D max service interval

[hally]

We had our d max serviced in June 2015 at 18 month old with 12 k miles on the clock so the manual said it would not need servicing again until 24k miles or 48 months which ever was sooner. However I have just noticed a sticker above the visor from the local Isuzu dealer saying I should have had it serviced in June this year ( it has 21k on the clock now). Is this correct or is it due in when it gets to 24k miles? TIA

 

[Yale]

No,every 2 years or 12000 miles.

The sticker must have been written wrongly.

BTW,the advice we were given is when it regenerates,burns the dpf off let it complete the cycle once it has started even if it means taking it 3 or 4 miles.

 

[Barleycorn]

I was in our local independent Landrover dealer today. They had a sign up recommending shorter service intervals for Discovery 3 or 4s.
Apparently Landrover recommended service intervals are ridiculous, about 20,000 miles, totally contrary to ZF recommendations who supply the autoboxes.
They run their own Discos, and change the engine oil every 5000 miles, and have one on 300,000 miles.
A gallon of oil and a filter is the most cost effective thing for a truck.

 

[feilding]

All vehicles should be serviced every 5000 miles or once a year. Any longer is too long. New or old.

 

[Cowabunga]

I was in our local independent Landrover dealer today. They had a sign up recommending shorter service intervals for Discovery 3 or 4s.
Apparently Landrover recommended service intervals are ridiculous, about 20,000 miles, totally contrary to ZF recommendations who supply the autoboxes.
They run their own Discos, and change the engine oil every 5000 miles, and have one on 300,000 miles.
A gallon of oil and a filter is the most cost effective thing for a truck.

I've no idea why you believe ZF have the slightest interest in engine service intervals, which sets the tone for your post.
Using the correct oil in the engine, I would certainly be comfortable with 12,000 or even 15,000 miles or one year service intervals, as specified by the manufacturer, whichever comes first. In fact most of my vehicle now have between 12,000 and 20,000 mile recommended service intervals and I find it very convenient to actually get them serviced at yearly intervals, to coincide with their MOT tests.

As for setting an arbitrary 5000 mile service interval? If it makes you feel good, great. Great for me too because my oil company shares have not been doing well lately and need all the help they can get.
It really isn't needed in this day and age. I had a business acquaintance that serviced his Audi Allroad every 20,000 miles whether it needed it or not and he ran several up past 200,000 miles, which is 20 years of driving for the average car.

Some engines are designed for very long service intervals. Some not. The 'not' ones today usually have 12500 mile or one year service intervals. Others, like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have no set interval at all, relying on on-board software and oil and driving style monitoring systems to flag up services only as needed or 24 month intervals, whichever come first. Since major vehicle components are generally lasting longer than ever before, even on these regimes, what possible benefit do you believe that 1970's service intervals will provide you that is of any significance?

The main problem for dealers with these long service intervals with set prices or contract paid-in-advance services is that they have very little income from them. That is why so many try and uplift the invoice with totally unnecessary pad and wiper changes, even discs, and try and get people to service sooner than recommended by the manufacturer plus push rubbish like engine flushes, annual brake fluid changes, fuel conditioners, air-con services and so on, confident that a good proportion of their customers are sentimental mugs about their vehicles and will volunteer to part with extra cash with minimal questioning.

 

[jhorr30]

We had our d max serviced in June 2015 at 18 month old with 12 k miles on the clock so the manual said it would not need servicing again until 24k miles or 48 months which ever was sooner. However I have just noticed a sticker above the visor from the local Isuzu dealer saying I should have had it serviced in June this year ( it has 21k on the clock now). Is this correct or is it due in when it gets to 24k miles? TIA

Knowing the problems I and some others have had with engine oil dilution with diesel with 2012 and newer d Max's I would be inclined to change the oil on those more often rather than wait for the extended service intervals. Fresh oil is cheap compared to a destroyed engine.
The dilution problem didn't stop on the D max I had only slightly slowed.
I was doing 15000 miles+ a year with a lot of fast A road and motorway miles so not just pottering around the farm.
Friends with newer D Max's don't appear to have near as much dilution problems if any but I would still change the oil at least yearly

 

[Barleycorn]

I've no idea why you believe ZF have the slightest interest in engine service intervals, which sets the tone for your post.
Using the correct oil in the engine, I would certainly be comfortable with 12,000 or even 15,000 miles or one year service intervals, as specified by the manufacturer, whichever comes first. In fact most of my vehicle now have between 12,000 and 20,000 mile recommended service intervals and I find it very convenient to actually get them serviced at yearly intervals, to coincide with their MOT tests.

