Low Mileage C3 service

My mother in law has a March 2004 Citroen C3 1.4 automatic with 2 year service intervals. She has driven only 4,400 miles in this car since new and it's coming up for it's second service and second MOT.

The first service in March 2006 at 1,900 miles was just an oil change, whereas this one is scheduled to be more major. I am planning to get my village mechanic to service it and get it MOT'd, but what does it really need with only 4,000 miles covered?

An oil and filter change with fully synthetic oil. The air filter is clean and I intend to leave it. I assume a brake fluid change would be advisable? Are spark plugs dependent on age as well as mileage or should we leave them well alone? I also assume the fuel filter will be okay having only filtered 4,000 miles worth of fuel?

Any other thoughts please gents?

Thanks.

Reply to
Doctor D
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I would be quite happy just to give it an oil change and check over. A brake fluid change is always a nice idea, but if it checks ok for moisture absorbtion then I would leave that alone too. Leave the plugs and change them on mileage as recommended or if it gives problems (unlikely)

Reply to
Mrcheerful

On Mon, 4 Feb 2008 09:49:32 -0000, I waved a wand and this message magically appears in front of Doctor D:

Get it serviced, please. Otherwise the C3 will die a nasty death the minute you thrash it...

Reply to
Alex Buell

Sorry to butt in how would you check the brake fluid for moisture absorbtion ?

Just had mine changed at the two year interval at my local garage and did my runabout car with a ezibleed system which is really simple and quick :)

Reply to
James

With a brake fluid moisture tester. Not something the average home has, but many garages do.

Its a bit like a domestic damp tester. ( I must have a play with a damp tester and see what it shows.) A friend of mine has a brake fluid tester, so I have never bothered to get one of my own.

On a conventional system it is a simple job to change fluid, but if the fluid is still ok why risk air, breakage, spillage etc.?

Reply to
Mrcheerful

I'm not sure how you reach that conclusion?

It will be serviced, but it's not due yet. I was questioning how much servicing it will require. It won't ever be thrashed, the MIL never goes over 60 in it, and whilst I give it a blast now and again my "Italian Tune Up" days are long gone!

Reply to
Doctor D

Many thanks. It runs very well, so oil service and brake fluid check/change it is then.

Reply to
Doctor D

don't forget that cam belts (assuming it has one) need changing every 4-5 years or mileage claimed..

if its an 04 car, I'd change the belt!!

Loopy

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Reply to
loopy livernose

10 or 12 years new citroens !!
Reply to
Tim-mz500r

Biannual oil changes at that sort of mileage. The oil will be getting contaminated pretty badly (I'm assuming lots of short trips) due to the engine never warming up, and not be able to work properly. So, for this service, I'd say oil + filter, brake fluid and that's it. 6 months on, new oil and filter. Then the same as last time. Plugs last ages, air cleaners etc. don't age but rubber parts do, so cam belts will eventually need looking at.

Reply to
Doki

Thanks. If it was my car I'd be changing the oil annually (about every 1,000 miles) but it's not, and she'll keep it for another 3/4 years and then trade it in if she's still driving. By then it will only have covered about 8-10,000 miles. We bought her last car (a Citroen ZX) at 8 years old and with 12,400 miles. It had annual oil changes as was the Citroen recommendation then, we ran it for another 2 years (with 5,000 mile oil changes) and sold it at 37,000 miles for what we paid her for it!

Reply to
Doctor D

The message from "Doctor D" contains these words:

I am very interested in the comments about low mileage servicing, as I have much the same problem. I only do about 2000 miles per year in my Toyota Avensis, which is now about three years old and coming up for it's first MOT.

So far I've only had an annual oil and filter change, and am reluctant to have too many other things done. These days cars often seem worse after they have been serviced :-)

I was interested to see an item in Honest John's column, in a recent Telegraph, about changing the brake fluid every two years. He recommended changing the fluid as it could absorb moisture, which could corrode the ABS pump, causing it to fail after four to six years.

I'm curious how moisture could get into the brake fluid, as mine appears to be a sealed system, and I can't see an air breather on the fluid reservoir.

Regards

Clive

Reply to
Clive

Most manuals for cars without a brain that works out when they want servicing say to double the rate of oil changes IIRC.

The fluid reservoir is not sealed. It sucks air in when more fluid goes to the calipers as the pads wear. That's why you often get a low fluid warning as your brake pads are about to wear out.

Reply to
Doki

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