate putting a couple of thousand km on it each year, and most of those will be extended trips where the engine will well and truly get up to temperature. He said every 12 months would be fine.
Putting warranty issues aside, I would vary it depending on your usage. If it was lots of short trips and/or urban driving I would stick with the 6 month recommendation. If it's fewer trips but they're longer or less stressful on the car, I reckon 12 months would be okay.
Subarus are notoriously finnicky about their oil changes though so I'd approach with some caution.
Usually the logbook would say "12,500km or 6 months, whichever comes first"