Good Vehicle Maintenance For Non-Car People (Like Me)
“What do you mean, my tires rotate all the time?”
Rotations
“What do you mean, my tires rotate all the time?”
If you have an AWD vehicle, you MUST rotate the tires at an even and consistent interval, such as every 5k or every 7.5k miles. Otherwise, uneven tire wear will lead to very expensive damage to the AWD mechanism.
If you don’t have an AWD vehicle, then it is advisable, but by no means absolutely necessary to rotate the tires. The tires will wear unevenly from lack of rotation, but no mechanical damage will take place. What will take place is uneven levels of traction from tire to tire as they wear, and this could lead to problems ranging from difficulties in rain (hydroplaning) and snow (skidding) to poor road-holding and poor ride quality.
There are some folks on this board who state that they never rotate their tires, but the usual result of failure to rotate tires is that you only buy 2 tires at a time as they wear out. By the time that you are ready to buy the next two tires, the original model tire may not be available, thus leading to different types of tires on the front and back of the vehicle. This in and of itself can lead to handling and traction problems.
Yes, it costs a few bucks to rotate your tires, but I think that the additional safety benefits make the cost worthwhile. And, if someone chooses to not rotate the tires on an AWD vehicle, they are literally flushing money down the drain, rather than saving money.
As to specific questions regarding your own vehicle, I can’t give you any better advice than to tell you to open the glove compartment, take out the Owner’s Manual, and see what the vehicle manufacturer has to say regarding the recommended rotation pattern.
Where To Get It Done
Costco and Sam’s Club will both do it free for members
Discount Tires, and other similar shops will often do it for free if you buy tires from them, and sometimes even if you didn’t
All basic auto shops can do it for $15 - $20. You should never pay more then that.
"don’t worry, I use it in the kitchen all the time, does great when baking muffins”
Getting An Oil Change
Oil is the number one factor in determining how long you car will last. You can check your oil using the often red dipstick. Change your oil and oil filter every 7-10 thousand miles. It really is as simple as typing your car model and "oil change" into youtube. If you still don't know how then you probably shouldn't be driving.
Synthetic Vs Traditional
I like the analogy I've learned with an experienced mechanic:
Imagine that you have to carry and transport a huge wood log, and need a team for that. The first team consist of different sizes and strength people, they will get the job done, but may have trouble along the way, since some will have to work more, some will not be able to reach the log to carry in a comfortable position, etc. That's the regular oil. Now the second team is composed of lumberjacks with the same size/strength. They are fit for the task and work perfectly together. That's the synthetic oil.
Both are fine. It causes no issues to switch back and forth between the two. Even if you’ve been using synthetic for years, you can switch back to traditional with no problems. Synthetic is not a scam, it does perform better and does last up to twice as long.
The Cost
Truthfully, the cost can vary. For some expensive high end cars, it can cost more.
For most low end to mid range consumer vehicles it should be under $100. Between $60 - $80 is a usually reasonable for Synthetic. $30 - 50 for Traditional. But, you will likely have to refill with traditional much sooner.
Fluids
Coolant is the biggest fluid here. Coolant is in the translucent container and should be kept in between the min and max lines. Make sure you get coolant meant for your engine type. Now days most coolant is safe for all cars but consult your owners manual. Brake fluid is the same way. It has to be kept in between the min and max line of its container and has to be of a certain type, for convenience labeled DOT 1-4. If you start losing brake fluid find a mechanic.
Air Filters
Air filters can be changed at your discretion just make sure you check it once ever 6 months. Cabin air filters (if your car has them) should be changed if the air coming from you A/C unit smells a bit funky. About 80% of cars today have them. 90% of the time they are behind the glove compartment.
Spark Plugs
Spark plugs are easy to change and don't even need to be changed often. Once roughly every 70k miles. Its as simple as looking up "spark plug change" On YouTube once again.
Finding A Mechanic You Can Trust
Since you’re reading a thread that has "zero knowledge of cars" in the title you are going to need a mechanic that you can trust to do work you cant. Try to find an old family owned shop, they have stuck around for a reason. A quick change place is 9/10 times going to half-ass the work. (stripping bolts over torquing lugs) A dealership will do the work right, but you're gonna pay and big. $$$$$
Conclusion
This list covers pretty much everything you need to do on your vehicle to keep it around for a few hundred thousand miles. The rest of the things should be handled by your annual inspection mechanic. Things like checking tire tread, and break pads are his job. He will also recommend services you should consider like a coolant flush or new ball joints because yours are fucked.
Lastly anything that could have serious ramification for you and your car will create a code and turn on your check engine light. You can read these codes for free by taking your car to a certain 2 auto shops. If your car says "Evap system leak" you will be ok for a while. If your car says "Missfire cylinder 1,3,5" then you've got issues. These codes can easily be googled for fixes and causes.
Lastly heres a shout out to one of my favorite sub reddits where you can learn tons about cars by seeing other peoples broken stuff! R/rolledintotheshop
Sources
https://community.cartalk.com/t/tire-rotation-why-and-how-often/60499/2
