When you should get your car serviced normally
Signs that you might need unexpected service
Wrapping up
When you should get your car serviced normally
Typically, you should get your car serviced after every five thousand miles of driving. A 2017 survey showed that, on average, US drivers drove 25.9 miles per day. This comes out to just under 10,000 miles per year. If that is about what you drive in Hawaii, you should be getting routine service for your car about twice a year. The 5,000-mile number is not a hard limit though. For example, if you drove 6,200 miles in a year, getting routine service once that year would likely be fine depending on how old your car was.
“Routine service” could include a bunch of different things. However, routine service for your vehicle will typically include getting your oil changed, your brakes being checked and serviced, your wiper blades being checked, tire pressure being checked, other fluids such as transmission fluid being changed and more. All of that combined would be quite a large undertaking for the layperson but for your mechanic, it will likely just be a couple of hours in the shop.
Signs that you might need unexpected service
There will also be the times that your car will need repairs and/or unexpected service. The problem is that you might not know what the signs of such necessity for maintenance will be. Fortunately, most of these cases will be brought to your attention by the “check engine” light. However, that is not always the case.
You should also be on the look out for things such as weird vibrations that last more than a few seconds or occur when your car is at rest. You should also take your car in for service if you ever see smoke coming from your car or smell something out of the ordinary coming from your car. Finally, if you have trouble starting your car on any sort of a consistent basis, it is time for it to be serviced.
Wrapping up
How often you get routine maintenance for your car depends on how much you drive it. Odds are that you will need to get your car serviced about twice a year based on national averages. There will also likely be the times you will need to take your car in for maintenance for unexpected issues. Any time your check engine light goes on, you should take your vehicle in for service. You should always be on the look out for abnormal activity from your vehicle such as smoking, odors or trouble with the engine turning over as those all could be signs that it is time for maintenance.
