No Tune Up

dkpix

I just wanted say I've 103k on my car with no tune up.I'm still geting good fuel mileage.

pluto5

That's good but you might find it hard to remove the plugs if you decide to do one.

Mr_Shiftright

Really? You mean you still have all the original spark plugs, wires, cap, coil, etc? What maintenance, if any, have you done? Battery? Brakes? Timing belt, etc?

carlmoorejr

I change mine about every 40K. They are tough to get out,even with that anti-seize goop on the threads. I snug them only and certainly don't overtighten. Just done a major tune-up at 100K. I have always averaged 28-38 mpg.1994 model.

vidtech

if he had platnum plugs originally,there shouldn't be a problem getting that mileage without a tune up.however,i'll bet the plugs are pretty worn at this time.

swschrad

bet if he hooks up a U-Haul and drives to International Falls, he ends up as a hitchhiker someplace around st. louis, where all the snow is falling this year.

dkpix

I don't have any plans to pull a a U-haul to International Falls already been there.
Mr_Shiftright I've only replaced my front brakes.
Battery still the original had some trouble cleaned off the corosion filled it with water was fine after that.

haspelbein

...I do most of my maintenance in order to keep my cars for the long haul. (200K miles/10+ years) I've known people who never changed their oil. If the car died at 90K, as it was the case with this particular person, a new car was in order.

In fact, I never changed the oil on my first car. It leaked so much that I thought it wouldn't be necessary. I gave it away after two years, but the engine ran fine.

I'm pretty positive that you could drive a Honda Accord up to 100K miles with maybe three oil changes. Plugs can easily go up to 100K miles if they're not too hot. (I just ran copper plugs up to 60K without a problem.) Brakes are a little more touchy. Even a careful driver would probably push it at 70K or so.
Battery live seems to be mostly a question of time, not mileage. In a warm climate, 7-8 years are definitely possible.
The coolant is probably also a time bomb. I'd guess 5-7 years before you run into problems by not changing cooleant.

What happens after 100K, well..that is a different story.

andre1969

I'd imagine that a lot of stop-and-go driving is going to mean a shorter life for those 100,000 mile spark plugs than if I just got out on the highway and loafed all day. My Intrepid's plugs needed to be replaced at 51,000 miles, but then I used to deliver pizzas, along with lots of other short-distance, stop-and-go type driving.

One of my supervisors has a '92 or '93 Civic, a base model with a stick shift and drum brakes in back. He has about 160,000 miles on it. Somehow, the front pads lasted long enough that they were only recently replaced, and the rear drums are still original! I think he has about a 60 mile commute each way though, and it's just about all highway. Still, it seems incredible to get mileage like that out of a set of brakes! Does a manual tranny really let you get that much more life out of them?

haspelbein

...that really depends on how you drive the car. I've seen somebody burn a clutch without moving the vehicle at all.

The scenario (mainly highway) is pretty easy on the clutch, as little shifting is involved. If your driving style isn't aggressive, you can milk a lot of mileage out of a manual transmission without changing the clutch.

Aside from the clutch, I would expect a manual transmission to last longer than the average slushbox, as it is a simpler design with far less stress on the lubricant.

Since I don't put that many miles on a single car, I've never driven my vehicles for much more than 80K miles. I've never had clutch problems so far.

carlmoorejr

1994 Sentra-- I have replaced the front brakes 5 times and the rotors once. The car has 112K miles now. The rear brakes were replaced once. The shop said the replacement rear shoes had no more lining than the originals he was taking off. I replaced them anyway. I know I am very hard on brakes. Good brakes,battery,excellent tires{Michelin},belts,hoses,antifreeze,thermostat,transmission service,wiper blades,washer fluid,good brand gasoline,and fuel injector cleaner are mandatory requirements on my vehicles.

nippononly

my Subie Outback Sport last year at 115K miles, with the original brakes and clutch. yes, it was a manual, and while the clutch was beginning to wear, the brakes had just been checked and were still at 50%. To extrapolate, that would have been 230K miles on the original brakes, if I had kept it! Amazing.

Ever since this whole "100K miles without a tune-up" thing started a few years back, I was wondering how valid those claims were going to turn out to be as the years passed. It seems like at least for this sentra they were valid, eh? What about air filters? Yes, OK, the plugs can go 105K, or 110K (Honda's claim) or whatever, but surely you must have to change the air filters a lot more frequently than that?

carlmoorejr

I cheat here too. I use a foam (gas and oil compatible-like for lawnmowers) cover on the outside of the air filter. I service the foam filter regularly and still have the original paper filter in use. It is still reasonably clean. A caution note however, some cars are real sensitive on the emissions and sense the additional foam filter. It might trigger your "check engine" light to come on and register a code as a restricted air filter.

nippononly

a lot of trouble to save a $12 paper air filter? Are there other benefits to this method?

swschrad

and am glad of it. I don't think I have ever run one to 10,000 miles. filters are a usage item like gas and oil to me, and curiously, I don't ever seem to have much car trouble.

carlmoorejr

The obvious would be it traps additional particulates. It's not much trouble to rinse a foam filter in diesel or kerosene and apply some oil,then use air to blow out paper element(not reccomended by manufactures)-(I think so they can sell you a new one). If I do not have to spend extra money on an air filter,then why waste money on a new one,when in my case this method works fine for me. As for more trouble,well I am already changing the oil and doing routine maintenace and inspections,so it is just part of the process. the poster that changes the filter every 10k. That would make me replacing the filter 11 times,multiply by $12.00 dollars and thats a savings of $132.00 dollars. That is a pretty good savings IMO. No damage to the engine in my case, but to each his own.