As a mechanic student a can´t stress this enough, never skip an oil change! People think cars are just some magical thing that makes them go places and don´t think of cars as machines that needs to be serviced.
Oil changes are very important. I've only changed the oil as per the recommendations on this car though and that's every 18,000 miles. That's a lot of miles but it seems to work fine.
i bought a used car and was told it was serviced how wrong i was air filter was clogged and the fuel filter looked like a gateau ( Garage feedback lol ) car drove excellent after that i have had everything replaced. The garage did my cambelt and water pump the same time. I'm pretty sure your car loses value quickly if you have no proof of work carried out and routine maintenance. The old owner neglected it i treat her like royalty . Gear cables ' gear oil all filters ' brakes bled brake fluid changed antifreeze changed New brakes pads discs all round . This is my first car so treat it well my family love our Zafira B 1.7CDTI Diesel (2011)
@@ConquerDriving Yeah, many car manufacturers recommend so called long life service. It's an ongoing debate on whether it´s good for the engine or not. I like 15 000 km/10 000 miles oil change intervalls more.
@@ConquerDriving Extened services only work if you use the proper oil, which you appear to do. I can tell just by looking at the dipstick in the video. It has zero visible varnish on it. The issues come when people go to whoever can change their oil for the cheapest where they usually use bulk oil that only holds up for a few thousand miles.
Great video, I think this will help a lot of people! If you take care of your car it can certainly last a while. My daily driver has 270K miles on it and people are amazed by how many parts are still original and perfectly healthy. It's called maintenance! :)
@Milan Hegedus I no the feeling your stuck between a rock and a hard place I had a car that gave trouble not long after I bought it ended up paying loan in record time and got rid didn't trust it one bit. Reliability and running costs are now no1 priority
since you know about high mileage vehicles, anything i should know about the car ive had since i was 17 and now 7 years later it has 240k miles on it? maintenance and what not.
I think I owe you a pint after all the value I’ve gotten from watching your videos. I bought a 2008 Subaru Justy and your advice has made a world of difference in relearning to drive. Got my license at 18 and I never drove until I was 35.
208k miles on my 2006 Civic 2.2 diesel. Original engine, never been touched, serviced every 12.5k miles. Your comment RE the cam chain, change if it starts rattling, no need to touch it otherwise.
I cant beleive i would be saying this today that i passed my driving test in first time with 4 minor faults. your videos have been so helpful. You are doing great job. Big thank you to you.. i m over the moon..🤩🤩🤩
The driving test was easy..for me tho the test test wasn't..every time I had questions on the degree to turn up on a curb..6 questions out of 10 never could pass it..had to take a class for it bc of it, at least I moved and now where I am I don't have to worry about the test ehen I turn 21 now :))) edit: but awesome congratulations it's pretty rad to finally get through that I feel you! My only issue was the..Parallel parking..🤣 I hated it, I still do, just be mindful of the road and those around you and you should be good :) for parralel parking..I'd say avoid it as much as you can..! :D
Got 170k on my 21yr old vauxhall omega I brought it with no history but clearly someone loved it one time. I've been driving it since 143k, given it plenty of oil changes, belts and water pump and paid for a service on the automatic gearbox. Most people would never do that to a car coming towards 150k but if its been clearly looked after then why not? Hence why mines still going! Car cost me 700 quid and has lasted me 4 years so far without a single breakdown or major issue!
I think the most underrated preventative measure you described is the warm-up. With all the engine and transmission parts designed to operate within a fixed temperature range, they have part tolerances intended to make your engine "fit" perfectly within that temperature range once the metal components expand with heat. This means that many engine components are not ideally connected and have too much play which will accelerate internal wear under load significantly. Cold starts are the worst as there is a brief moment where the engine isn't properly lubricated and will wear the most. So a really good habit is to avoid as many cold starts as possible by eliminating unnecessary drives and compiling errands into a single string of trips. The engine stays relatively warm warm lubricated that way and you get your tasks done in one go and will achieve better fuel economy too. Limiting the heat cycling of your engine will improve its lifespan. Great video!
@@Aviciiz That's a Dutch island so you're supposed to open the door, start the car, clap your clogs together three times, rotate into the car and into full lotus position, then operate the vehicle entirely with your hands because why not.
Absolutely superb video. Best thing I watched this whole week. Excellent tip in letting the car slow down and idle a bit before shutting down turbo engines. The number of people I see that just park and immediately turn off their turbo engines just hurts!
Advice to live by. Nice one, Richard! A few ideas; Engine oil; read the instructions / manual. Generally there is no 'lifetime oil'. Keep track of how much it has, reach out to a trusted mechanic or a dealership (not a stealership!). Change it, have the proper one. Get a new filter - drop the old one, it is full of stuff you do not want inside the engine. It lubricates primarily, 'decontaminates' secondarily AND it cools. There is a specific cooling system, but a fine oil will aid the engine to keep its optimal temperature during use. Coolant; change it every 5 years - that is my instruction. It is relatively cheap, it cools, it heats you, it is vital. Don't make it more than 50:50 unless conditions require it to resist freezing more. The more resistant it is to freezing, the thicker it may be - the more strain on the water pump there might be. Timing belt / chain / pulleys; always follow up on the manual and the manufacturer's instructions. I would drop a belt and all parts tied to it every 55-75k kms (provided the car is not new, dependent on previous life, otherwise see the manual) , chain and tensioners every 85-90k kms (as before). A complete set is costly, the labor even more - an engine that has a belt slip or a loose chain causing an engine failure ... a lot more. Gearbox oil; either keep changing it regularly / as recommended, or if it has no history of changing, let it drain, store it, fill fresh oil in and see if the gearbox works well. If not, drain it, refill with old oil. Logic is; the old oil may have particles that make the gearbox work 'okay', while the fresh oil has none .. in this case, measure how much a gearbox repair costs. Oh and +1; ALWAYS pay attention to your wheels. They keep you on track, they enable you to go anywhere - or stop anytime. A set of Chinesium cheap tires wins against a decade old premium tire. Don't roll on wire mesh, it ruins every aspect. Inspect the rims for damage, if swapping them is usual (one set of winter tires vs one set of summer), do let the tire specialists do their thing. A well balanced, relatively damage-free rim goes a long way.
That sound you made for the Reverse gear grinding really tickled me for some reason 🤣some good advice here, Richard. I'm still watching these videos even after passing my test over a year ago, since your videos helped me out a lot ❤
One thing about automatic transmission people fail to realize is that often times your transmission oil runs through the radiator. So unfortunately if you accidentally overheat your motor, you often times cook your automatic transmission fluid drastically shortly in its life…therefore the life of the transmission. So if one accidentally gets the engine a little warm, replacing your transmission fluid is often times a good idea.
I had a 2003 Renault Megane which I had from 2007 to 2016. Mechanically it was sound apart from the usual wear & tear. It had 167,000 miles when I changed it for a 2015 Megane Dci. I remember I once took it into the main dealer for a service & the mechanic said "Blimey this cars been looked after"😂
Very useful video! I've been servicing my cars for the past 10 years.. started with oil and filter changes - never had a car broken down on me. When I show some of my friends how easy it is to change air filter for example they laugh, my Mazda's 6 air filter cover was held by 4 clips.. it took me longer to change Brita filter in my water jug LOL I like that MX5 of yours!! :)
One thing to mention is with cars that have wet belts (mainly Ford's ecoboost engines) it is absolutely critical to keep up with oil changes and the cambelt (wetbelt) replacement interval. Even if the belt doesn't snap, they can still cause catastrophic engine damage if the belt rubber breaks down and blocks the oil pickup with rubber shavings. If this happened it would starve the engine of oil It is a very common problem with the Ecoboost engines, especially ones that haven't had regular oil changes
@@topzozzle6319 A lot of the time, people will just replace the entire engine because Ford sell them so cheaply. Such a waste, and as you say, crap design
100% agree with everything you said, just want to add that generally coolant temp gets faster to operating temperature than oil especially in the winter time when it's needed to drive up to 8km to get it to operating temperature, so my advice is to run your car gently in winter for a few more minutes or km.
