Service schedule for Ford Fiesta

Squadinho

Hi

I've owned a '54 plate Ford Fiesta for 3 years. Every year I have the oil and oil filter changed, but I've never had a full service. I also don't have the full service history for the car.

I am haing it MOT'd tomorrow and have asked to potentially have a full service done on it.

I drive approximately 4k miles a year in it (so have done around 12 since I've owned it). Is it worth getting the service done tomorrow? I understand that a general rule of thumb is a service every 12k miles or 1 year.

For the future, should I stick to annual servicing or go on mileage?

Many thanks

Le_Kirk

If you have the owners manual, there is a section in there marked service/maintenance schedule or similar and it will advise the service interval. It is usually a number of miles or time with the added phrase "whichever occurs sooner" so if you have only done 4,000 miles in 12 months and the service interval is 12,000 miles or 12 months or "whichever occurs sooner, then it is 12 months.

BeenThroughItAll

Squadinho wrote: »

Hi

I've owned a '54 plate Ford Fiesta for 3 years. Every year I have the oil and oil filter changed, but I've never had a full service. I also don't have the full service history for the car.

I am haing it MOT'd tomorrow and have asked to potentially have a full service done on it.

I drive approximately 4k miles a year in it (so have done around 12 since I've owned it). Is it worth getting the service done tomorrow? I understand that a general rule of thumb is a service every 12k miles or 1 year.

For the future, should I stick to annual servicing or go on mileage?

Many thanks

At that low an annual mileage, I'd personally be changing the oil every six months, with a more thorough going over (plugs, air filter, pollen filter, etc) every two years.


Very low mileage=MORE servicing, not less. The moisture and acidity that builds up in oil that never gets hot enough for long enough to boil it off does an engine no good at all.

mb101_2

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

At that low an annual mileage, I'd personally be changing the oil every six months, with a more thorough going over (plugs, air filter, pollen filter, etc) every two years.

This is moneysavingexpert not moneywastingexpert... If Squadinho is driving a 54 plate Fiesta, they're probably not wanting to spend money they don't need to.

Squadinho, for the avoidance of doubt, changing the air filter or plugs every 8,000 miles is hilariously ill-informed advice. Plugs will typically last 60k miles and the low annual mileage isn't going to affect them. The air filter might want to be changed in less mileage than 60k, but it would be similarly absurd to change it at 8k. Pollen filters.. well that's really personal preference; do you have hayfever?! It only affects the cabin air and it is impossible for a car to break down, or be damaged by not replacing it.

Very low mileage=MORE servicing, not less. The moisture and acidity that builds up in oil that never gets hot enough for long enough to boil it off does an engine no good at all.

This is somewhat true if you are doing large numbers of very short journeys... which Squadinho has not actually said they are. (Many people who do not commute by car do low mileages but not frequent short journeys.)

Squadinho, either way, you do not need to be changing the oil every 2,000 miles! :rotfl:I am confident that doing an oil change every 4,000 miles is already treating the engine quite well enough.

However, there are the following items of less frequent maintenance that you should care about:

• I assume your engine has a cambelt. If at all possible you want to know when this was last changed, as they typically should be done every 60k/8 to 10 years and failure is likely to be catastrophic.
• Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it absorbs moisture over time and should be changed every couple of years
• Auxiliary drive belts should be replaced periodically. One of these snapping is not generally a major prob, though you would be stranded. They are cheap so may as well be done if looking old and cracked.
• You may also want to change the coolant as this picks up grot from internal corrosion and you presumably don't know whether it has the right coolant/water mix to ensure it has the anti-corrosive properties you need.

The real issue is that you don't know when the last "full service" was done. What's the total mileage of the car? Can you tell whether one has ever been done, particular the cam belt? This might help you decide if it is worth it.

You may also want a mechanic you trust to give it a thorough look over for all possible maintenance issues, particularly underneath, to check for corrosion (including any brake line corrosion); any broken/damaged rubber boots/gaiters that could let moisture and grit where they're not wanted; any worn suspension bushes or other minor leaks (e.g. leaking shocks) that can arise over time.

BeenThroughItAll

mb101 wrote: »

This is moneysavingexpert not moneywastingexpert... If Squadinho is driving a 54 plate Fiesta, they're probably not wanting to spend money they don't need
to.

Personally, I'd consider £30 or so every six months cheap in order to ensure longevity of my car's engine. It's certainly cheaper than fixing many of the typical problems associated with very low-mileage use.

mb101 wrote: »

Squadinho, for the avoidance of doubt, changing the air filter or plugs every 8,000 miles is hilariously ill-informed advice. Plugs will typically last 60k miles and the low annual mileage isn't going to affect them. The air filter might want to be changed in less mileage than 60k, but it would be similarly absurd to change it at 8k. Pollen filters.. well that's really personal preference; do you have hayfever?! It only affects the cabin air and it is impossible for a car to break down, or be damaged by not replacing it.

Where did I say plugs wouldn't last 60K? Again, if the car's being used for very low mileage, it may well be running much of the time on open-loop fuelling. Rich mixture in a cold engine will result in greater carbon build up. Cold, damp engines will also corrode significantly quicker than those which are run hot. If you've ever had the misfortune to have to remove a seized-in taper plug as fitted to many Fords, you'll know that for the sake of the £15 or so it will cost for a set of four every two years there is a significant saving to be made over drilling out a plug and helicoiling the head.


What are air filters made of? Remind me. Once again, cold engine bays which don't get regularly heated to operating temperature are rife with moisture. Damp filters clog more rapidly. Clogged filters cost money in fuel. What happens to paper when it gets wet? It goes mouldy. Mould spores are not very pleasant. Hayfever or not, you don't really want to be breathing them in. Again, for the £10-£15 or so it costs for replacement filters on a Fiesta, it's worth doing.

mb101 wrote: »

This is somewhat true if you are doing large numbers of very short journeys... which Squadinho has not actually said they are. (Many people who do not commute by car do low mileages but not frequent short journeys.)

