When should a diesel car be serviced?

mollybird

i bought my first disel car 5 months ago and it's coming up on it's 10 thousand miles since i bought it. it's a 132 year. i heard that these cars need to be serviced a bit more reg than petrol cars. When should i get it serviced thanks.

GustavoFring

What type of car is it? There will be set intervals between services. Usually 15-20k km is the norm.

JackHeuston

I have a 2008 Fiat Grande Punto with a small diesel in it (1.3 90hp). Bought it new in 2008, I serviced it every 25000 km. Nothing ever broke in 8 years, so I'm guessing it's fine. I think the manufacturer even suggests a full service every 30k km (oil, filters, etc...). I do 10k~15k km in a year roughly. Every year I check those things you can do on your own like the oil level.

It's not that bad honestly, but it probably depends from what car you have, too.

lollsangel

I'm driving 132 skoda yeti. The service interval is 15. ....The car reminds you too though

biko

What make and model is it? Did you get the owner's manual and the service book with it?

stezie

without knowing the car you have MollyBird the Glove box should contain the owners manual. There will be a service schedule in there relating to your specific car. It will also tell you what grade and standard of oil to use that will have sufficient life for each interval.

mollybird

im driving a seat leon guys. Thanks for the replies

Guy:Incognito

I wont leave oil in a car longer than a year, regardless of mileage. Doesnt sit right with me, for the sake of €50

Boskowski

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

I wont leave oil in a car longer than a year, regardless of mileage. Doesnt sit right with me, for the sake of €50

Especially when the car is in its first few thousand miles and the engine and all the moving parts are 'settling in'. Oil is full with dust and abrasion more so than in latter years.

vectra

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

I wont leave oil in a car longer than a year, regardless of mileage. Doesnt sit right with me, for the sake of €50

€50 ???

Boskowski

vectra wrote: »

€50 ???

Do you think its high or low? My car's oil change is €80. I guess a Skoda Yeti needs a little less.

vectra

Boskowski wrote: »

Do you think its high or low? My car's oil change is €80. I guess a Skoda Yeti needs a little less.

€50 would hardly cover the cost of decent oil
And for the Op it would be best take it to a main dealer to keep the warranty safe.

GustavoFring

mollybird wrote: »

im driving a seat leon guys. Thanks for the replies

Every 15k km would be right for one so its due a service.

You can get long life servicing every 30k km, personally I'd keep to 15k km.

Guy:Incognito

vectra wrote: »

€50 would hardly cover the cost of decent oil
And for the Op it would be best take it to a main dealer to keep the warranty safe.

It only needs to cover the cost of decent oil if you're doing it yourself.:) I'm buying 5W30 Fuchs at just above cost.

TBH, either way I wouldnt consider between €100 and €200 a lot to spend a year changing oil on a can I want to keep properly maintained.

Atlantic Dawn

If only there was a user manual that came with cars indicating the recommended service interval for that model of car.

highdef

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

If only there was a user manual that came with cars indicating the recommended service interval for that model of car.

You read my mind!!! RTFM!!!

dieselbug

You dont need to bring your car to the main dealer to keep your warranty intact.

Damien360

Did we not go through this before and the consensus was really dependant on its use.

The long service interval of 30km is fine if you are munching the miles. Otherwise, get it done once a year regardless of mileage interval. Town car with low miles needs yearly change of oil to keep it sweet.

biko

For a 132 diesel Seat Leon you need about 4 litres of 5W-30.
If you can do it yourself you can get this in Halfords for less than 50 euro with an air filter and an oil filter.

If not, go to any local indy mechanic and they will do it for you.

jhud

I have diesel Toyota corolla it's service is every 15k KLM and I get the oil and filter off main dealer it costs around €50-55. Its the main Toyota oil may or may not be as good as some other brands of oil.

vectra

dieselbug wrote: »

You dont need to bring your car to the main dealer to keep your warranty intact.

You are dead right.
But
On the other hand
Have ever heard of a "Good will gesture" should something go wrong when out of warranty?

dr.fuzzenstein

vectra wrote: »

€50 would hardly cover the cost of decent oil
And for the Op it would be best take it to a main dealer to keep the warranty safe.