I'm also a driving instructor, (ex ford motor engineer) and I'm running a 13 plate, 1.0 litre ecoboost petrol ford fiesta. It's done 183k now and it's still on the original clutch too, although starting to get a little heavier to press now. Since the closest test centre is in the next city, it regularly gets a good 5/7 mile, 70mph run, that can be up to three to five times a day depending on student competences. The cambelt was changed at the recommended 150k, two teeth were missing! Next time I'll stick to 100k! That's from the stalling and bump starting jerks students do from time to time. When I stripped down the engine, I was amazed how clean the internals where. No sludge or varnishing anywhere. It's a testament to modern synthetic oils and regular servicing. All my parts fitted are always genuine OE equipment too.
In Sweden we are taught to do adjust mirrors and etc and put on the safety belt before starting the car so we don't waste fuel and get going as fast as possible after starting the car. And you could already guess the giant problem with this... The engine isn't fully lubricated yet and we are putting stress on the engine components. Doing this in Sweden is even worse because we can have below -20°C in some places in the country. Which means that the lubrication is even worse, which in turn means that your engine is gonna blow even faster by driving like you are taught.
@@ConquerDriving saving a few cents (and the environment) on petrol to have your engine wear out much faster? No way. It's both more expensive and probably less environmentally friendly in the end. You will have to purchase new parts that release co2 when produced and a bunch of other byproducts, heavy metals and such.
As a very famous engineer said...'Treat her like a lady, and she will always bring you home'. May have been meant as a double entendre, but still good advice!
19:16 Exceptions? *cough* Ford *cough* Fiesta 7 *cough* Did you hear something? 🤔 I certaily didn't 😉 Your car is exceptionally well kept. Very clean and honest engine bay, and machanically sound and well maintained. Shows if you look after it, it will look after you.
If you have an engine with EGR and turbo (basically any modern ICE car), you should floor the engine often enough. Common way to cause EGR and turbo issues is driving always on low RPM and low torque. I recommend driving the engine to full driving temperature and the flooring it on 3rd from 2000 rpm to red line at least twice a month. And avoids a lot of carbon buildup in EGR and turbo when you get the turbo hot enough. If it's cool climate, you may want to repeat the flooring a couple of times. The idea is to get turbo so hot that it will cause carbon buildup to turn into CO2. Of course, you don't want to do that if you don't have spec compliant oil, proper coolant level and a timing belt/chain you know will not snap.
I've got a volvo V50 diesel had it 7 years it had done 85000 when I bought it , its now done 148000 miles but it's been serviced every year that I've owned it had the cam belt and water pump changed at 120, 000 miles always change my filters and fuel filter at every service . Still running quiet starts first time every time . Great video Thank you 😊
My Aygo has a timing chain... Only done 90,000 and I change the oil roughly every 5,000 miles. The car came with 100,000 mile/10 year coolant and it's due its first coolant change now.
My 1999 mercedes E320 has 220K miles and still running perfectly smooth! maintained well. biggest repair/replacement was the A/C 3 years ago cost me $2,500 for a remanufactured AC + labor.
Maintenance is vital for every car. My mom's Chrysler had a transmission fail on it. It was not driven much on the highway it was mostly in the city. I suspect that the fluid ran out. Years later, I bought my first car. The previous owner did not take well enough care of it. Cigarette burns here and there, the engine oil and gearbox oil were both low. I noticed that within the first month. I took it to a garage and had the car fully serviced and every filter replaced. My 2014 Fiat Panda now has 174.610 km on the clock. I get it serviced every 10.000 km.
Only thing I'd say is there's no interval that timing chains should be replaced. In fact it could do more harm than good if there's nothing wrong with the original and someone fits a cheap aftermarket chain kit. I'd only recommend replacing a chain if it's rattling or there is evidence of it being stretched/weakened by a worn out tensioner
I don't really know a lot about cars but I asked my mechanic regarding the cambelt. He said that there's no way you can tell if it needs changing, why he recommended the change at around 100k km (~60k miles) regardless - dunno if the same goes for a timing chain though?
@@NilausI Belts crack and perish over time, so manufacturers set a time period of when to replace it. It's important to replace it early because if the belt breaks it will cause catastrophic engine damage. Sometimes the tensioner fails before the belt so that is replaced at the same time You can check if it needs replacing on most engines, just need to pull the cover back a bit to make sure there's no cracking in the belt. If there is, it needs to be changed ASAP before it fails. Timing chains, that's right. No way to tell they need replacing unless they stretch, or the tensioner starts to fail, in which case you'd hear a rattle and know it needs to be changed.
When you have manual gear box is needed always when is red on traffic lamps or within the crowd to set in neutral. Many people always handling in the first speed and it also accelerate your going to service.
In non interference engines the pistons do not hit the valves so a breaking belt or chain doesn't damage the engine at all. The toyota corolla I have now has had its belt fail twice at around 130k miles each time without damaging the engine. It is a lot less expensive then as insurance covers the tow to the garage and then I just pay the replacement part and labour which is around £250.
I have two cars, one at 200k the other at 265k both petrol its weird people panic about this 100k limit, regularly services etc mean model day cars run for a very long time.
I’ve leased my last 4 cars. 3 years or 30,000 miles. Latest car I’m driving is a 2022 Honda HRV. I change the oil every 5,000 miles/5 months. New England climate and badly maintained roads are rough on the suspension. Rotate the tires. Vehicle is an all wheel drive which I absolutely love when we get snow. On occasion we can get over 2 ft of snow here in Massachusetts.
@@ConquerDriving New England is funny area of the USA. I live in the Boston area. There are plenty of times where we can get rain or wet snow and just a little bit north in the state of New Hampshire or west in Worcester. They can get way more snow than us. You’ve noticed, we have some of the same town names as you do, hence we’re known as New England. Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island-the 6 New England states
Strange how dealers consider a car as old once it is 5 years old. I agree with everything you said. Look after your car and it should be good for a long time.
@@gravemind6536 coolant is pretty cheap that I think it is worth doing. My cars do pretty low mileage and I tend to feel it constitutes harsh driving conditions. I’ve got a timing belt to do soon, so that’ll be a new water pump and coolant
Just have to throw BMW in for the timing chain issues. A good thing to point out is you can usually hear when a timing chain is on the way out as it'll "rattle" in general before it fails usually on start up and make petrols sound like diesels 😂😂 As long as any car is well maintained and looked after I don't see why they won't last 200k+ no stress
I would recommend any fluid that has to endure a constant friction during use like engine or automatic transmission oil make sure you use full synthetic for the engine and when using transmission oil from a dealer/manufacturer do changes at half or 3/4 the mileage/time intervals. For My 2016 Mazda 6 I use AMSOIL engine oil which has been tested to run longer and I can vouch and so can testing I use the middle grade which is 12k or 1 yr and I do mine at 10k or 1 yr and the transmission is recommended a drain and fill at 60k I do it every 30k and the filter for the transmission isn’t recommended but I do that every 60k and she runs great. I’d do the trans filter at every service if it wasn’t a internal filter requiring me to remove the pan and reseal it.