Equally, where did (s)he say (s)he didn't only do short journeys? You choose to assume the OP doesn't, whereas I chose to assume they do, and based my reply on that; you're basing your advice on another assumption, but why does that lead you to the conclusion that you are right in yours and I am wrong in mine?

mb101 wrote: »

Squadinho, either way, you do not need to be changing the oil every 2,000 miles! :rotfl:I am confident that doing an oil change every 4,000 miles is already treating the engine quite well enough.

On Sunday, I changed the oil in my MIL's Suzuki Ignis. It was 12 months and 2740 miles old. The gunge that came out was like tar, and the oil filter was heavily corroded to the point that I could easily push a bradawl through the casing. Clearly, absolutely fine for another 1260 miles.

mb101 wrote: »

<snip>

• Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it absorbs moisture over time and should be changed every couple of years
• <snip>
• You may also want to change the coolant as this picks up grot from internal corrosion and you presumably don't know whether it has the right coolant/water mix to ensure it has the anti-corrosive properties you need.

Again, on Sunday, I checked the brake fluid and coolant on MIL's Ignis. Brake fluid I changed when she bought the car in 2011. Boiling point on Sunday still >190degC.

By your logic, I should be changing that every two years when it's still clearly perfectly safe after four, but the engine oil will be absolutely fine.

Coolant, again changed in 2011 on purchase. Still protective down to >-20degC. So that's lasted four years, and no need to change it yet. No nasty 'grot' or dirt kicking about in it either.


So maybe £100 of 'servicing' in one year, and £150 of 'servicing' the next. Hardly breaking the bank. £250 over two years, or ~£10 a month. Pricey.


Learn how to do any one or more of those simple jobs yourself, and you could be maybe spending £5 a month. Not exactly 'money wasting', if it's preventative maintenance, is it?

Squadinho

Thanks all for your replies.

I can try to give some more information:

Since I've owned it, my driving habits have changed. For the first 2 years or so, I was driving it 4x 12 mile journeys a week (20-30 minutes) and 2x 5 miles journeys, with the occassional long distance journey (100-200 miles, 2-3 hours) every few months. Since then I've changed jobs (and my girlfriend got a new car so we use that for everything). Now the usage is limited to a daily commute (3 miles e/w) and a slightly longer 5 mile e/w journey on Sundays. I occasionally red line it and it does get the odd longer journey (although these journeys can take 30-40 minuts due to traffic).

Unfortunately I don't have the owners manual (I have googled it, looks like the service recommendation is 12k miles or 12 months, whichever comes first).

I think for now, I will pay to get a full service done as I know that since my ownership it has never had one and is probably worth it for peace of mind; I'll also get them to check the cambelt as well.

I'm not confident in doing a lot of car maintenance - windscreen wipers, bulbs and hub caps are about to levels of my confidence! :rotfl:I wouldn't mind having a go at doing an oil change - could also get my Dad to rescue me if I fudge it.

I think to me, having done some other reading around that an oil change every 6 months would be worth it based on the type of driving I do. I think it makes sense with maybe a service every 24 months rather than every 12. Might invest in a Haynes manual depending on how long I see myself keeping this car.

BeenThroughItAll

theapocalypse wrote: »

if there's any constellation I've had my Yaris since 2005 bought at 16,000 miles with full dealer history. From 2005 to 2013 the oil was never changed once neither were the filters or spark plugs. It was topped up once IIRC, changed some wiper blades, tyres and a battery but nothing else. It still ran fine.


Mums civic is a 2001 plate and oil hasn't been changed in god knows how many years and it still runs

Yeah, OK DM, your advice is to wait eight years between services?


You're lucky the oil filter didn't rust away. I guess it never rains and the roads are never salted where you use 'your Yaris' - this is the one you as a person 'fairly new to driving' has owned for a decade, yeah?


Oh, and BTW, it's 'consolation'.

Le_Kirk

theapocalypse wrote: »

if there's any constellation....

Don't know which planet you are on, or you had stars in your eyes when you wrote that!

bigjl

Why are you bothering with a handbook?

Buy a Haynes manual

And a "service" is nothing special.

An oil and oil filter is all most intermediate services consists of, the rest all be checks and it software updates (on newer cars)

A 54 plate Fiesta in my ownership would get an oil and oil filter change along with an air filter once a year and a fuel filter every couple of years.

Plugs would be done on a mileage basis as most plugs these days last much longer than they used to.

Other than that if you have a good MOT bloke he will give the car a look over for you.

If you want to keep the car for a significant period of time you might want to change the coolant every few years, same goes for brake fluid and steering fluid. Gearbox oil maybe every 5/10 yrs.

Though most people will just change oil and filters.

And replace repair as needed.

cajef

theapocalypse wrote: »

if there's any constellation I've had my Yaris since 2005 bought at 16,000 miles with full dealer history.

Are you sure about that, only two days ago you posted this?

theapocalypse wrote: »

Need some advice here. I'm pretty new to driving and had taken my car in to a local (recommended garage) for some work.

bigjl

theapocalypse wrote: »

if there's any constellation I've had my Yaris since 2005 bought at 16,000 miles with full dealer history. From 2005 to 2013 the oil was never changed once neither were the filters or spark plugs. It was topped up once IIRC, changed some wiper blades, tyres and a battery but nothing else. It still ran fine.


Mums civic is a 2001 plate and oil hasn't been changed in god knows how many years and it still runs

Don't you get bored posting drivel in loads of different sign in names Dark Matter?