Depends what you drive. I wait till Halfords has their promotion (€15 for 4 liters) and I buy as much as I can afford, 10w40 for the MX5 and 5w30 for the CMax. The MX5 has done 140k miles and the Cmax 360k km. Been running that stuff for years. Engines are perfect in both cars. Change oil every 20k km in the Cmax and 10k km in the MX5 (gets less use, works out about twice a year).
Correct spec is much more important than just buying engine oil costing more than gold made from pure Unicorm semen. Unless you drive something very exotic and purebred.
Keeping the warranty does not mean having to service it at the main dealer. A good indy is sufficient.

vectra

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Depends what you drive. I wait till Halfords has their promotion (€15 for 4 liters) and I buy as much as I can afford, 10w40 for the MX5 and 5w30 for the CMax. The MX5 has done 140k miles and the Cmax 360k km. Been running that stuff for years. Engines are perfect in both cars. Change oil every 20k km in the Cmax and 10k km in the MX5 (gets less use, works out about twice a year).
Correct spec is much more important than just buying engine oil costing more than gold made from pure Unicorm semen. Unless you drive something very exotic and purebred.
Keeping the warranty does not mean having to service it at the main dealer. A good indy is sufficient.

I agree 100%
But I thought we were discussing the OP's car and situation?

And yes a good indy is as sufficient.
Try arguing that one with Seat when something goes wrong just after warranty runs out and you look for a bit of Goodillwill gesture.

Good luck to you on that one.

Special Circumstances

vectra wrote: »

Try arguing that one with Seat when something goes wrong just after warranty runs out and you look for a bit of Goodillwill gesture.

When not if. Oh dear.

CIP4

My car's (Megane diesel) interval is every two years or 30k km but I service it every 15k km which works out at ~6 months I personally think thats long enough for a modern Diesel engine and OP said they have a Leon so the newer vag diesel would be 15k km or 1 year interval anyway. Also if it's still under warranty get it done in the main dealer as by servicing it yourself you may well void the warranty.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

If only there was a user manual that came with cars indicating the recommended service interval for that model of car.

Or an Internet search engine where you could type in the car make/model and the words 'service interval' and it would tell you. Maybe in the future someone will invest such a thing.

AutoMan79

My car is set to 10 000 or a year so what ever comes first . Basically every year I do service on it.

grogi

mollybird wrote: »

i bought my first disel car 5 months ago and it's coming up on it's 10 thousand miles since i bought it. it's a 132 year. i heard that these cars need to be serviced a bit more reg than petrol cars. When should i get it serviced thanks.

15kkm or 12 months, whatever comes earlier.

Ignore manufacturer recommendations if you want to keep it going...

grogi

biko wrote: »

For a 132 diesel Seat Leon you need about 4 litres of 5W-30.
If you can do it yourself you can get this in Halfords for less than 50 euro with an air filter and an oil filter.

If not, go to any local indy mechanic and they will do it for you.

One would need a proper VW specs oil not to kill the DPF and the turbo.
Probably VW 507.00, but cannot be sure.

R.O.R

grogi wrote: »

15kkm or 12 months, whatever comes earlier.

Ignore manufacturer recommendations if you want to keep it going...

Or, ignore people telling you to ignore manufacturers recommendations, run service intervals as manufacturer recommends and save money.

grogi

dieselbug wrote: »

You dont need to bring your car to the main dealer to keep your warranty intact.

But it is much easier to prove that it was maintained with the manufacturer standards if it was done at the dealer.

grogi

CIP4 wrote: »

My car's (Megane diesel) interval is every two years or 30k km but I service it every 15k km which works out at ~6 months I personally think thats long enough for a modern Diesel engine and OP said they have a Leon so the newer vag diesel would be 15k km or 1 year interval anyway. Also if it's still under warranty get it done in the main dealer as by servicing it yourself you may well void the warranty.

Good job. You probably will not be one of the screaming crowd "Renault S...e" after the turbo decided to take a day off...

deathtocaptcha

whenever the NCT is due...

grogi

R.O.R wrote: »

Or, ignore people telling you to ignore manufacturers recommendations, run service intervals as manufacturer recommends and save money.