I have that exact same 1.4 tsi ea211 engine in my scirocco with only 40000 miles. I will take into account about changing the timing belt sooner! Better safe than sorry
By far the commonest failure mode for cam belts is to strip teeth off them allowing the crank to spin without turning the cam, unless you inspect regularly or change them pre-emptively you don't see the cracking starting at the base of the teeth & get no warning whatsoever, this can also be caused by a water pump seizing, though they usually leak or get noisy before that happens, oil leaking onto timing belts can also lead to teeth stripping as it weakens them. Failed idlers or tensioners leading to the timing jumping do happen, but less often, & they usually make some distinctive noises first. Typically chains get noisy weeks or months (sometimes years) before they fail & you mostly know in advance attention is needed, it's almost unheard of for one to fail without any warning. As an ex mechanic, belt vs chain wouldn't figure high in my decision making process. If the belt is overdue a timing belt tensioner idler or water pump is noisy, or a timing chain is noisy, you can pretty much guarantee the rest of the maintenance has also been neglected by the previous owner. I'd advise walking away. If you don't think you'd recognise any of those noises, take a mechanic with you or get an inspection by one of the motoring organisations.
If a diy mechanic at my house. Just chnaged oil in my sisters car even though only done 3,000 miles since last service but it was a year ago. She is selling it on so goves the new owner piece of mind. Brake fluid is def a must. Lost my brakes as the fluid boiled on me on a tight country road. Bought a pump and do it myself every year now. Did it on my mum's car and it stops better than anything I have ever drove before. Fiat 500's don't last underneath. They get rusty so I treated sisters car to stop the rust.
Awesome video I've bought my first ever car last year(Honda Civic type s) I didn't know much about the cars, I've learned so much since and I'm learning so much still after watching this I know more then I knew yesterday thanks 🙂I'll be definitely having full service done at some point in February
ive seriously never heard of changing a timing chain my yaris has 130k miles on it had the clutch done at 100k but have no one ever advised about changing a timing chain just keeping the oil changes regular.
Thank you for your video with plethora of useful info. I have been doing most of my regular maintenance for over 20 years now. I take long trips frequently (>700 miles one way) and it is important for me to have a vehicle in a decent condition. Have had more than one opportunity to learn from close friends of mine about their mishaps related to poor or no maintenance, ruined vacations, missed flights etc. Like with so many things in life, in this matter, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Keep up with good work and thank you again for a nicely executed topic. Best regards from the other side of the pond.
180.000 miles on a TSI. Very impressive. You can never change your oil too much. I change mine every 15.000 kms. Have had no issues with the engine. Its the 1.0L tsi. Apparently a very good engine. They told me the engine had a chain even. But it has a belt
Same story with mine. 1.4 this 125hp. Serviced every 15000km It had one issue with the heat exchanger leaking coolant into the intake but it was factory defect. That fixed and now at 177000km it still drives like new.
@@ConquerDriving they recommended it at 30.000 kms over here and i think that is way too long. Back in the day they changed oil at a 10.000 km interval Yeah i never drove the same oil for more than a year too. Same with spark plugs. I change them every 10.000 miles
Useful advice, thanks. BUT, when engine is warming, it’s the oil temp that’s important, not water temp. Don’t give it full beans until the oil is up to temp: 7-10 mins in summer, 12-15 mins in winter 🙂
@@ConquerDriving Oil is FAR behind water temperate. Water gets up to temperature within 5 minutes or so, oil needs at least 20 minutes. Source: I have oil+water temp gauges and everytime I drive I don't go above 2500 revs until oil is at least 86 degrees celcius and that's always after 20-25 minutes driving.
I haven't changed the fuel filter, it's the only thing I've neglected to change but it seems fine. I have been thinking about it. I want to change it and cut it open to see what it's like after all the fuel that's been through it.
The later engines are better, some of the earlier ones including mine had problems. I needed a new cylinder head due to oil consumption when it was under warranty. They fitted a revised head and it solved the issue.
@@ConquerDriving Oh, is yours the 1.4 TSI 140, 125, 122 or 150? The fuel filter will be very black after all those KM. I would recommend you to change it. It's actually very easy on these!
There is some excellent advice here. The only thing i would add is that it is good practice to drive on fast roads 'at speed' at least (once per week) with diesel vehicles. I'm not suggesting thrashing the vehicle, and it should only be done with an up-to-temperature engine, but this will ensure the DPF is kept as clean as possible.
Excellent video. So much common sense that is forgotten these days and many drivers wonder why cars breakdown. Granted that many cars have design faults, but still many service intervals are missed. I recently bought a 700k+ miles Volvo and despite needing a bit of work, the car drives really well. First thing I did soon after I bought the car? Got all belts and tensioners changed. In chain driven cars, I think it’s a bit overkill to change the chain every 10 years (most cars have a cambelt service interval every 10 years or 100-125k miles) but chains are, apart from a few cases, more durable. However, changing guides and tensioners is a must. Also, from experience, many service intervals recommend changing the cambelt at 10 years or 125k miles. I’ve seen cars with less than that mileage and age with belts in not in very good shape. Some cars also have the so-called the wet belts, like the Ecoboost, and these are far more prone to degradation than normal belts, so replacing them before the date and miles set by the manufacturer is advisable.
Wow, Volvo have made some amazing machines. I've just changed my belt after 60k miles and it was fraying. The service manual doesn't recommend replacing, only checking after 120k miles.
@@ConquerDriving indeed. That reminds me the famous “sealed for life” auto gearboxes. Audi for example has nothing about servicing them, yet specialists recommend them to be done every 40k. My brother in law’s A4 lasted 120k before the gearbox went bang. Car was scrapped!
Hi there I've been watching your videos for two years now. They are just awesome and they really helped me a lot. I've a request now!!! If you can please make a video on "how to drive on uphill curvy(zigzag) roads(60° inclination) on mountains!!
ex Blue FR owner myself! Remove the silica bag from the coolant if you have a modern VAG. They end up bursting blocking the whole radiator up and results in a massive bill. Mine went at 50k
Very informative and important video for all drivers. All of drivers should these informations and regularly check-up their cars. Specially sad to see many women don't know many things about cars. 😏 Anyway, thanks for this nice video.
I have a Golf Mk4, 2001 and I changed the gearbox oil when I bought it, 6 years ago. The bottom plug, the drain one, looked exactly like an hedgehog. It had so much metal shavings that you couldn't see the acctual plug . Now, after 6 years, I did it again, decided to change the gearbox oil once more and the drain plug was clean as a new one. I guess that the original ownner NEVER changed that oil in all those 14 years of use...or it was used as a driving school car.
Good shout to change gearbox oil regularly on a learner car. Good tips here! Could have mentioned the auxillery belt, i have seen these snapping and taking a good timing belt with it!
Have never had a car have an engine failure, its always been scrapped off as an unecomical repair relating to rust and corrosion. British road salt is an absolute killer!
Passed my test first time the other week can’t believe it still, thank you Richard your videos have been brilliant helped me so much! Now I’m back to learn more from you haha keep up the brilliant videos! 😁
thanks for this video! every now and then when I change to reverse I'll hear the crunch sound which has been confusing me because I definitely have the clutch all the way in and change gear smoothly. now I know it might be the gear oil. cheers!!
it is true,i am a mechanic the main reasons of fail is poor maintance. oil is the most common reason . thats why i keep my cars well maintained and they run like new. my advice? for the simple fact that you sit down and walk the streets just service it no mather how expensive it is wich a full service anualy is not expensive but worth to be safe than sorry
Although my neighbours just had his 9 year old Meriva with 78k miles fail due to piston rings. He regularly checked fluids and I presume he had it serviced. I'll have to ask him.
