The Car Maintenance Schedule You Should Follow in 2020

We buy a car and forget that it’s something that we have to take care of. A car that takes us to place needs inspection time to time so that it can remain flawless for an elongated period of time.

If not for your car, for your own safety, the routine car maintenance schedule is a must. But do you know what should be maintained and when you should maintain it?

There’s no shame if you don’t. Because most people who aren’t in love with their cars are like this. They don’t think of their car as something that needs attention. But it really does. So, to help you know here’s the car maintenance schedule of 2020 that will help you to take care of your car and increase its life.

Car Maintenance Schedule

It is important to drive your car safely and also maintain a schedule for its maintenance. Just follow the below schedules in 2020 to get better longevity from your car.

1.  Car Maintenance Schedule For Once Every Month

On a monthly basis, except for refueling the tank, you have to do some more things to keep yourself safe and free from the future expenses.

First of all, keep the interior and exterior of your car clean. Washing every week and polishing your car every month would make your car look good on the outside. An extensive clean-up of the interior every month will keep the inside great.

Then check the tire pressure and check if the windshield has enough fluid or not. The tire pressure gets changed due to the heat generated from the friction. Also, the sun’s heat or the cold of winter can reduce or increase the air pressure of the tires. Then it gets a bit hard to drive the car.

So, keep a check on these monthly.

2. Car Maintenance Schedule For Once Every 3 Months

Usually, the three months cycle refers to 3,000 miles. So, it’s about whichever comes first, 3,000 miles or 3 months. In 3 months or after 3,000 miles you have to check the transmission fluid. You could check the battery if it’s a cheap one. Most batteries tend to stay okay for at least 6 months. Do check the cables.

Check the engine oil and filter if they need a change or not. If they do, change them right away. Then check the fuel filter, power steering fluid.

Don’t forget to check the tire inflation/deflation as well along with the above mentioned.

Do check if the exhaust system is doing okay or not. Because an exhaust takes out the smoke from the engine. If it’s not working properly, your car might be on fire.

3,000 miles may not seem much but still, it could take a lot out of your car. So, take these inspections very seriously.

3.  Car Maintenance Schedule For Once Every 6 Months

The six months cycle or 6,000 miles is pretty brutal. Again, whichever comes first, months or miles, you have to take the following steps so that your car can be at the best possible shape.

You should check everything that’s mentioned on the 3 months cycle again. After making sure that everything from the 3 months cycle is okay, you could now check the following.

First, check the chassis lubricant. As the whole chassis is metallic cars tend to have a lot of friction and this damages a lot of parts if not lubricated properly. So, to refrain from not hurting any metal parts from the chassis, ensure proper lubrication of them every six months.

If you are too busy to perform everything again from the 3 months cycle, make time to cross-check the following. These are obvious things to take care of and you should do them as they might cause harm to you or whoever uses the car.

Check the engine filters, the timing belt, change the engine oil. For engine oil the best type is synthetic. They cost a little bit more than usual. But synthetics can last up to 5,000 miles. So, it’s better to use them as you can lay it off from the 3 months cycle and expunge some expenses. 

Obviously check the power steering fluids. Having perfectly functional steering is very important as that’s the very thing you use to direct the car.

Then take care of the braking fluids and the brake shoes. That’s all for the 6 months cycle. If you’re skipping anything from the 3 months cycle, make sure to check them within 4 months.

4.  Car Maintenance Schedule For Once Every 9 Months

Again cross-check the 3 months cycle stuffs again. If you haven’t driven your car up to 9,000 miles or have fewer miles around 6,000 you could skip the lubrication part of the 6-month cycle and perform them in 9 months.

Do check the belts, transmission fluids, do check if the engine lights are on or not. If engine lights are on, you need to seek professional help to inspect everything of your engine to find out where the problem lies.

This is really important. Because the engine light represents any deformity in your car engine. So, make it a must to seek professional help whenever the engine light is on. Usually, it occurs during the 9-month cycle. But if it occurs any time before, don’t wait for it to go off automatically, inspect it.

5.  Car Maintenance Schedule For Once Every 12 Months

In 12 months cycle, the first thing that needs attention is the battery of your car. Batteries tend to wear off in 12 months. So, make it a priority to check the batteries. They might sustain for a month or two. But most require a change in a year.

During the 12 months cycle, a car might get a lot of scratches on its body and dents. It’s not possible for anyone to take care of dents and scratches any time they occur. So, this is what should be done in a 12 months cycle.

Send your car to a body shop and paint shop once every year. It’ll keep the exterior of your car in a tip-top condition.

Do check the suspensions. The suspensions are to last for a year and more if the car is not put through 12,000 miles of usage. If you have crossed 12,000 miles in 12 months, make sure to inspect the suspensions are find out how long they’ll last. Mostly, they don’t after 12 months. So, you may have to change them.

In 3-6-9 months you have checked your tires for inflation and maintained air pressure. If you haven’t, tires would need a change. You would need a new set of tires for your car.

And follow up everything from the 3 months and 6 months cycle. Especially the brakes, transmission, and timing belt.

You might need to check the spark plugs as well. They may not require any change but it’s good to stay on the safe side, right? Finally, check the wiper blades, if they can clear off the windshield, you’re good to go. But you should change your wiper blades in a year.

Final Word

So there you go. This is the universal 3-6-9-12 regime that conscious car owners maintain all over the world. If you were looking for a car maintenance schedule you should follow in 2020, this is the one. It’ll keep your car, you and your family safe and give your automobile better longevity.

Follow the steps accordingly to make sure not only that you’re safe physically, but also safe from all the major expenses that might occur at any time.