Maintanance Schedule

[LB]

Hi,
I got a new Suburu Outback and registed on mysubaru.com. Very cool site with
service reminders, etc.

Here is the kicker though:

1. Subary recommends service (oil) every 7500 miles
2. Dealer recommends service every 3500 miles

I am very sure that dealer just scewing thier customers by doing undeeded
service (or doing service to often). Am I right?

Also I already pre-purched thier pre-paid service plan (knowing me, without
out it just would not do any service). Check out the recoomended schedule:

Walker's Renton Subaru Recommended Maintenance Schedule for a
2005 OUTBACK 2.5i LTD WAGON

Click on a highlighted Service Interval to view Interval Details

Interval Status Action

3750 miles / 3.5 month service

7500 miles / 7.5 month service

11250 miles / 11.5 month service

15000 miles / 15 month service

18750 miles / 18.5 month service

22500 miles / 22.5 month service

26250 miles / 26.5 month service

30000 miles / 30 month service

33750 miles / 33.5 month service

37500 miles / 37.5 month service

41250 miles / 41.5 month service

45000 miles / 45 month service


And here is from the Subaru (not from the dealer)

Manufacturer's Recommended Maintenance Schedule for a
2005 OUTBACK 2.5i LTD WAGON

Click on a highlighted Service Interval to view Interval Details

Interval Status Action

7500miles / 7.5 month service

15000miles / 15 month service

22500miles / 22.5 month service

30000miles / 30 month service

37500miles / 37.5 month service

45000miles / 45 month service

52500miles / 52.5 month service

 

[Jim Stewart]

Hi,
I got a new Suburu Outback and registed on mysubaru.com. Very cool site with
service reminders, etc.

Here is the kicker though:

1. Subary recommends service (oil) every 7500 miles
2. Dealer recommends service every 3500 miles

I am very sure that dealer just scewing thier customers by doing undeeded
service (or doing service to often). Am I right?

I'll sink to answering a question with a question...
Who knows more about your car, the factory or
the dealer?

I bought my '99 Outback new and it's got over
100k miles on it. I've done all of my own
servicing except a torn CV joint boot that
was covered under warranty. For me, the factory
schedule is/was fine.

 

[04WRX]

I bought a brand new WRX, my subaru dealer told me to bring the car in for
service every 15000km (9375miles) or 6 months.

the first time will be small service so just oil change, the second the will
do some more like oil and all filters, the second time just oil again, this
will be like this after every 15000km or six months big service than small
than big etc.

allmost all new cars sold (in Europe, I live in the Netherlands or Holland
however you wana name it) have this type of intervall, this was the same
with my dads mazda 626 and also my opel astra I had before the WRX.

so yes if more than this is a rippoff

 

[powertrain]

Depends on the use. Depending on the driving conditions, recommended
service intervals could and should be shortened, for instance if your
car is driven exclusively in stop and go trafic, is regularly driven
hard in very hot weather, or on the contrary in very cold conditions, on
dirt roads, etc.

 

[Edward Hayes]

I rely on the manufactures recommendations and do all of my own scheduled
maintained. If I was to depend on a Subaru or any other dealer I would take
my manual with me and circle what the manufacture recommends for MY driving
conditions. i.e. severe service=3,750 mile oil/filter changes or normal
service=7,500 mile oil/filter changes. Many dealers have their own agendas
and recommend "extra" service which may be ok but, usually is just a money
maker. THE MANUAL IS YOUR FRIEND and you will not go wrong or broke
following it. ed

 

[powertrain]

I rely on the manufactures recommendations and do all of my own
scheduled maintained. If I was to depend on a Subaru or any other
dealer I would take my manual with me and circle what the manufacture
recommends for MY driving conditions. i.e. severe service=3,750 mile
oil/filter changes or normal service=7,500 mile oil/filter changes.

What I said: shortened service intervals if car driven hard or in severe
conditions. Thank you for pointing out that the manual agrees with me.
If you're driving in trafic a lot, you're not doing a whole lot of
mileage but your engine still runs, like you were doing the miles. A
better system is number of hours of use, like for an aircraft or marine
engine.

Many dealers have their own agendas and recommend "extra" service
which may be ok but, usually is just a money maker. THE MANUAL IS
YOUR FRIEND and you will not go wrong or broke following it. ed

My dealer recommends an oil and filter change every 3 months, I do every
4 months.

 

[Rick Courtright]

1. Subary recommends service (oil) every 7500 miles
2. Dealer recommends service every 3500 miles

Hi,

Well, if you don't want to start a war over dino vs synthetic, there's
always "how often to change oil!" You'll get some rather impassioned
responses either way. All have some merit, most have some fault as well.

Best thing to do IMO is to look in your owners manual. You'll probably
see a "normal" and a "severe" service interval. For MOST of us,
"normal's" a pipe dream. Read the definitions that determine "severe"
and you'll find that if you drive your car at all, it's probably
"severe" service! So stick with that schedule.

Having said that, I stick with a 3000 mile oil change schedule and have
since the days of air-cooled VWs that didn't even have an oil filter. I
can't say it's bought me anything over a slightly more extended
schedule, but I also can't say I've wasted that much money, either. I
currently have 355k miles on my Subie, 218k on my Toyota, and previous
vehicles have been treated, and rewarded me, in similar fashion. So
let's just say that while going too far between oil changes MAY harm the
engine, going a little on the "frequent" side won't.

Some responders, especially from Europe, will say we change way too
often in the US. I'd tend to agree, but there are some differences, too:
I seriously doubt many drivers in Europe put on the kinds of miles we do
here, and even if they do, they're getting different oil than we do. Go
down to your auto parts store and look at the "For Sale in North America
Only" sign on a bottle of Castrol. Castrol's sold worldwide: is this
hype or not? Considering the stricter testing sequences for many
European engines, I doubt it.