One thing you didn't mention is that if you never change your brake fluid it will collect contaminants that turn the hydraulic brake fluid into a hydraulic cutting fluid (meaning components in your braking system will wear faster internally and eventually it can damage the seals, brake lines and the hydraulic cylinders)
@@ConquerDriving I know allot of hydraulic jack seals fail because of this (causing them to loose pressure and slowly drop), very few people ever replace the fluid in their jack's.
As a master toyota mechanic I have a few disagreements with this video. Although it he is right to say that the timing belt should be changed, it should not be changed every 60k. Toyotas recommendation is 10years or 100k miles as its an expensive job. Do what your manufacturer recommends or every 100k. 60k is too soon and youd just be wasting money. As for timing chains, they are a replace as needed item as they require disassembly of quite a large part of the engine. When it comes to transmission fluid always go with the manufacturers recommendation. If they tell you that its a lifetime fluid then change it at 100k and then every 30k afterwards. if you miss the 100k and want to change it at 150k i would recommend against it as its possible that the transmission relies on the suspended clutch material to keep from slipping. Otherwise I will say this is a very informative video and very well done.
In my experience - the cambelt was frayed after 60k miles (the manufacturer says inspect at 120k miles) the gears were stiff and changing the gear oil made it smooth (the manufacturer says you don't replace the gear oil). Not all cam chains are difficult, I changed the cam chains on my VX220 and I'm only an occasional home mechanic. I know a few people who have had chains fail suddenly and the plastic guides on the chain I replaced were worn. I appreciate this is your job, but this is my experience. Also, the idler pulley was knackered on the cambelt when it was changed a couple of weeks ago after 60k miles of use. If I followed the manufacturers guidelines I doubt my car would still work.
I have the same model bought today, (bought it from my dad) and we have had it for a year now, every time I drove this car I waited until the oil hits 90 degrees until I paddle to the metal
I have the same EA211 engine but the COD 150hp version in an A3 8V. Owned for 2.5 years and maintenance is done by myself. I'm on 72000 miles. I've not done the timing belt yet as Audi Germany state only an inspection at 240000kms. I had a Mercedes W204 with the OM646EVO engine that I covered 160000miles maintenance done by myself at regular intervals.
@@ConquerDriving I'll take a look at the belt when I get the cover off. Doing a waterpump on my porsche on Sunday. Paid £35 for the part that is £300 everywhere else.
really good vid..the engine looks same as my golf its a 1.4 tsi similar age too..mines on 105,000 and running good...great to see yours on 180,000 it gives me hope i can keep mine for a good while...
If it starts running badly I wouldn't be surpiresed if the intake valves need a clean. Many garages overlook this: ua-cam.com/video/fgvNu_HVD_g/v-deo.html
These 1.4 VAG engines actually have a 5 year but unlimited milage cambelt interval, they recently changed the recommendation due to a run of belts snapping, worth contacting your garage to see if this affects your car!
Not all engines will destroy themselves if the timing belt fails, really just depends on if it's interference (valves will hit piston at top dead center) or non-interference (valves have enough clearance to not hit pistons). Still good to be on top of preventative maintenance though lol.
I had a 2001 Grand Am GT that lasted me nearly 20 years with very little problem. I had 180k on it and the only things besides normal maintence items that needed replaced were rusted out brake lines and rusted out transmission cooler lines that went to the radiator. Everything was original on the car...starter, alternator, heck it even had the original spark plugs and coolant. One thing I did religiously with the car was I drove slow until the car reached normal operating temp. I never let it heat up on the cold mornings. I would start it up and go, even on the below zero degree mornings but like I said I would drive super slow(I wouldnt let rpm's go over 1500 rpm when below zero and never over 2k rpm when it was above zero, atleast until engine started to register a temp.) I was also never an aggressive driver and would come to a stop slowly.
As a mechanic student a can´t stress this enough, never skip an oil change! People think cars are just some magical thing that makes them go places and don´t think of cars as machines that needs to be serviced.
Oil changes are very important. I've only changed the oil as per the recommendations on this car though and that's every 18,000 miles. That's a lot of miles but it seems to work fine.
i bought a used car and was told it was serviced how wrong i was air filter was clogged and the fuel filter looked like a gateau ( Garage feedback lol ) car drove excellent after that i have had everything replaced. The garage did my cambelt and water pump the same time. I'm pretty sure your car loses value quickly if you have no proof of work carried out and routine maintenance. The old owner neglected it i treat her like royalty . Gear cables ' gear oil all filters ' brakes bled brake fluid changed antifreeze changed New brakes pads discs all round . This is my first car so treat it well my family love our Zafira B 1.7CDTI Diesel (2011)
@@ConquerDriving Yeah, many car manufacturers recommend so called long life service. It's an ongoing debate on whether it´s good for the engine or not. I like 15 000 km/10 000 miles oil change intervalls more.
@@ConquerDriving Extened services only work if you use the proper oil, which you appear to do. I can tell just by looking at the dipstick in the video. It has zero visible varnish on it. The issues come when people go to whoever can change their oil for the cheapest where they usually use bulk oil that only holds up for a few thousand miles.
Especially now with long life service intervals. People might skip a service, resulting in 35k mile sludged oil & completely blocked filter
Great video, I think this will help a lot of people! If you take care of your car it can certainly last a while. My daily driver has 270K miles on it and people are amazed by how many parts are still original and perfectly healthy. It's called maintenance! :)
Love the pfp
@@Sheena1234ization Haha thanks I've had it since 2014 and I think it aged pretty well.
@Milan Hegedus ouch is that not more than car is worth? Seems very expensive
@Milan Hegedus I no the feeling your stuck between a rock and a hard place I had a car that gave trouble not long after I bought it ended up paying loan in record time and got rid didn't trust it one bit. Reliability and running costs are now no1 priority
since you know about high mileage vehicles, anything i should know about the car ive had since i was 17 and now 7 years later it has 240k miles on it? maintenance and what not.
I think I owe you a pint after all the value I’ve gotten from watching your videos. I bought a 2008 Subaru Justy and your advice has made a world of difference in relearning to drive. Got my license at 18 and I never drove until I was 35.
208k miles on my 2006 Civic 2.2 diesel. Original engine, never been touched, serviced every 12.5k miles.
Your comment RE the cam chain, change if it starts rattling, no need to touch it otherwise.
I cant beleive i would be saying this today that i passed my driving test in first time with 4 minor faults. your videos have been so helpful. You are doing great job. Big thank you to you.. i m over the moon..🤩🤩🤩
That's so great to hear, congratulations on passing!
Congrats 👏
The driving test was easy..for me tho the test test wasn't..every time I had questions on the degree to turn up on a curb..6 questions out of 10 never could pass it..had to take a class for it bc of it, at least I moved and now where I am I don't have to worry about the test ehen I turn 21 now :))) edit: but awesome congratulations it's pretty rad to finally get through that I feel you! My only issue was the..Parallel parking..🤣 I hated it, I still do, just be mindful of the road and those around you and you should be good :) for parralel parking..I'd say avoid it as much as you can..! :D
Got 170k on my 21yr old vauxhall omega I brought it with no history but clearly someone loved it one time. I've been driving it since 143k, given it plenty of oil changes, belts and water pump and paid for a service on the automatic gearbox. Most people would never do that to a car coming towards 150k but if its been clearly looked after then why not? Hence why mines still going! Car cost me 700 quid and has lasted me 4 years so far without a single breakdown or major issue!
