Manufacturer Scheduled Maintenance

[joshb003]

Hey!

Quick question, this is my first new car and I want to know if all of the scheduled maintenance is required. Is some of it just a waste of money? Or is it in general all worth the money?

If anyone has some specifics on what to skip and what to get, that'd be apreciated. I'm at 6.2k miles now, going in for second oil change at 8k miles (did first one at 3k).

Thanks!

 

[arcxer]

IMHO, apart from changing oil and filters, there's nothing much done on those maintenance visits. Most of the items are "check", "inspect", "replace if necessary". But you're still getting charged for it

Rotating tires? Some people swear by it, some say it's a waste of time.

Lubricating joints and locks -- doesn't hurt.

Coolant change -- it's too early for that. Brakes bleeding -- do it when you change your pads. This cars doesn't seem to have interval for transmission oil change -- it should be done, IMHO, but again it's too early.

What else is there?

 

[PGTBrow]

Beings the 2 has a timing chain the only maintenance I could forsee would be fluids/seals/brakes/tune ups. And of course clutch for us with MT and a whole new trans for you AT guys LOL.

 

[MazdaTwo]

Rotating tires? Some people swear by it, some say it's a waste of time.

Really? How could tire rotation possibly be a waste of time? It ensures that the tires wear evenly.

 

[arcxer]

Really? How could tire rotation possibly be a waste of time? It ensures that the tires wear evenly.

The theory I heard (don't blame me -- I'm just a messenger, I don't have strong opinion one way or another): the tires "settle" with regards to their place and rotation direction. Rotating "unsettles" them. For what it's worth...

Even wear is also overrated. Firstly, if tires on one side wear more then on the other -- either there's something wrong with alignment, or you're driving NASCAR Secondly, on FWD cars, fronts usually wear twice as fast as rears (or even faster if you autox), and fronts are more important too. So, the solution on FWD -- just change fronts twice for every rears' change.

In reality, it's all complicated by punctures...

 

[kcdirtbro54]

I don't know who told you that but wtf? Rotate you tires front to back and get even tire wear. That way you replace 4 tires at once instead of replacing 2 tires and then 4 tires in the same amount of time. Rotating creates even wear, as stated, and saves you money. 2 tires worth.

As for the maintenance schedule. Figure out how to do things yourself. Obviously, you're interested in cars and simple maintenance is super easy. Filters,oil, wiper blades, other fluids. Replace them when you're supposed to and you won't have problems later on. At 8k, I wouldn't do anymore than oil and rotate. I don't have the Mazda suggested maintenance schedule in front of me, but I would guess you'd be due for a cabin filter and maybe manual trans fluid (if you aren't auto) at 15k. Most cars have major services at 15k and/or 30k intervals.
Skimp now and pay for being cheap later.