Is Annual Service Required

Hi everyone,

Wanted to get a second opinion on something if possible.

My annual service is due and as its the second year service its over £200! But because of Covid the car has been driven 4/5 times a month over the past year (i.e. far less than it typically would if I was commuting as normal).
My gut feel is therefore that the service is overkill for what the car requires. I've searched for other garages who do electric cars which give me other options, but they are few and far between and those who do don't offer a better price anyway.

So I have two options:
Just get the service.
Don't bother with the service, it will invalidate the warranty, but that expires next year.

I'm erring towards the latter to be honest but wondered what other people thought.

Check your local regulations. In the US, lack of service only invalidates the warranty IF the problem was caused by said lack of service. If your onboard charger fails here after the brakes were neglected, then the repair is still covered. This may not apply in the Metric World, however...

It depends.
If you can add your own windshield wiper fluid, skip the service.

That said, I am a fan of keeping brakes in good working order.
Skip the fool dealership and get your brakes serviced *properly*, meaning cleaned and the caliper pins lubricated.

Not sure what maintenance is specified in places that use Pound Sterling, but here, the 2-year maintance schedule specifies a brake fluid replacement, and as such I'd recommend you do so, as some of the braking components are very expensive. I recommend this every 2 years whether in warranty or not. While testing can reveal the degree of water and/or Copper ions, there is no question that fresh fluid is better than 2-year-old fluid and I don't want to pay for a new ABS "intelligent doohickey". I'm also not fond of brake fade.

Tire rotation should also not be skipped, though I'd go by mileage rather than time. Our maintenance schedule seems to recommend by mileage OR calendar, which I disagree with but should be followed while under warranty.

The cabin filter is kind of a money grab depending on your environment, but it's in the schedule. Do it or get it done so they can't complain if something else goes wrong with the HVAC.

Most or all of this can be DIY if you're so inclined. At least here. Not sure about your locale

Skip. Waste of money.

Sure, rotate your tires. Brake fluid-- skip. You're not going to die; your car won't need thousands in brake repair. My Leaf is going on 9 years-- same brake fluid. Two Cummins pickups-- 20 years each. Chevy SUV-- 17 years. Dodge SUV-- 19 years. Boat with surge brakes--22 years. You'll be fine.

I don't live in a rust belt, so I don't bother with getting into the brakes annually-- if I did, I would.

jkline said:

Skip. Waste of money.

Sure, rotate your tires. Brake fluid-- skip. You're not going to die; your car won't need thousands in brake repair. My Leaf is going on 9 years-- same brake fluid. Two Cummins pickups-- 20 years each. Chevy SUV-- 17 years. Dodge SUV-- 19 years. Boat with surge brakes--22 years. You'll be fine.

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As long as we're going by anecdotes, I've replaced entire brake systems because of internal corrosion, and I've had 5-year-old brake fluid boil while trying to stop (Thank God for the hand-brake).

Brake fluid service life depends on environmental factors which are variable. Testing is one way to go but again, not much more effort to do a flush every 2 years. People change engine oil religiously but will skimp on biennial service for a system their life depends on. YMMV.

It used to be that you had to change your brake pads every time you turned around, and the mere act of squeezing out fluid to get the pads out, then pouring more in as you pumped the brakes back up (regardless of whether you used a bleeder bottle or had an assistant open and close the bleeders with each pump until all the air was out) more-or-less guaranteed that you'd purge out most of the worn-out fluid.

But modern brake linings last longer than the ones of 40 years ago, and on top of that, electric and hybrid vehicles all use dynamic braking to recover as much kinetic energy as possible, which makes the linings last even longer than they do on conventional cars.

If you've got worn out brake fluid, then about all I can do for you is indulge my annoying habit of alluding to movies I've never actually seen:

You've Got To Ask Yourself One Question: 'Do I Feel Lucky?' Well, Do Ya, Punk?

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