There are a number of 'how to' videos on You tube, some I have found very helpful although I have been repairing my own cars since 1956.

The most important thing is changing the oil and filter every 10,000 miles.

Oil/filter changes are specified by time and mileage. It used to be every 12 months but now many manufacturers have increased this to 24 months. In recent years our oil services have been carried out every 12 months but we have never managed to get to 10,000 miles. Oil is cheap, 5 litres of Ford spec cost me £14 from Asda last year, a filter just a few pounds. Don't skimp.

Presumably it is over three years old so the MoT test will do many of the service checks and alert you to worn pads etc.

An MOT is a safety check, no work is carried out. Many motorists believe (mistakenly) its all a car requires thinking they are getting a full service. It does not test your coolant freezing point or brake fluid boiling point, 2 things our Ford garage did every year. But Coolant needs changing at the manufacturers specified times as well and by the correct type. Whilst it may still have the necessary antifreeze properties it also is an anticorrosive and a lubricant for the water pump. These degrade over time and will cause issues later. Same with brake fluid, it absorbs tiny amounts of moisture and this can corrode the internals of the braking system.

On the subject of brakes and MOT's they only check the efficiency and do a visual to check certain parts are not seized. Brakes really need a strip, clean and lube every couple of years. Many garages put a note in the MOT advisories that the pads are close to their end of life. Its normally just a lie hoping the customer will panic and spend more £££££'s.

So far it hasn't been changed, only topped up when the cambelt and pump were renewed after 10 years. Colour is still the same. I was wary of the maker's claims, but so far so good.

On our Mk 1 1.8 petrol Focus and Mk 2 1.6 diesel Focus the coolant was changed along with the cambelt and pump. Cannot honestly remember if the Mk 2 1.8 petrol had a coolant change, chain cam so not done with a cam belt but I would be stunned if I missed getting it done.

Pulsar coolant is due at 3 years (next Feb). May not have car but if we do not an issue, we have a service plan. Think the Fabia is due at 5 years (same as cam belt) so all will be done if we still have it.

Edited by thunderbird on 07/06/2020 at 14:43