As for setting an arbitrary 5000 mile service interval? If it makes you feel good, great. Great for me too because my oil company shares have not been doing well lately and need all the help they can get.
It really isn't needed in this day and age. I had a business acquaintance that serviced his Audi Allroad every 20,000 miles whether it needed it or not and he ran several up past 200,000 miles, which is 20 years of driving for the average car.

Some engines are designed for very long service intervals. Some not. The 'not' ones today usually have 12500 mile or one year service intervals. Others, like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have no set interval at all, relying on on-board software and oil and driving style monitoring systems to flag up services only as needed or 24 month intervals, whichever come first. Since major vehicle components are generally lasting longer than ever before, even on these regimes, what possible benefit do you believe that 1970's service intervals will provide you that is of any significance?

The main problem for dealers with these long service intervals with set prices or contract paid-in-advance services is that they have very little income from them. That is why so many try and uplift the invoice with totally unnecessary pad and wiper changes, even discs, and try and get people to service sooner than recommended by the manufacturer plus push rubbish like engine flushes, annual brake fluid changes, fuel conditioners, air-con services and so on, confident that a good proportion of their customers are sentimental mugs about their vehicles and will volunteer to part with extra cash with minimal questioning.

Their point was that Landrover are recomending longer oil change intervals than the gearbox manufacturers do.
The dealer is very busy and sevices many vehicles, mainly Landrovers. They certainly don't attract the type of customer who would want new windscreen wipers or a valet!
They were genuinely trying to help their customers out, not scamming more work. They would probably make more money replacing engines when they are prematurely knackered anyway.

 

[Cowabunga]

Their point was that Landrover are recomending longer oil change intervals than the gearbox manufacturers do.
The dealer is very busy and sevices many vehicles, mainly Landrovers. They certainly don't attract the type of customer who would want new windscreen wipers or a valet!
They were genuinely trying to help their customers out, not scamming more work. They would probably make more money replacing engines when they are prematurely knackered anyway.

Its nonsense. ZF only specifies service intervals for its gearboxes and until recently they were 'sealed for life' having no level plug or indicator for the fluid even, and filled for life. Under extreme conditions, which you might interpret as being when installed in a LR vehicle used for towing, ZF recommend changing the fluid at around 80,000 miles or every eight years.
They certainly do not have any interest in the rest of the vehicles and absolutely NO interest or view on the engine service interval. If you believe that they do, you are either gullible or deluded. Either that or you have completely misinterpreted what your garage is trying to say.

Garages just don't get work due to engine wear to vehicles being serviced to manufacturers recommended intervals these days. Catastrophic failures, component failures unrelated to servicing, wear unrelated to service intervals, yes. Otherwise unless there is a design fault, no problem until very high milage indeed in a historical perspective.

I've even got a Land Cruiser here at home that has been serviced every 10,000 miles/two years, which is at over double the recommended interval of every 4500/one year, which was set by the manufacturer back before 1998 when the vehicle was designed. I've serviced it like that, ignoring their interval based on inferior oil and fuel, since new 18 years ago. It goes like new, uses no oil between services and is just coming up to 200,000 miles. It will certainly not 'wear out' in the near future. What advantage would I have got from servicing this vehicle every 5000 miles?

Service your vehicles as recommended by the manufacturer and be happy. If it makes you feel good, do it as often as you like, but don't confuse your recreational maintenance with providing you with any significant long term gain, certainly not financial gain from doing so.

 

[Cowabunga]

Knowing the problems I and some others have had with engine oil dilution with diesel with 2012 and newer d Max's I would be inclined to change the oil on those more often rather than wait for the extended service intervals. Fresh oil is cheap compared to a destroyed engine.
The dilution problem didn't stop on the D max I had only slightly slowed.
I was doing 15000 miles+ a year with a lot of fast A road and motorway miles so not just pottering around the farm.
Friends with newer D Max's don't appear to have near as much dilution problems if any but I would still change the oil at least yearly

If the oil becomes obviously diluted, change it. Common sense should rule. Unfortunately this is sadly lacking in a surprising number of people. They just aren't blessed with mechanical aptitude either. They may have other important attributes, but not those in combination.

 

[hally]

I've no idea why you believe ZF have the slightest interest in engine service intervals, which sets the tone for your post.
Using the correct oil in the engine, I would certainly be comfortable with 12,000 or even 15,000 miles or one year service intervals, as specified by the manufacturer, whichever comes first. In fact most of my vehicle now have between 12,000 and 20,000 mile recommended service intervals and I find it very convenient to actually get them serviced at yearly intervals, to coincide with their MOT tests.