Also, it may be changing, but in the past the Europeans have had a
slightly more "hands on" mentality about maintenance than the Americans.
I remember one owners manual I had that specified "at 36k miles, or
engine teardown" for certain maintenance? What? That's barely a year for
me and many I know--tear down an engine annually? I don't think so!

So, make your own decision based on the owners manual, and you should be
ok.

Rick

 

[Jim Stewart]

LB wrote:




Hi,

Well, if you don't want to start a war over dino vs synthetic, there's
always "how often to change oil!" You'll get some rather impassioned
responses either way. All have some merit, most have some fault as well.

Best thing to do IMO is to look in your owners manual. You'll probably
see a "normal" and a "severe" service interval. For MOST of us,
"normal's" a pipe dream. Read the definitions that determine "severe"
and you'll find that if you drive your car at all, it's probably
"severe" service! So stick with that schedule.

Having said that, I stick with a 3000 mile oil change schedule and have
since the days of air-cooled VWs that didn't even have an oil filter. I
can't say it's bought me anything over a slightly more extended
schedule, but I also can't say I've wasted that much money, either. I
currently have 355k miles on my Subie, 218k on my Toyota, and previous
vehicles have been treated, and rewarded me, in similar fashion. So
let's just say that while going too far between oil changes MAY harm the
engine, going a little on the "frequent" side won't.

Some responders, especially from Europe, will say we change way too
often in the US. I'd tend to agree, but there are some differences, too:
I seriously doubt many drivers in Europe put on the kinds of miles we do
here, and even if they do, they're getting different oil than we do. Go
down to your auto parts store and look at the "For Sale in North America
Only" sign on a bottle of Castrol. Castrol's sold worldwide: is this
hype or not? Considering the stricter testing sequences for many
European engines, I doubt it.

Also, it may be changing, but in the past the Europeans have had a
slightly more "hands on" mentality about maintenance than the Americans.
I remember one owners manual I had that specified "at 36k miles, or
engine teardown" for certain maintenance? What? That's barely a year for
me and many I know--tear down an engine annually? I don't think so!

Must have been a Jaguar

 

[Alan]

Hi,
I got a new Suburu Outback and registed on mysubaru.com. Very cool site with
service reminders, etc.

Here is the kicker though:

1. Subary recommends service (oil) every 7500 miles
2. Dealer recommends service every 3500 miles

I am very sure that dealer just scewing thier customers by doing undeeded
service (or doing service to often). Am I right?

Also I already pre-purched thier pre-paid service plan (knowing me, without
out it just would not do any service). Check out the recoomended schedule:

Walker's Renton Subaru Recommended Maintenance Schedule for a
2005 OUTBACK 2.5i LTD WAGON

You need to follow the dealer's schedule to avoid warrantee disputes. The
dealer's schedule is based on local driving conditions. Most manufacturers
claim 7500 until you read the fine print, at which point you find it's
really somewhere between 3000-3750 miles. Drive in polluted air? (Unless you
are in Death Valley, you do) - severe duty. Stop and go? (not all highway
driving) Severe duty. Start the car often? (More than twice a day) - severe
duty. etc...

 

[Edward Hayes]

Alan: Just read your owners manual as to what constitute severe duty. No
where does it allude to more than two starts per day as severe and dirty air
except in death valley??? Where did you manufacture that kind of
thinking??? Follow the manual.

 

[hippo]

My Subs do 58,00Km/yr (35K miles in Aus with probably 5% dirt driving and
30% short hop city. Still on 12,500Km (7.5K mile) dealer service interval
with no problems in between except occasional boot or bulb failures.
Surely 3750 miles could only be oil/filter & safety check? So you're doing
extra schedule 1 services. Basically it's good peace of mind if you
regularly do lots of 3 mile trips, flog the nuts off the car from cold, or
travel with half a ton of trade samples. Otherwise? It's really your call
unless it's going to void warranty. Cheers

 

[L. Kreh]

Depends on where you live and how you drive. Live in the big city and
spend hours idling in traffic? It would be wise to change the oil
every 3500 miles. Live in the country w/ no stop and go traffic? You
could probably go 7500 in between oil changes. I suspect most of us
are somewhere in between...

 

[Cliff Chang]

I think the best system would be the combination of
1) Measurement of total engine revolutions (engine usage)
2) Total mileage (distance traveled)

This way we can easily tell what kind of usage history a car has had. For
example, a car with low mileage, but with high engine usage would suggest
that the car has likely been driven in stop-and-go conditions.

 

[Philip Procter]

I just got back from my first Subaru service (3750 mi). The oil change
wasn't bad (like US$23) but behind the counter they had a list of
recomended services posted along with the cost. I was astounded. $450
for the 12,000mi checkup (and similar amounts at 12,000mi intervals)

What in the heck could a dealer do that would justify $450 for a
healthy car!

All they had listed were things like engine diagnostic service, oil,
filter and lube, Transmission adjustment (it's a manual, what's to
adjust!). These people must think that their greesemonkeys graduated
from Harvard Medical School. No, can that, I don't pay my friggin'
doctor that much!

Philip

 

[Bonehenge]

I just got back from my first Subaru service (3750 mi). The oil change
wasn't bad (like US$23) but behind the counter they had a list of
recomended services posted along with the cost. I was astounded. $450
for the 12,000mi checkup (and similar amounts at 12,000mi intervals)

What in the heck could a dealer do that would justify $450 for a
healthy car!

Stop at any other dealer. There isn't much difference between brands,
unless you go Euro, where it's even more expensive.

Barry