I think the most underrated preventative measure you described is the warm-up. With all the engine and transmission parts designed to operate within a fixed temperature range, they have part tolerances intended to make your engine "fit" perfectly within that temperature range once the metal components expand with heat. This means that many engine components are not ideally connected and have too much play which will accelerate internal wear under load significantly. Cold starts are the worst as there is a brief moment where the engine isn't properly lubricated and will wear the most. So a really good habit is to avoid as many cold starts as possible by eliminating unnecessary drives and compiling errands into a single string of trips. The engine stays relatively warm warm lubricated that way and you get your tasks done in one go and will achieve better fuel economy too. Limiting the heat cycling of your engine will improve its lifespan. Great video!
I live on Aruba where it is usually around 30 degree celcius, how long would my car need to warm up?
@@Aviciiz That's a Dutch island so you're supposed to open the door, start the car, clap your clogs together three times, rotate into the car and into full lotus position, then operate the vehicle entirely with your hands because why not.
@@cannaroe1213 Thanks, I've tried it this morning and my car drives much faster now, crazy
@@Aviciiz Do you really live on Arugula?
@@cannaroe1213 Yes it's very nice as there is always food available
This is how science labs in school should’ve demonstrated their topics because these tests actually seem useful.
i’m more amazed how how clean you keep it
The camera is kind. I let the outside get quite dirty, but I keep the inside very clean.
Absolutely superb video. Best thing I watched this whole week. Excellent tip in letting the car slow down and idle a bit before shutting down turbo engines. The number of people I see that just park and immediately turn off their turbo engines just hurts!
Advice to live by. Nice one, Richard!
A few ideas;
Engine oil; read the instructions / manual. Generally there is no 'lifetime oil'. Keep track of how much it has, reach out to a trusted mechanic or a dealership (not a stealership!). Change it, have the proper one. Get a new filter - drop the old one, it is full of stuff you do not want inside the engine. It lubricates primarily, 'decontaminates' secondarily AND it cools. There is a specific cooling system, but a fine oil will aid the engine to keep its optimal temperature during use.
Coolant; change it every 5 years - that is my instruction. It is relatively cheap, it cools, it heats you, it is vital. Don't make it more than 50:50 unless conditions require it to resist freezing more. The more resistant it is to freezing, the thicker it may be - the more strain on the water pump there might be.
Timing belt / chain / pulleys; always follow up on the manual and the manufacturer's instructions. I would drop a belt and all parts tied to it every 55-75k kms (provided the car is not new, dependent on previous life, otherwise see the manual) , chain and tensioners every 85-90k kms (as before). A complete set is costly, the labor even more - an engine that has a belt slip or a loose chain causing an engine failure ... a lot more.
Gearbox oil; either keep changing it regularly / as recommended, or if it has no history of changing, let it drain, store it, fill fresh oil in and see if the gearbox works well. If not, drain it, refill with old oil. Logic is; the old oil may have particles that make the gearbox work 'okay', while the fresh oil has none .. in this case, measure how much a gearbox repair costs.
Oh and +1; ALWAYS pay attention to your wheels. They keep you on track, they enable you to go anywhere - or stop anytime.
A set of Chinesium cheap tires wins against a decade old premium tire. Don't roll on wire mesh, it ruins every aspect.
Inspect the rims for damage, if swapping them is usual (one set of winter tires vs one set of summer), do let the tire specialists do their thing. A well balanced, relatively damage-free rim goes a long way.
Yes I should have mentioned mentioned how bad old tyres can be. 6 years max is a good guided in my opinion.
@@ConquerDriving No worries, those interested will look these topics up :) They will find many answers in your videos
Passed my test few weeks ago still watching your videos can’t tell you how much you’ve helped me
That's great to hear! Congratulations on passing!
That sound you made for the Reverse gear grinding really tickled me for some reason 🤣some good advice here, Richard. I'm still watching these videos even after passing my test over a year ago, since your videos helped me out a lot ❤
That's so nice to hear! Thanks for watching.
Dubble clutch to go into reverse works evey time for most cars and trucks and some tractor's
One thing about automatic transmission people fail to realize is that often times your transmission oil runs through the radiator. So unfortunately if you accidentally overheat your motor, you often times cook your automatic transmission fluid drastically shortly in its life…therefore the life of the transmission. So if one accidentally gets the engine a little warm, replacing your transmission fluid is often times a good idea.
I didn't know that.
I had a 2003 Renault Megane which I had from 2007 to 2016. Mechanically it was sound apart from the usual wear & tear. It had 167,000 miles when I changed it for a 2015 Megane Dci. I remember I once took it into the main dealer for a service & the mechanic said "Blimey this cars been looked after"😂
The brake fluid! It makes so much difference!
Very useful video! I've been servicing my cars for the past 10 years.. started with oil and filter changes - never had a car broken down on me. When I show some of my friends how easy it is to change air filter for example they laugh, my Mazda's 6 air filter cover was held by 4 clips.. it took me longer to change Brita filter in my water jug LOL
I like that MX5 of yours!! :)
One thing to mention is with cars that have wet belts (mainly Ford's ecoboost engines) it is absolutely critical to keep up with oil changes and the cambelt (wetbelt) replacement interval.
Even if the belt doesn't snap, they can still cause catastrophic engine damage if the belt rubber breaks down and blocks the oil pickup with rubber shavings.
If this happened it would starve the engine of oil
It is a very common problem with the Ecoboost engines, especially ones that haven't had regular oil changes
I hear the mileage for cambelt replacement on the Eco boost is very high.
@@ConquerDriving I think that's what causes half their trouble
people have had belts with 20-30 of the teeth stripped off at just 20,000 miles. requires the engine to be taken apart and cleaned. terrible engines
@@topzozzle6319 A lot of the time, people will just replace the entire engine because Ford sell them so cheaply. Such a waste, and as you say, crap design
Excellent video. This should be part of a learners curriculum.
100% agree with everything you said, just want to add that generally coolant temp gets faster to operating temperature than oil especially in the winter time when it's needed to drive up to 8km to get it to operating temperature, so my advice is to run your car gently in winter for a few more minutes or km.
You have a match in mileage Richard, my 62 plate Fiesta Diesel has 181,000 on it. Can’t be many instructors who keep their cars as long as we have.
There are many, I have met a few though. One guy was over 300,000 miles on his Clio. I think it was a 2004 car.
I'm also a driving instructor, (ex ford motor engineer) and I'm running a 13 plate, 1.0 litre ecoboost petrol ford fiesta. It's done 183k now and it's still on the original clutch too, although starting to get a little heavier to press now. Since the closest test centre is in the next city, it regularly gets a good 5/7 mile, 70mph run, that can be up to three to five times a day depending on student competences. The cambelt was changed at the recommended 150k, two teeth were missing! Next time I'll stick to 100k! That's from the stalling and bump starting jerks students do from time to time. When I stripped down the engine, I was amazed how clean the internals where. No sludge or varnishing anywhere. It's a testament to modern synthetic oils and regular servicing. All my parts fitted are always genuine OE equipment too.
In Sweden we are taught to do adjust mirrors and etc and put on the safety belt before starting the car so we don't waste fuel and get going as fast as possible after starting the car.
And you could already guess the giant problem with this... The engine isn't fully lubricated yet and we are putting stress on the engine components. Doing this in Sweden is even worse because we can have below -20°C in some places in the country. Which means that the lubrication is even worse, which in turn means that your engine is gonna blow even faster by driving like you are taught.
I believe it is more efficient to do it that way. But it seams like a lot more stress on the engine for a minor bit of efficiency.