As for setting an arbitrary 5000 mile service interval? If it makes you feel good, great. Great for me too because my oil company shares have not been doing well lately and need all the help they can get.
It really isn't needed in this day and age. I had a business acquaintance that serviced his Audi Allroad every 20,000 miles whether it needed it or not and he ran several up past 200,000 miles, which is 20 years of driving for the average car.

Some engines are designed for very long service intervals. Some not. The 'not' ones today usually have 12500 mile or one year service intervals. Others, like Audi, BMW and Mercedes have no set interval at all, relying on on-board software and oil and driving style monitoring systems to flag up services only as needed or 24 month intervals, whichever come first. Since major vehicle components are generally lasting longer than ever before, even on these regimes, what possible benefit do you believe that 1970's service intervals will provide you that is of any significance?

The main problem for dealers with these long service intervals with set prices or contract paid-in-advance services is that they have very little income from them. That is why so many try and uplift the invoice with totally unnecessary pad and wiper changes, even discs, and try and get people to service sooner than recommended by the manufacturer plus push rubbish like engine flushes, annual brake fluid changes, fuel conditioners, air-con services and so on, confident that a good proportion of their customers are sentimental mugs about their vehicles and will volunteer to part with extra cash with minimal questioning.

Funny you should mention this but the last service billed us for wipers which were replaced only months earlier and screen wash which was filled prior to the service. They also,tried to worm out of a warranty claim but had to swiftly back track after we called Isuzu to clarify the position. Problem is next Isuzu dealer is miles away

 

[Cowabunga]

Uplifting invoices and selling superfluous services is increasingly commonplace and pushed by courses that teach dealers how to increase the profitability of their service facilities. It is only slightly less shady than the traditional dishonest practice of charging for stuff that wasn't even done and for parts not supplied, like changing the oil for cheap shite that doesn't meet the manufactures specification, and wiping but not changing the filter. Air-con service, apart from changing the pollen filter, is another big con. What do you think they do in an air-con service? If it is working, it doesn't need any servicing and certainly no parts as long as the belt is reasonable. My LC is still on its original ancillary belt after nearly 200K miles and 18 years and is in good nick. I've changed the fan belts twice and the timing belt also twice, but air-con works perfectly with no service in 18 years. There is NO specific service for a working air-con system other than checking belts, function and pollen filter and the usual checks for chaffing etc which are all part of the standard minor and/or major vehicle service.

They should not charge for windscreen fluid either, even if it does need topping up. You can get 4 litres of concentrate from Halfords that will mix with water to make at least 20 litres of fluid for £4. They are taking customers for mugs if they charge extra on top of the standard service cost for this.

 

[Qman]

I agree with you on the above points Duck. My daughter-in-law has a one year old Range Rover Sport which has done 8,000 miles, the dealer rang her and told her it needed a service at a cost of over £400. They told her the air con would need a service, which she declined and that they could chip her car so it would go better, which she also declined. All this at extra cost! So she will get an oil change for £400+

 

[Qman]

I disagree with Cowabunga on the service intervals. 20,000 miles is too many for the oil to stay in an engine, my Golf holds only 4 litres and I think it is better to change it every 10,000 miles. The car makers only have the long life servicing to make them look cheaper to run for the money men who chose the cars for firms. They only keep them 3 years, so it is the poor sucker who buys them then who will suffer.

 

[Cowabunga]

I disagree with Cowabunga on the service intervals. 20,000 miles is too many for the oil to stay in an engine, my Golf holds only 4 litres and I think it is better to change it every 10,000 miles. The car makers only have the long life servicing to make them look cheaper to run for the money men who chose the cars for firms. They only keep them 3 years, so it is the poor sucker who buys them then who will suffer.

What do VW recommend for your Golf? If not 20,000 miles, why mention that figure? They usually specified 10,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first, on standard schedule, with some having the option of a flexible monitored service intervals, suitable for high mileage drivers, using superior synthetic long drain oil, that tends to average around 15,000 to 17,000 miles for most drivers in my experience.
Have they extended these intervals lately?

Cars fail for all kinds of reasons, but in general cars serviced to the manufacturers recommended intervals and driven tidily will fail for other reasons before the engine wears out. If it does wear out and it has been run for average or more annual milage, it will be at well over 150,000 miles and probably over 200,000. In the 196-'s and into the 1970's and with 3000 mile oil changes, it would be very unusual indeed for a car to reach 100,000 miles without a major overhaul or be scrapped due to rust or general wear. How do you square that with today's long lasting vehicles? Maybe they would last half a million miles or more with 3000 mile oil changes today? A million with 1500 mile oil changes?

