Hi,
I have a relative who drives their car short distances. As a result, they drive about 1,000 miles a year. This is a bit of a challenge to handle maintenance-wise. For example, the car hasn't reached the 5,000 miles interval for oil change in 4 years, but really should have had one. Here are my thoughts and reasoning for low driven mile cars, since some things go bad with time (oil) and some may not go back with time (spark plugs?). The car is a 2014 Nissan Versa SV Sedan.
What are your opinions on the service interval.
Paul
I have a relative who drives their car short distances. As a result, they drive about 1,000 miles a year. This is a bit of a challenge to handle maintenance-wise. For example, the car hasn't reached the 5,000 miles interval for oil change in 4 years, but really should have had one. Here are my thoughts and reasoning for low driven mile cars, since some things go bad with time (oil) and some may not go back with time (spark plugs?). The car is a 2014 Nissan Versa SV Sedan.
- Oil Change - every 6 months according to the manual. Water probably builds up faster in a car that isn't driven much. In fact, I suggested to them that they make a longer trip of at least 10-20 miles every month or so.
- Tire Rotation - suggested rotation of every 5,000 mile in the manual, since not rotating the tires at regular intervals won't cause any problems. However, the tire should be inspected since older tires may start deteriorating before their threads run out.
- Brake Fluid - every 2 years according to the manual. Like oil, brake probably collects in the system but driving more probably doesn't help with reducing water.
- Air and Cabin filter - every 36 months and 18 months according to the manual. They could also just take it out and look at it, but they are not mechanically incline. I am on the fence on this one. Driving less probably result in less dust in the filter. What do you think?
- Coolant replacement - every 7 years according to the manual, which seems reasonable.
- CVT fluid replacement - every 6 years according to the manual, which also seems reasonable especially since Nissan are not known to be great at CVT, so better safe than sorry.
- Spark Plug - not interval, so I think every 105,000 miles. Based on the youtube video, it's a pain to do on this car. You have to take off the manifold and would probably be an hour job, so it wouldn't be cheap. Spark plug don't go bad sitting around?
- Obviously at every oil change, inspect mechanical related stuff like steering, fluids, brake pads, etc.
- For the car body, the car is hand wash regularly and then waxed with Turtle Ice spray wax. They live in relatively snow-free and rain-free environment. The chief enemy is the sun ,heat, tree sap, and bird poop. The car is parked outside under a roofed car port. The turtle wax should be ok with so little miles per year.
- Wiper blades - replace when wiper starts streaking. Wiper should last a long time since it doesn't rain very often there and there is no ice. Replace with silicone since rubber wiper probably breaks down in the heat.
- Brakes - obviously replace when the pad gets thin, which should take a while. Pads don't go bad with time?
- Battery - Just have the mechanic test it at every oil change. Usually battery last around 5 years. The current one for her lasted only 4 years. Not driving it much probably means the battery doesn't get charged up.
What are your opinions on the service interval.
Paul