@@ConquerDriving saving a few cents (and the environment) on petrol to have your engine wear out much faster? No way. It's both more expensive and probably less environmentally friendly in the end. You will have to purchase new parts that release co2 when produced and a bunch of other byproducts, heavy metals and such.
This guy knows his stuff
As a very famous engineer said...'Treat her like a lady, and she will always bring you home'. May have been meant as a double entendre, but still good advice!
BEST guy ever. Me dad has a 71 P5B. Still here if you take care
I just passed my test first attempt with 3 minor errors ….thanks a lot for all your videos. They really helped me 🙏🏻
That's great news, congratulations on passing!
I know I asked you for something like this a while ago, and you delivered. Good job!
19:16 Exceptions? *cough* Ford *cough* Fiesta 7 *cough*
Did you hear something? 🤔 I certaily didn't 😉
Your car is exceptionally well kept. Very clean and honest engine bay, and machanically sound and well maintained. Shows if you look after it, it will look after you.
Haha, I was thinking original Ford KA, they rust very badly.
@@ConquerDriving yes! Especially around the fuel filler door, which is....... concerning
If you have an engine with EGR and turbo (basically any modern ICE car), you should floor the engine often enough. Common way to cause EGR and turbo issues is driving always on low RPM and low torque. I recommend driving the engine to full driving temperature and the flooring it on 3rd from 2000 rpm to red line at least twice a month. And avoids a lot of carbon buildup in EGR and turbo when you get the turbo hot enough. If it's cool climate, you may want to repeat the flooring a couple of times. The idea is to get turbo so hot that it will cause carbon buildup to turn into CO2.
Of course, you don't want to do that if you don't have spec compliant oil, proper coolant level and a timing belt/chain you know will not snap.
I've got a volvo V50 diesel had it 7 years it had done 85000 when I bought it , its now done 148000 miles but it's been serviced every year that I've owned it had the cam belt and water pump changed at 120, 000 miles always change my filters and fuel filter at every service . Still running quiet starts first time every time . Great video Thank you 😊
Most useful advice. Manufacturer recommended oil change intervals are too long ,especially for European brands .
Very much agreed by Scotty...
This guys voice instantly has me wanting to purchase a sham-wow or a toaster oven
Great and useful video, as always. 👍
Also that MX-5 is really cool 😎
Thank you, you may be interested in this video: ua-cam.com/video/iB0xFXxIsWc/v-deo.html
My Aygo has a timing chain... Only done 90,000 and I change the oil roughly every 5,000 miles. The car came with 100,000 mile/10 year coolant and it's due its first coolant change now.
My 1999 mercedes E320 has 220K miles and still running perfectly smooth! maintained well. biggest repair/replacement was the A/C 3 years ago cost me $2,500 for a remanufactured AC + labor.
That's a lot of years and a lot of miles. Also, a lot of money for an AC compressor!
You sir, are a legend. (context: I've been chartered mechanical engineer for 27 years)
Maintenance is vital for every car. My mom's Chrysler had a transmission fail on it. It was not driven much on the highway it was mostly in the city. I suspect that the fluid ran out.
Years later, I bought my first car. The previous owner did not take well enough care of it. Cigarette burns here and there, the engine oil and gearbox oil were both low. I noticed that within the first month. I took it to a garage and had the car fully serviced and every filter replaced. My 2014 Fiat Panda now has 174.610 km on the clock. I get it serviced every 10.000 km.
Only thing I'd say is there's no interval that timing chains should be replaced. In fact it could do more harm than good if there's nothing wrong with the original and someone fits a cheap aftermarket chain kit. I'd only recommend replacing a chain if it's rattling or there is evidence of it being stretched/weakened by a worn out tensioner
I don't really know a lot about cars but I asked my mechanic regarding the cambelt. He said that there's no way you can tell if it needs changing, why he recommended the change at around 100k km (~60k miles) regardless - dunno if the same goes for a timing chain though?
@@NilausI Belts crack and perish over time, so manufacturers set a time period of when to replace it.
It's important to replace it early because if the belt breaks it will cause catastrophic engine damage. Sometimes the tensioner fails before the belt so that is replaced at the same time
You can check if it needs replacing on most engines, just need to pull the cover back a bit to make sure there's no cracking in the belt. If there is, it needs to be changed ASAP before it fails.
Timing chains, that's right. No way to tell they need replacing unless they stretch, or the tensioner starts to fail, in which case you'd hear a rattle and know it needs to be changed.
@@sammytheseal2307 Thanks for the clear up
When you have manual gear box is needed always when is red on traffic lamps or within the crowd to set in neutral. Many people always handling in the first speed and it also accelerate your going to service.
In non interference engines the pistons do not hit the valves so a breaking belt or chain doesn't damage the engine at all. The toyota corolla I have now has had its belt fail twice at around 130k miles each time without damaging the engine. It is a lot less expensive then as insurance covers the tow to the garage and then I just pay the replacement part and labour which is around £250.
I don't think there are many non interference engines on sale these days.
I have two cars, one at 200k the other at 265k both petrol its weird people panic about this 100k limit, regularly services etc mean model day cars run for a very long time.
Thank you so so much for these tips man! Best driving channel on UA-cam by far :) (ps title has a typo in it - should be "your car") :P
Thank you so much for pointing that out, just changed it. 😊
I’ll get my coolant checked out one day in future thanks for advise.
I’ve leased my last 4 cars. 3 years or 30,000 miles. Latest car I’m driving is a 2022 Honda HRV. I change the oil every 5,000 miles/5 months. New England climate and badly maintained roads are rough on the suspension. Rotate the tires. Vehicle is an all wheel drive which I absolutely love when we get snow. On occasion we can get over 2 ft of snow here in Massachusetts.
Sounds like you need to be prepared for snow. Where I live we rarely see snow, most people use summer tyres all year round.
@@ConquerDriving New England is funny area of the USA. I live in the Boston area. There are plenty of times where we can get rain or wet snow and just a little bit north in the state of New Hampshire or west in Worcester. They can get way more snow than us. You’ve noticed, we have some of the same town names as you do, hence we’re known as New England. Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island-the 6 New England states
Passed my test watching your videos bro!
Your knowledge on cars and I’m workings are insane. Top man!
Now looking for an evo 9 😁
That's great to hear! Congratulations and nice car!
Strange how dealers consider a car as old once it is 5 years old. I agree with everything you said. Look after your car and it should be good for a long time.
Forgot to say, I changed the coolant and brake fluid every 2 years without fail.
@@martinbateman2467 Brake fluid every 2 years is a must, coolant can wait up to 10 years depending on the car.
@@gravemind6536 coolant is pretty cheap that I think it is worth doing. My cars do pretty low mileage and I tend to feel it constitutes harsh driving conditions. I’ve got a timing belt to do soon, so that’ll be a new water pump and coolant
Wow, did not expect the video to be this detailed. There were some things I did not know/do. Thank you very much!
Excellent videos. I learnt a few things here. Your knowledge and explanation is top notch.
Just have to throw BMW in for the timing chain issues. A good thing to point out is you can usually hear when a timing chain is on the way out as it'll "rattle" in general before it fails usually on start up and make petrols sound like diesels 😂😂
As long as any car is well maintained and looked after I don't see why they won't last 200k+ no stress
I would recommend any fluid that has to endure a constant friction during use like engine or automatic transmission oil make sure you use full synthetic for the engine and when using transmission oil from a dealer/manufacturer do changes at half or 3/4 the mileage/time intervals. For My 2016 Mazda 6 I use AMSOIL engine oil which has been tested to run longer and I can vouch and so can testing I use the middle grade which is 12k or 1 yr and I do mine at 10k or 1 yr and the transmission is recommended a drain and fill at 60k I do it every 30k and the filter for the transmission isn’t recommended but I do that every 60k and she runs great. I’d do the trans filter at every service if it wasn’t a internal filter requiring me to remove the pan and reseal it.