Manufacturer cares about few things:
- the cars survives the warranty
- the advertised service costs to the public

Take a gearbox. Manual, automatic - not really important. In the manual from the gearbox manufacture requires service every 60kkm, while the car manual says "it is for life". Yes, for life of the gearbox.

Will it survive the 100kkm of car warranty? Sure it will... Will it be healthy?

Especially in the diesels, the turbo is very fragile and needs good and fresh oil. Simple as that...

JohnBoy26

grogi wrote: »

But it is much easier to prove that it was maintained with the manufacturer standards if it was done at the dealer.

Not if the Indy can prove that genuine parts were used. Most competent independent garages will be well aware of what the different brands require to keep the warranty intact. If they didn't I'd expect them to find out before carrying out the work.

Goodwill from main dealers outside of warranty is another story though.

JohnBoy26

R.O.R wrote: »

Or, ignore people telling you to ignore manufacturers recommendations, run service intervals as manufacturer recommends and save money.

Manufactures recommendations aren't gospel though. Just look at the Ford wet belt situation or someone with a 1.6 hdi with a blown turbo.

R.O.R

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

Manufactures recommendations aren't gospel though. Just look at the Ford wet belt situation or someone with a 1.6 hdi with a blown turbo.

The Ford wet belt situation isn't anything to do with servicing before it's due, and the interval has been brought forwards.

The 1.6HDi/TDCi/ Blown Turbo's are caused by people going over the 20,000km interval. It's no caused by people not servicing them every 10,000km.

I could come up with more examples of cars running fine to high mileage at manufacturer intervals, than I could of cars braking down due to being serviced at manufacturer intervals. I've a few thousand examples to hand.....

grogi

R.O.R wrote: »

The Ford wet belt situation isn't anything to do with servicing before it's due, and the interval has been brought forwards.

The 1.6HDi/TDCi/ Blown Turbo's are caused by people going over the 20,000km interval. It's no caused by people not servicing them every 10,000km.

I could come up with more examples of cars running fine to high mileage at manufacturer intervals, than I could of cars braking down due to being serviced at manufacturer intervals. I've a few thousand examples to hand.....

Renault has service intervals of 30.000 km/18.000 miles... Would you still go by the book?



When you've got big engine, with loads of oil in it, doing motorway miles - prolonging will not kill it.

But with small ~1.5l engines, pushed to the limit by the emission regulations (EGR is the main problem here), it is vital to keep the juices fresh.

I will stand by it - 15kkm or 12 months. An oil service like that will cost in the area of €100 euro, with oil filter, labour and old oil disposal. Does not kill the wallet, and definitely does no harm to the engine.

ba_barabus

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

If only there was a user manual that came with cars indicating the recommended service interval for that model of car.

And if it's missing which a lot are

boardsuser1

Advice if possible lads. I have a 2009 focus 1.6 diesel. Bought it at 96k now 100k on it. When should it get a service?

ba_barabus

KC161 wrote: »

Advice if possible lads. I have a 2009 focus 1.6 diesel. Bought it at 96k now 100k on it. When should it get a service?

When was it last serviced?

boardsuser1

ba_barabus wrote: »

When was it last serviced?

When i bought it at 96k from the dealer. I have no idea what type of service was done. The dealer recommendeds the next service at 102,000. This is my first diesel after over 20 petrol cars in my life.

ba_barabus

KC161 wrote: »

When i bought it at 96k from the dealer. I have no idea what type of service was done. The dealer recommendeds the next service at 102,000. This is my first diesel after over 20 petrol cars in my life.

Something doesn't add up there. It shouldn't have a service interval of 6k kms. How long ago did you buy it? Possibly for peace of mind I'd have it serviced at a reputable independent garage.

JohnBoy26

R.O.R wrote: »

The Ford wet belt situation isn't anything to do with servicing before it's due, and the interval has been brought forwards.

True but it has got something to do with manufacturers recommendations and intervals and the last part of what you wrote above proves my point.

R.O.R wrote: »

The 1.6HDi/TDCi/ Blown Turbo's are caused by people going over the 20,000km interval. It's no caused by people not servicing them every 10,000km.

Plenty in the UK with fsh's have suffered blown turbos whilst sticking religiously to the interval. The oil in these can turn to sludge very quickly. If I had one there's no way I'd leave 20k km between oil changes.

