The Ultimate Guide to Creating an Effective Auto Maintenance Schedule

Effective auto maintenance schedules are key for road safety, long-term vehicle performance, and cost control, but developing one of your own is often easier said than done.

Don’t stress—TIRECRAFT is here to help. Read on for some expert advice on how to personalize your auto maintenance schedule for more cost-effective upkeep, or contact your local TIRECRAFT to schedule a free consultation with our team today.

How to create a cost-effective auto maintenance schedule

1.   Keep your auto maintenance schedule by the book

When creating an auto maintenance schedule, start by checking your vehicle owner’s manual. Many vehicle manufacturers include recommended service intervals, some of which must be followed in order to keep your warranty coverage. And even if your warranty period has past, these service intervals can tell you a lot.

If you’ve lost your owner’s manual or it was not provided with a used vehicle, you can always check the manufacturer’s website for a digital version.

You should also do your best to follow your tire manufacturer’s guidelines for pressure checks, rotations, alignments, and tread wear inspections. If you’re still using OEM tires, you can usually find information on the placard, in the glove box, or in your owner’s manual. If not, check your new tire manual or ask a TIRECRAFT expert.

2.   Follow expert service recommendations

Once you’ve got the basic service intervals from your owner’s manual, you should consult with an auto maintenance expert to go beyond the bare minimum.

For example, the TIRECRAFT auto maintenance schedule recommends:

• Oil changes after every 5,000km or 3 months of driving
• Tire rotations after every 10,000km or 6 months of driving
• Wheel balancing, alignments, and brake inspections after every 20,000km or 12 months of driving
• Cooling system/transmission/engine service after every 40,000km or 24 months of driving

Though these recommendations are general, they provide a strong starting point you can tweak based on your unique driving habits and environment. If you’d rather leave the fine-tuning up to the pros, get in touch with your local TIRECRAFT for a free consultation.

3.   Factor in your unique driving habits and environment

Once you’ve built a basic auto maintenance schedule using recommendations from the manufacturer and local service experts, start factoring in your unique driving habits and environment.

To get you started, Cadillac manufacturers suggest that you shorten the recommended service intervals if:

• You use your vehicle heavily for deliveries, patrolling, or for longer than 24-hours at once
• You use your vehicle in high sand or dust environments, such as near oil pipelines
• You regularly take your vehicles for short trips of 6 km or less

Additionally, you should treat every 1 hour of idle time as 53 km of driving when using odometer estimates.

For more expert advice on how to factor in your unique driving demands, environment, and cargo, get in touch with your local TIRECRAFT.

4.   Don’t wait for the maintenance minder to light up

In most modern vehicles, onboard computer systems continuously monitor engine operating conditions and signal when it is time for maintenance using dashboard indicators. These are handy “service safety nets,” but they should not be relied upon. Doing so can leave some dangerous blindspots in your auto maintenance schedule.

For example, Honda’s maintenance minder program does not sense oil level, only oil life. Thus, if you were to rely solely on the minder, you could miss a leak, and it could cost you your engine!

Furthermore, maintenance minders are not immune to human error(or software glitches, for that matter), and, as per the 2022 Honda CRV owner’s manual, “failure to reset the Maintenance Minder display after a maintenance service… can lead to serious mechanical problems” (p. 596).

Create a personalized auto maintenance schedule: Contact TIRECRAFT

For more help creating a personalized auto maintenance schedule, contact your local TIRECRAFT to set up a free consultation.

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