Such a good video, thanks for explaining all those things. Hard to find it so summarized!
I have that exact same 1.4 tsi ea211 engine in my scirocco with only 40000 miles. I will take into account about changing the timing belt sooner! Better safe than sorry
Mine was slightly frayed after 60k miles.
By far the commonest failure mode for cam belts is to strip teeth off them allowing the crank to spin without turning the cam, unless you inspect regularly or change them pre-emptively you don't see the cracking starting at the base of the teeth & get no warning whatsoever, this can also be caused by a water pump seizing, though they usually leak or get noisy before that happens, oil leaking onto timing belts can also lead to teeth stripping as it weakens them.
Failed idlers or tensioners leading to the timing jumping do happen, but less often, & they usually make some distinctive noises first.
Typically chains get noisy weeks or months (sometimes years) before they fail & you mostly know in advance attention is needed, it's almost unheard of for one to fail without any warning.
As an ex mechanic, belt vs chain wouldn't figure high in my decision making process.
If the belt is overdue a timing belt tensioner idler or water pump is noisy, or a timing chain is noisy, you can pretty much guarantee the rest of the maintenance has also been neglected by the previous owner. I'd advise walking away. If you don't think you'd recognise any of those noises, take a mechanic with you or get an inspection by one of the motoring organisations.
I use lifetime oil. it lasts the whole lifespan of the car's engine!
amazing stuff 10/10
Didn't expect this video to be so in-depth! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us!
Hey Richard that''s a nice coat
Thank you, I got it from Trespass.
Excellent video. I bet you're the guy who friends and family hit up for free car repairs.
If a diy mechanic at my house. Just chnaged oil in my sisters car even though only done 3,000 miles since last service but it was a year ago. She is selling it on so goves the new owner piece of mind. Brake fluid is def a must. Lost my brakes as the fluid boiled on me on a tight country road. Bought a pump and do it myself every year now. Did it on my mum's car and it stops better than anything I have ever drove before. Fiat 500's don't last underneath. They get rusty so I treated sisters car to stop the rust.
Awesome video I've bought my first ever car last year(Honda Civic type s) I didn't know much about the cars, I've learned so much since and I'm learning so much still after watching this I know more then I knew yesterday thanks 🙂I'll be definitely having full service done at some point in February
That's the car I learn in lol, seems like a decent car but the B and A pillars are a bit too large.
Good choice, Civics are super reliable.
ive seriously never heard of changing a timing chain my yaris has 130k miles on it had the clutch done at 100k but have no one ever advised about changing a timing chain just keeping the oil changes regular.
Density meter is the tester for the coolant. 👌🏻 Congrats for the video!
Thank you for your video with plethora of useful info. I have been doing most of my regular maintenance for over 20 years now. I take long trips frequently (>700 miles one way) and it is important for me to have a vehicle in a decent condition. Have had more than one opportunity to learn from close friends of mine about their mishaps related to poor or no maintenance, ruined vacations, missed flights etc. Like with so many things in life, in this matter, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Keep up with good work and thank you again for a nicely executed topic. Best regards from the other side of the pond.
180.000 miles on a TSI. Very impressive.
You can never change your oil too much. I change mine every 15.000 kms. Have had no issues with the engine. Its the 1.0L tsi. Apparently a very good engine.
They told me the engine had a chain even. But it has a belt
I've only changed the oil as recommended which is every 18,000 miles. But that has never been longer than a year.
Same story with mine.
1.4 this 125hp. Serviced every 15000km
It had one issue with the heat exchanger leaking coolant into the intake but it was factory defect. That fixed and now at 177000km it still drives like new.
@@ConquerDriving they recommended it at 30.000 kms over here and i think that is way too long. Back in the day they changed oil at a 10.000 km interval
Yeah i never drove the same oil for more than a year too. Same with spark plugs. I change them every 10.000 miles
@@dgurevich1 the 1.4 has severe chain issues too. Did you have it checked often too? Aside from that they are great engines. Twincharged fun 😁
@@WorivpuqloDMogh mind is turbo only, no supercharger.
I should get it checked regardless.
Thanks
I'm thinking about getting a SEAT Leon some time soon, hopefully I can look after it as well as you do!
I'm very happy with it, even after 8 years.
Useful advice, thanks.
BUT, when engine is warming, it’s the oil temp that’s important, not water temp.
Don’t give it full beans until the oil is up to temp: 7-10 mins in summer, 12-15 mins in winter 🙂
Most cars don't have oil temp, when the water is warm the oil isn't far behind.
@@ConquerDriving Oil is FAR behind water temperate. Water gets up to temperature within 5 minutes or so, oil needs at least 20 minutes. Source: I have oil+water temp gauges and everytime I drive I don't go above 2500 revs until oil is at least 86 degrees celcius and that's always after 20-25 minutes driving.
@@nomansland120 Depends on the car. On Fiesta ST Oil is just 5min behind the water temperature.
@@Ivzu Yeah maybe if you live on the sun..
The EA211 1.4 TSI engine as you have is a gem. You will never have an engine with so few problems as this.
Your thought on changing the manual gearbox oil is a very good idea!
Have you changed the fuel filter yet? I know its a petrol car, but still!
I haven't changed the fuel filter, it's the only thing I've neglected to change but it seems fine. I have been thinking about it. I want to change it and cut it open to see what it's like after all the fuel that's been through it.
The later engines are better, some of the earlier ones including mine had problems. I needed a new cylinder head due to oil consumption when it was under warranty. They fitted a revised head and it solved the issue.
@@ConquerDriving Oh, is yours the 1.4 TSI 140, 125, 122 or 150?
The fuel filter will be very black after all those KM. I would recommend you to change it. It's actually very easy on these!
There is some excellent advice here. The only thing i would add is that it is good practice to drive on fast roads 'at speed' at least (once per week) with diesel vehicles. I'm not suggesting thrashing the vehicle, and it should only be done with an up-to-temperature engine, but this will ensure the DPF is kept as clean as possible.
That's true. Short journeys are not suited to euro emission 5 + diesel cars.
Thanks for this, I’ve never heard any of this before wow!
This was actually a very informative video from a mechanical explanation point of view.
Well said impressive. and very professional. Watch out paddy we might see the new top gear host.
😂
I just put some pink coolant in my blue coolant mini, now I watched this video and was told it is wrong! At least I only put a little splash in.
Great advice if you want to keep your car living as long as possible. What I intend to do with mine.
Excellent video. So much common sense that is forgotten these days and many drivers wonder why cars breakdown. Granted that many cars have design faults, but still many service intervals are missed.
I recently bought a 700k+ miles Volvo and despite needing a bit of work, the car drives really well. First thing I did soon after I bought the car? Got all belts and tensioners changed.
In chain driven cars, I think it’s a bit overkill to change the chain every 10 years (most cars have a cambelt service interval every 10 years or 100-125k miles) but chains are, apart from a few cases, more durable. However, changing guides and tensioners is a must.
Also, from experience, many service intervals recommend changing the cambelt at 10 years or 125k miles. I’ve seen cars with less than that mileage and age with belts in not in very good shape.
Some cars also have the so-called the wet belts, like the Ecoboost, and these are far more prone to degradation than normal belts, so replacing them before the date and miles set by the manufacturer is advisable.
Wow, Volvo have made some amazing machines. I've just changed my belt after 60k miles and it was fraying. The service manual doesn't recommend replacing, only checking after 120k miles.
