Car maintenance checklist: what's due now?
Your odometer sorts the maintenance schedule. Free, no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser.
Example car, dated 10/02/2026. Type your own numbers over it.
Your checklist, sorted by your odometer
Type the odometer reading and the 12 items below sort into due, coming up and not yet.
Fix the odometer to sort the list.
0due now
Clear every number and record?
A schedule isn't a safety check. A warning light, a noise, a pull or a soft brake pedal doesn't wait for its row: get it looked at.
The typical schedule (12 items)
- Change engine oil and filterEvery 10,000 mi or 12 monthsSevere: every 5,000 mi or 6 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Rotate tiresEvery 5,000 mi or 6 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Check tire pressure and treadEvery monthTypical - check your manual
- Check brake pads and rotorsEvery 10,000 mi or 12 monthsSevere: every 5,000 mi or 6 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Replace brake fluidEvery 20,000 mi or 24 monthsSevere: every 10,000 mi or 12 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Replace cabin air filterEvery 15,000 mi or 12 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Replace engine air filterEvery 30,000 mi or 36 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Check wiper bladesEvery 5,000 mi or 6 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Check 12-volt batteryEvery 6 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Replace engine coolantFirst at 105,000 mi or 120 months, then every 75,000 mi or 60 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Replace spark plugsEvery 105,000 mi or 126 monthsTypical - check your manual
- Change automatic transmission fluidEvery 150,000 miSevere: every 30,000 mi or 24 monthsTypical - check your manual
Not on this car (3)
- Change differential and transfer case fluidNo interval setSevere: every 20,000 mi or 24 monthsNo typical value
- Replace timing beltNo interval setNo typical value
- State inspection or emissions testNo interval setNo typical value
6 of your own items is the limit.
How the car maintenance checklist works
A shop visit is coming, or a service menu is sitting on the counter, and you want to know which of those items your car needs. Your owner's manual already has the real schedule. It's a grid of mileage columns, and it has no idea where your car is today. Your odometer reading is what that grid is missing.
The odometer and the date.
Type what the dash says. The date starts on today. Change it if you're working from an old receipt.
Miles, months, or both.
When an item has both limits, whichever comes first decides. Toyota's guide spells it out: drive 5,000 miles in less than six months and you "don't wait until six months". Low-mileage drivers miss the calendar half. High-mileage drivers pay early for items sold by the calendar.
Your last service, if you know it.
A date, an odometer reading, or both, and what you have to back it up: from memory, your own note, or shop paperwork. We don't check any of it, and the printout says so.
Counting forward.
The next service lands at the last odometer plus the interval, or the last date plus the months. Without a record, we count from an assumed start only until the first interval. After that, the row says No record. Unknown, not late.
The sort.
Due, coming up, not yet, no record. Each row names the limit that decided it: "6 months got there before 5,000 miles."
Coming up is our own rule, not an industry standard. An item lands there within a tenth of its interval, and never more than 1,000 miles or 30 days before it's due.
Where the typical numbers come from
We read three maintenance schedules end to end: Toyota's 2020 Camry guide, Ford's 2020 Escape owner's manual, and Nissan's 2016 guide for all its models. For each item we took the middle of the three figures, or the shorter of two when only two print one.
That's a sensible starting point. It isn't your car's schedule. Your owner's manual wins every time, and one edit puts its number on the row.
