100 thousand miles for gas engines

[bgmacaw]

It's also safer because, if one coil fails, you're only down one cylinder and can the engine can still be run long enough to get the car off the road. A coil failure in an old-style ignition system would bring the car to a dead stop wherever it happened to be.

Unless it's a GM vehicle which will just come to a dead stop if the ECU fails due to the radio or something like that failing. I had that happen three times before I got it to a dealership who could correctly fix it, sort of.

 

[Masmus]

It really depends on the car, so there isn't a stock answer like there would have been 30 or 40 years ago. Every newer car has recommended service intervals that should be followed, and they can vary quite a bit. Get the manual for your particular car.

Some of these items aren't serviceable without special equipment. My last two cars, for instance, haven't had a drain for the transmission fluid. The maintenance schedule says "inspect transmission fluid" and "inspect differential fluid," but there isn't a "replace" item. If you decide you do need to replace it, I think you're sucking it out through the dipstick hole. Replacing the spark plugs happens at the 120,000 mile mark.

Some manufacturers advertise lifetime transmission fluid. All manufacturers consider the lifetime to be the warranty period. Changing the fluid is great advise but sucking it out of the dipstick doesn't change the fluid in the torque converter. if you did it that way at 50k mi tou'd probably be ok. Don't forget the brake fluid, once it starts to change color that should be replaced also.

 

[Blrfl]

Unless it's a GM vehicle which will just come to a dead stop if the ECU fails due to the radio or something like that failing. I had that happen three times before I got it to a dealership who could correctly fix it, sort of.

There's a technical service bulletin out on that. The fix involves buying GMs. It's worked well for me since 2002.

 

[KokoTele]

Isnt this with certain engines? I think Honda or Toyota have timing belts that need to be replaced. Not sure the American cars are designed like this?

It isn't an American vs. foreign thing. About the only generalization you could make is that more powerful and heavier duty engines tend to have timing chains instead of belts, and chains tend to be lifetime items. Serpentine belts are very common, and like timing belts, tend to need replacement around 100,000 miles. Check the service manual for the car. I had one that needed to replaced at 80,000 miles. When I bought the car with 110,000 miles, it had already been done.

 

[NC E30]

Some manufacturers advertise lifetime transmission fluid. All manufacturers consider the lifetime to be the warranty period. Changing the fluid is great advise but sucking it out of the dipstick doesn't change the fluid in the torque converter. if you did it that way at 50k mi tou'd probably be ok. Don't forget the brake fluid, once it starts to change color that should be replaced also.

Most of the cars I have seen with the lifetime transmission fluid don't even have a dipstick

 

[McGoldTopp]

rings and valves every 60k on my 65.

She's at 59k now, but preventatively done at 58k

 

[archetype]

I expect our 2020 Subaru Forester to go past 200K and hopefully hit 250K before it needs major work. We have 100% of the maintenance done by the dealer who is actually a pleasure to deal with.

We previously had a 2006 Jeep Liberty. The engines were inefficient and rough, but durable and long lasting. I don't know how long the engine would have gone because the rest of the Jeep was rusting, falling apart junk at 85K. It rests in peace in some auto wrecking yard.

 

[jvin248]

.

As you cross 100k miles, replace:
Spark plug wires
Radiator hoses, flushing the radiator and heater core
Emissions rubber hoses
Engine serpentine belt
Scan engine codes
Check front suspension for wear
Search The Google for typical probems on that car and replace
Filters n Fluids
Driveshaft boots

Basically rubber parts that can strand you if they crack or break off.

 

[phart]

That may be the case on modern GM cars, but most the rest of the industry seems to have figured it out. (Toyota totally blew it with the watchdog timers in their ECUs and people were killed as a result. I've studied that case extensively and the evidence against them was damning.)



Here's another perspective on that: there's a lot less maintenance to be done in the first place.

Points? Gone. Mechanical distributors? Gone. Carburetor floats, valves and jets? Gone. Ham-fisted fueling? Gone. Mechanical high idle? Gone. Mechanical idle enrichment? Gone. Rube Golberg-inspired emission controls? Gone. I don't miss having to futz with any of that stuff.

Totally agree. I think the “modern cars are hard to work on” idea is totally overblown. Sure, you might have to replace an electrical component instead of something mechanical, but so what? I’ll take that every time over the black magic and voodoo of carburetor and drum brake era.

Also, it’s the Information Age and, since similar cars tend to fail in similar ways, when something goes wrong I guarantee there are dozens of YouTube videos with the fix. It’s a golden age for DIYers. Just don’t ask the website that still fetishizes ancient vacuum tube technology!