@@ConquerDriving indeed. That reminds me the famous “sealed for life” auto gearboxes. Audi for example has nothing about servicing them, yet specialists recommend them to be done every 40k. My brother in law’s A4 lasted 120k before the gearbox went bang. Car was scrapped!
Hi there
I've been watching your videos for two years now. They are just awesome and they really helped me a lot. I've a request now!!!
If you can please make a video on "how to drive on uphill curvy(zigzag) roads(60° inclination) on mountains!!
Thank you. There are any roads in my area like that, but I did do this video: ua-cam.com/video/LHDJGzRROUg/v-deo.html
ex Blue FR owner myself! Remove the silica bag from the coolant if you have a modern VAG. They end up bursting blocking the whole radiator up and results in a massive bill. Mine went at 50k
I don't think mine has it.
Lol my car is 380,000 km Toyota Camry 2011 still running like new I never fixed anything just oil change each 5k that’s it AMAZING 🤩
That is impressive.
Very informative and important video for all drivers.
All of drivers should these informations and regularly check-up their cars.
Specially sad to see many women don't know many things about cars.
😏
Anyway, thanks for this nice video.
I have a Golf Mk4, 2001 and I changed the gearbox oil when I bought it, 6 years ago. The bottom plug, the drain one, looked exactly like an hedgehog. It had so much metal shavings that you couldn't see the acctual plug . Now, after 6 years, I did it again, decided to change the gearbox oil once more and the drain plug was clean as a new one. I guess that the original ownner NEVER changed that oil in all those 14 years of use...or it was used as a driving school car.
The first gearbox oil change I did at about 80k miles had a lot of metal in it. Still works fine though.
Excellent video sir. Very honest and good advice
thanks sir for all your awesome videos... Your advices helped me learn driving so fast...
Good shout to change gearbox oil regularly on a learner car. Good tips here!
Could have mentioned the auxillery belt, i have seen these snapping and taking a good timing belt with it!
Congratulations! I m an Adi and have a Ibiza petrol 1.4 2009 at 118800 so still have a long way to catch up, lol! Great video btw!
Have never had a car have an engine failure, its always been scrapped off as an unecomical repair relating to rust and corrosion.
British road salt is an absolute killer!
Passed my test first time the other week can’t believe it still, thank you Richard your videos have been brilliant helped me so much! Now I’m back to learn more from you haha keep up the brilliant videos! 😁
That's great to hear, congratulations on passing!
thanks for this video! every now and then when I change to reverse I'll hear the crunch sound which has been confusing me because I definitely have the clutch all the way in and change gear smoothly. now I know it might be the gear oil. cheers!!
This video may be of interest: ua-cam.com/video/DqHUyU_olMc/v-deo.html
it is true,i am a mechanic the main reasons of fail is poor maintance. oil is the most common reason . thats why i keep my cars well maintained and they run like new. my advice? for the simple fact that you sit down and walk the streets just service it no mather how expensive it is wich a full service anualy is not expensive but worth to be safe than sorry
Although my neighbours just had his 9 year old Meriva with 78k miles fail due to piston rings. He regularly checked fluids and I presume he had it serviced. I'll have to ask him.
Very useful video, just like the rest!
One thing you didn't mention is that if you never change your brake fluid it will collect contaminants that turn the hydraulic brake fluid into a hydraulic cutting fluid (meaning components in your braking system will wear faster internally and eventually it can damage the seals, brake lines and the hydraulic cylinders)
I didn't actually know that happened with old brake fluid.
@@ConquerDriving I know allot of hydraulic jack seals fail because of this (causing them to loose pressure and slowly drop), very few people ever replace the fluid in their jack's.
Totally agree ! religiously change mine every two years in my Saab 9.3 convertible - National Tyres do it for £40
As a master toyota mechanic I have a few disagreements with this video. Although it he is right to say that the timing belt should be changed, it should not be changed every 60k. Toyotas recommendation is 10years or 100k miles as its an expensive job. Do what your manufacturer recommends or every 100k. 60k is too soon and youd just be wasting money. As for timing chains, they are a replace as needed item as they require disassembly of quite a large part of the engine. When it comes to transmission fluid always go with the manufacturers recommendation. If they tell you that its a lifetime fluid then change it at 100k and then every 30k afterwards. if you miss the 100k and want to change it at 150k i would recommend against it as its possible that the transmission relies on the suspended clutch material to keep from slipping. Otherwise I will say this is a very informative video and very well done.
In my experience - the cambelt was frayed after 60k miles (the manufacturer says inspect at 120k miles) the gears were stiff and changing the gear oil made it smooth (the manufacturer says you don't replace the gear oil). Not all cam chains are difficult, I changed the cam chains on my VX220 and I'm only an occasional home mechanic. I know a few people who have had chains fail suddenly and the plastic guides on the chain I replaced were worn. I appreciate this is your job, but this is my experience. Also, the idler pulley was knackered on the cambelt when it was changed a couple of weeks ago after 60k miles of use. If I followed the manufacturers guidelines I doubt my car would still work.
I have the same model bought today, (bought it from my dad) and we have had it for a year now, every time I drove this car I waited until the oil hits 90 degrees until I paddle to the metal
I have the same EA211 engine but the COD 150hp version in an A3 8V. Owned for 2.5 years and maintenance is done by myself. I'm on 72000 miles. I've not done the timing belt yet as Audi Germany state only an inspection at 240000kms. I had a Mercedes W204 with the OM646EVO engine that I covered 160000miles maintenance done by myself at regular intervals.
Just changed my belt, it was frayed at 60k miles with a dodgy idler pulley.
@@ConquerDriving I'll take a look at the belt when I get the cover off. Doing a waterpump on my porsche on Sunday. Paid £35 for the part that is £300 everywhere else.
Fantastic vid! Thanks alot from a relatively new car owner!
Sparkplugs are worth a mention too.
Yes, very true although when they go bad they don't cause engine damage, replacing them solves the issue.
really good vid..the engine looks same as my golf its a 1.4 tsi similar age too..mines on 105,000 and running good...great to see yours on 180,000 it gives me hope i can keep mine for a good while...
If it starts running badly I wouldn't be surpiresed if the intake valves need a clean. Many garages overlook this: ua-cam.com/video/fgvNu_HVD_g/v-deo.html
These 1.4 VAG engines actually have a 5 year but unlimited milage cambelt interval, they recently changed the recommendation due to a run of belts snapping, worth contacting your garage to see if this affects your car!
I'm on my 4th belt already so it's not relevant to me. After 60k miles the belt was starting to fray a bit.
Thanks for your top tips.
Not all engines will destroy themselves if the timing belt fails, really just depends on if it's interference (valves will hit piston at top dead center) or non-interference (valves have enough clearance to not hit pistons). Still good to be on top of preventative maintenance though lol.
I don't think many engines are non interference these days.
This is a fantastic video for anyone! Good job.
I had a 2001 Grand Am GT that lasted me nearly 20 years with very little problem. I had 180k on it and the only things besides normal maintence items that needed replaced were rusted out brake lines and rusted out transmission cooler lines that went to the radiator. Everything was original on the car...starter, alternator, heck it even had the original spark plugs and coolant. One thing I did religiously with the car was I drove slow until the car reached normal operating temp. I never let it heat up on the cold mornings. I would start it up and go, even on the below zero degree mornings but like I said I would drive super slow(I wouldnt let rpm's go over 1500 rpm when below zero and never over 2k rpm when it was above zero, atleast until engine started to register a temp.) I was also never an aggressive driver and would come to a stop slowly.
That is impressive!
You videos are great man!