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Service intervals are required maintenance schedules, which are required by the manufacturers of cars and trucks to keep the oils and fluids in good shape and prolong the life of the automobile.
The most common and most critical fluid to keep in good shape is the engine oil. Engines are very expensive to overhaul, if any one single component of an engine should fail, the costs can be in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
When Should I Change My Oil?
The normal time to change your oil is three months or 5000 kilometres (3000 miles). This is under normal day to day use of your vehicle, extremely hot or extremely cold climates you may want to increase the intervals slightly.
If you pull a trailer more than once a week it is a good idea to also change your oil more frequently, oil is cheap compared to an engine related failure.
When Should I Check My Air Filter?
Air filters should be checked every oil change, check for deposits in the filter, some discoloring or dust is ok, you should never clean an air filter, in most cases they are disposable, there is an expensive variety which can be cleaned, if you are in doubt throw it out, again air filters are relatively inexpensive. They should be changed regardless every year, whether they look clean or not.
When Should I Change My Transmission Fluid?
Transmission fluid should be checked every oil change, automatic transmissions are checked by a dip stick usually mounted toward the rear of the engine and may be yellow or red to make locating it easier, this depends on the manufacturer.
An auto transmission should always be checked with the engine running and in PARK so great care MUST be taken when working around a running engine. Fluid should always maintain a bright red color and not smell burned in any way just a quick careful sniff of the fluid will tell you all you need to know.
Manual transmissions are a lot more difficult to check levels, this level is checked by removing a level check screw located on the left or right side of the transmission itself, just below the center of the housing, when this screw is removed a small stream of fluid should run out. The color of manual transmission fluid is much different than that of the automatic; this fluid may be dark or grey.
Auto and manual transmission fluid should be changed every three to five years to maintain good transmission health.
When Should I Change My Power Steering Fluid?
Power steering fluid levels should be changed every one to two years. This is one of the fluids that is often overlooked. Depending on condition this fluid again should be red or grey not milky or black.
When Should I Change My Brake Fluid?
Brake fluid is another fluid which should be checked regularly, and remember level and color are very important. Brake fluid should always maintain a clear, unclouded state. Clouding usually indicates excessive moisture and should be changed, and low level indicates a leak or worn brake pads.
When Should I Change My Radiator Level?
Radiator levels should be check at every service interval, or as seasons change to be sure the freeze point is at a good level, recommended is up to minus 45 degrees Celsius this is usually reached with a sixty percent coolant and forty percent water mix.
Always check on a COLD engine, there is an overflow reservoir that should be between the add, and full marks, this level will change as the engine temperature increases; change the coolant every three years.