No, engines have a design life of at least 150,000 miles today with routine servicing and the better ones will exceed 250,000 miles. That's without major surgery.

 

[Qman]

On the Golf and my previous Passat the oil was supposed to stay in till the dashboard told you to get it serviced. This was usually at 18-20K miles or every 2 years whichever came first.

I still think it it better done every 10K or every year and I'm not alone in this thinking. In the "Honestjohn" column in the Daily Telegraph we are told to change the oil like this, of course using top quality oil. I use Castrol Edge 5W/30 in my cars.

I change my oil in my JDs every 300 hours and not the recommended 500. I could never understand how they could just double the hours from 250 to 500.

 

[Cowabunga]

On the Golf and my previous Passat the oil was supposed to stay in till the dashboard told you to get it serviced. This was usually at 18-20K miles or every 2 years whichever came first.

I still think it it better done every 10K or every year and I'm not alone in this thinking. In the "Honestjohn" column in the Daily Telegraph we are told to change the oil like this, of course using top quality oil. I use Castrol Edge 5W/30 in my cars.

I change my oil in my JDs every 300 hours and not the recommended 500. I could never understand how they could just double the hours from 250 to 500.

Yet engine wear is the least of their problems, even despite exhaust gass recirculation.

 

[Jim B]

The service intervals on my Navara were 12k. However after the first 6k I dropped the engine oil and changed the filter. First services are quite important I think?

It was then Nissan main dealer serviced at 12k. The service manager told me they had recently increased the intervals to 18k. Despite this I will still be getting it serviced at 24k. 18k intervals seem too long, especially as it gets driven relatively hard and does a reasonable amount of towing.

 

[Post Driver]

I'm a bit sceptical of my Isuzu dealer now.

At the 24k service they said it needed front pads and discs. They weren't metal on metal yet, but only had 1 or 2mm to go so I said Yeh do it, save me the down time sooner or later. 24k miles didn't seem many miles for brake pads, especially as the first 12k was with the previous owner who was an office worker and it had never towed or been off road even.

36k service and no mention of brakes.

39k miles and it developed judder when braking, especially when braking hard or at speed. Truck was due it's first MOT so put it into dealer for MOT and get the brakes looked at.

They gave the brakes a thorough clean and skimmed the discs. Never heard of skimming brake discs before?

What you reckon Duck?

 

[Lazy Eric]

On the Golf and my previous Passat the oil was supposed to stay in till the dashboard told you to get it serviced. This was usually at 18-20K miles or every 2 years whichever came first.

I still think it it better done every 10K or every year and I'm not alone in this thinking. In the "Honestjohn" column in the Daily Telegraph we are told to change the oil like this, of course using top quality oil. I use Castrol Edge 5W/30 in my cars.

I change my oil in my JDs every 300 hours and not the recommended 500. I could never understand how they could just double the hours from 250 to 500.

Could never understand that either , bought a new early 6320 to replace 6310, double the service interval for what seemed exactly the same engine.

 

[Cowabunga]

I'm a bit sceptical of my Isuzu dealer now.

At the 24k service they said it needed front pads and discs. They weren't metal on metal yet, but only had 1 or 2mm to go so I said Yeh do it, save me the down time sooner or later. 24k miles didn't seem many miles for brake pads, especially as the first 12k was with the previous owner who was an office worker and it had never towed or been off road even.

36k service and no mention of brakes.

39k miles and it developed judder when braking, especially when braking hard or at speed. Truck was due it's first MOT so put it into dealer for MOT and get the brakes looked at.

They gave the brakes a thorough clean and skimmed the discs. Never heard of skimming brake discs before?

What you reckon Duck?

It is common to skim disks when brakes have been juddering. Depending on the wear on the discs relative to their minimum allowed thickness, it can often be more economic to change the discs for new sometimes, especially if copy parts are used and considering today's labour rates and the potential life left for the discs.
Discs can warp at any time but most often when discs have worn a bit thin, but almost always due to heavy breaking so that the discs are hot but stopping to a halt and keeping your foot on the brake so that the pads cause the heat dissipation to be unequal on the disc. I have had one or two vehicles with warped discs over the years, causing bad judder.

Today's harder, longer lasting pads do tend to wear discs at a faster rate than used to be the case. On the plus side they don't tend to fade or catch fire or melt like they used to either.