 

[Toto'sDad]

I think you are correct. And it is not just GM. I had a Nissan Titan that completely died on 95 in DC on Thanksgiving weekend. Turned out it was a relay and a common problem. Shut everything down. Really got my attention ;-) It did not make the news like the GM problem did, but it was basically the same type of problem.

This is absolutely a true story. I had a client whose shop foreman bought a new Titan and drove it a week, he tried to return it, couldn't do that, tried to sell it, couldn't do that. Finally, he bought some kind of very small car to drive to work and back, and only drove the Titan around town. He said the Titan burned so much gas, he couldn't afford to drive it to work.

 

[Toto'sDad]

Lots of older engines wouldn't even go 100,000. I had to do an in-frame overhaul on a 68 Ford pickup I had at 58,000 miles. Drove it several years, then had an out of frame major done on it. Drove it a couple of years and got rid of it, because I could see another overhaul on the horizon. Bought my first new truck, never owned another used truck, nor will I ever.

 

[bgmacaw]

Totally agree. I think the “modern cars are hard to work on” idea is totally overblown. Sure, you might have to replace an electrical component instead of something mechanical, but so what?

Maybe not harder but different. Mechanics, amateur and pro, who haven't kept up with changes and innovations will run into difficulty and make significant mistakes. As I've mentioned, I've run into issues with poorly trained mechanics who should know their stuff making mistakes in dealing with ECUs and such.

 

[Preacher]

Isnt this with certain engines? I think Honda or Toyota have timing belts that need to be replaced. Not sure the American cars are designed like this?

My good old Dodge Intrepid 3.5 litre had a rubber belt. The belt did not fail entirely, the tensioner pully failed enough that it threw it out of time.

It is so inconsistent that one doesn't know which motors have them? And then whether or not the engine is an inference engine (when the belt snaps, the piston on the upstroke slam into the bottom of the open valves causing the heads to fail and requiring a new set of heads and possibly pistons as their tops get damaged. Looking at you VW engines and most Ford motors (rangers, probes, escots and Crown Vics with the big V8s.)
But if the engine is not an inference engine the car just loses timing and quits running, once a new timing belt is installed the timing set you are good as new (looking at your Miata 1.6 and 1.8 liters).

 

[Matt Sarad]

My Tacoma just hit 225,000.
When it overheated in August and had to be towed to South Lake Tahoe, the problem was...
Failed radiator cap.

 

[trev333]

check your disc brake pads....

 

[boris bubbanov]

This. And it makes sense to change the water pump when you replace the timing belt.

Sometimes. If the tech does these belt replacements all day, I guess.

But there are instances where you can cut the outer 50% of the old belt off, slide the new belt onto the cogs without disturbing the positions of the cogs relative to one another, and then cut the residual 1/2 of the old belt off and slide the new one into position and never have to worry about something having slipped.

And you can't do that if you do the pump as well. If belts need replacement at 60,000 miles and the pump can do 150,000 or more, should you throw away this cool trick? If you're doing this at home, this trick takes away 90% of the anxiety.

Better idea, IMO, is, buy cars with timing chains.

 

[Willie Johnson]

I have 180k on my Honda and it's just getting broken in. All I've ever done to it is change the oil and brake pads. If you can't get a hundred thousand miles out of a vehicle these days, you bought the wrong vehicle.

 

[keithb7]

Lifetime transmission oil. Boy, that’s interesting. Define a lifetime? The average ownership term for a new vehicle purchase? 6 years?

I am not aware of any oil that doesn’t break down from heat. Oil can only hold so much contaminants. All moving parts wear.

It’s all designed to be deceptive. Its all about car sales. Won’t hurt to help the dealer make a killing too! Follow the money. Lifetime oil. That’s a good one!

 

[telemnemonics]

I bought my Volvo with 199k
Fix whats broke

 

[tele12]

I remember when getting 100 thousand miles out of an engine required a lot of work. Now it seems as if a new car can go 100 thousand without much work at all.

But after 100, what do you guys suggest is the most important part of the maintenance process? I know I should change the plugs, and I always change the oil. I guess the transmission oil? Also with front wheel drive cars, they dont have a "rear end" to change the fluids in, but is that just part of the transmission oil in a front wheel drive?

I my experience it is not the "engine" that causes the car to fail after 100k miles, various electronic components, wear items and other stuff start causing problems after about 10 years.

And these days for the most part they aren't cheap fixes.

Also a car that in Highway driven in a place without snow is going to be in much better shape than a car in the Northeast city or suburbs driving through snow and potholes.