R.O.R wrote: »

I could come up with more examples of cars running fine to high mileage at manufacturer intervals, than I could of cars braking down due to being serviced at manufacturer intervals. I've a few thousand examples to hand.....

I'm sure you could but that doesn't mean it's always right to stick to the manufacturers intervals. Sometimes doing it a little earlier is better in the long run.

boardsuser1

ba_barabus wrote: »

Something doesn't add up there. It shouldn't have a service interval of 6k kms. How long ago did you buy it? Possibly for peace of mind I'd have it serviced at a reputable independent garage.

Car was purchased in the first week of the year. I'm only going to a main dealer with it regardless due to this being a diesel And my complete lack of knowledge with them €270 for a major service with all genuine parts and software upgrade.i should specify the car is in miles as it is a UK import.

R.O.R

grogi wrote: »

Renault has service intervals of 30.000 km/18.000 miles... Would you still go by the book?

Yes. We've around 20 1.5Dci Megane's on the fleet, all running at 30k intervals and not really causing us much of an issue.

We did have a few problems on some last year, but they'd passed 200k by then, so it's to be expected.

State of them when they come back, they don't have an easy life either.

Atlantic Dawn

KC161 wrote: »

When i bought it at 96k from the dealer. I have no idea what type of service was done. The dealer recommendeds the next service at 102,000. This is my first diesel after over 20 petrol cars in my life.

KC161 wrote: »

Car was purchased in the first week of the year. I'm only going to a main dealer with it regardless due to this being a diesel And my complete lack of knowledge with them €270 for a major service with all genuine parts and software upgrade.i should specify the car is in miles as it is a UK import.

Has it got a service history with it? Did you run any history checks on the car? If not you should have a look on your vehicle licencing certificate for the previous UK reg of the car and put it in to the MOT check site to see what problems were faulted at each MOT, will give an idea of possible big jobs done on the car and that all important verification of mileage.

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

boardsuser1

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Has it got a service history with it? Did you run any history checks on the car? If not you should have a look on your vehicle licencing certificate for the previous UK reg of the car and put it in to the MOT check site to see what problems were faulted at each MOT, will give an idea of possible big jobs done on the car and that all important verification of mileage.

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

Car was bought brand new in the UK in April 2009. It came to Cork in January 2010. It was imported by a main Ford dealer. That is the only recorded service history on it. Nothing with the owners manual but the car was thoroughly checked mechanically before purchase and no issues. No crash damage either. Car is 100%

rex-x

R.O.R wrote: »

Or, ignore people telling you to ignore manufacturers recommendations, run service intervals as manufacturer recommends and save money.

The manufacturers intervals are a product of engineers wishes clashing with the marketing department and their desire for appealing to hire companies/lease agents and pushing for the "lower servicing costs" sale line to consumers, The car will certainly last its warranty period following the manufacturers recommendations but it wont last as long as it could, which again is good for them as you buy a new car.....

I deal with the issue of these intervals every day and its often not pretty

CJhaughey

How many cars have been damaged or worn out by servicing before the service interval?
Not many I'd wager, now reverse that and see how many have died from extending the service here and there.
In my personal opinion I think manufacturers have decided to push the intervals out just long enough to see the warranty period out and a little bit more.
Second owner gets a car that will last a while but the bulk of engine wear has already happened before they get the car.
I looked in the Accord Mk7 manual, it gives the oil change interval at 12500 miles for EU diesels, anywhere else non-EU the oil change is 6500k miles.
Is EU oil twice as good as the rest of the world or is it that EU vehicles are designed to be more disposable?

R.O.R

rex-x wrote: »

The manufacturers intervals are a product of engineers wishes clashing with the marketing department and their desire for appealing to hire companies/lease agents and pushing for the "lower servicing costs" sale line to consumers, The car will certainly last its warranty period following the manufacturers recommendations but it wont last as long as it could, which again is good for them as you buy a new car.....

I deal with the issue of these intervals every day and its often not pretty

Serviced in line with manufacturer recommendations, cars will way outlast the warranty period. Issues tend to start arising from 210k +, but servicing it every 15k rather than 30k (for example) is doubling the maintenance costs, and a false economy / unwarranted expense.