| Item | Typical | Severe | What the three schedules print |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change engine oil and filter | 10,000 mi or 12 months | 5,000 mi or 6 months | Toyota 2.5L 10,000 / 12 with specified oil; Ford monitor (non-hybrid maximum 10,000 / 1 year); Nissan standard 5,000 / 6, named exceptions 3,750 / 3 |
| Rotate tires | 5,000 mi or 6 months | No change | Toyota 5,000 / 6; Ford every oil change; Nissan standard log 5,000 / 6, except all 370Z |
| Check tire pressure and tread | Every month | No change | Ford every month |
| Check brake pads and rotors | 10,000 mi or 12 months | 5,000 mi or 6 months | Toyota 5,000 / 6; Ford every oil change; Nissan 10,000 / 12 |
| Replace brake fluid | 20,000 mi or 24 months | 10,000 mi or 12 months | Toyota checks it only; Ford every 3 years; Nissan 20,000 / 24 |
| Replace cabin air filter | 15,000 mi or 12 months | No change | Toyota 10,000 / 12; Ford 20,000; Nissan 15,000 / 18 (see the note under the table) |
| Replace engine air filter | 30,000 mi or 36 months | No change | All three 30,000 (Toyota and Nissan add 36 months) |
| Check wiper blades | 5,000 mi or 6 months | No change | Toyota 5,000 / 6; Ford every 6 months |
| Check 12-volt battery | Every 6 months | No change | Ford every 6 months |
| Replace engine coolant | First at 105,000 mi or 120 months, then every 75,000 mi or 60 months | No change | Toyota 100,000 / 120, then 50,000 / 60; Ford 200,000 / 10 years, then 100,000 / 5 years; Nissan 105,000 / 7 years, then 75,000 / 5 years |
| Replace spark plugs | 105,000 mi or 126 months | No change | Toyota 120,000 / 144; Ford 100,000; Nissan 105,000 / 126 (NISMO 370Z: 60,000 / 72) |
| Change automatic transmission fluid | 150,000 mi | 30,000 mi or 24 months | Toyota and Nissan inspect in normal use; Ford 150,000; severe figures depend on the listed conditions and conventional ATF, with Nissan CVT and named-model exceptions |
| Change differential and transfer case fluid | None | 20,000 mi or 24 months | Equipped models: inspect; Nissan replaces for towing/camper/car-top or rough/muddy roads |
| Replace timing belt | None: type yours | No change | Only Ford's 1.5L lists a belt replacement in these schedules, at 150,000 |
| State inspection or emissions test | None: your state sets it | No change | None of the three |
Cabin air filter: Nissan's 2016 guide prints 15,000 miles or 18 months in its maintenance log, and every year or 15,000 miles on another page. As of October 8, 2026, we haven't settled which one our rule should read. The typical 15,000 miles or 12 months comes out the same either way.
Counting from new when there's no record
No record doesn't always mean no answer. We start the count at 0 miles and January 2 of the year before the model year. That date is our age assumption, borrowed from an EPA production-period boundary. It isn't your car's build date. While neither first limit has been reached under the intervals shown, we can count forward. Once either is reached, the row goes to No record and waits for you.
Who this is for
You're about to book a service and want to know what's due before anyone sells you more. Maybe you bought a used car with a stack of receipts, or none at all. Maybe a dealer just handed you a 60,000-mile menu. Or you drive so little that the calendar half of the schedule keeps slipping past you.
Car owner questions about maintenance schedules
How often should I get my car serviced?
There isn't one number. Each item has its own interval, and each maker sets its own. Toyota's 2020 Camry guide asks for a visit every 5,000 miles or six months. Ford uses an oil-life monitor; the non-hybrid service maximum is a year or 10,000 miles. Nissan's 2016 standard schedule is 5,000 miles or six months, with named exceptions. For your car, the owner's manual is the one that counts.
Car maintenance by mileage or time: which one counts?
Whichever comes first when your manual gives both. Some items have only a mileage or time limit. Toyota's guide gives both cases: drive 5,000 miles in under six months and you're due at 5,000; drive less and you're due at six months. The calendar half is the one low-mileage drivers miss.
What maintenance does my car need at 60,000 miles?
Depends on the car. On Toyota's 2020 Camry, the 60,000-mile visit changes the oil and filter, replaces the cabin and engine air filters, rotates the tires and inspects the drive belts for the first time, plus spark plugs on the V6. Your manual has its own 60,000 column. Type your odometer into the checklist and it shows what lines up at your mileage.
What counts as severe driving conditions?
Mostly towing or a roof carrier, lots of short trips (worst in the cold), long idling or slow stop-and-go, and dusty, unpaved or salted roads. Toyota, Ford and Nissan each list their own version. All three apply it only when that's most of your driving, not now and then. Pick Severe and the items with a shorter severe interval switch over. Anything you typed from your manual stays put.
How often should you change your oil if you don't drive much?
Use the oil-change interval in your manual, including its time limit. Toyota's 2020 Camry 2.5L uses 12 months with its specified oil in normal driving, or six months under special conditions or after other oil. Its six-month maintenance visit isn't always an oil change. Ford says follow the oil-life message and never exceed one year. Low mileage doesn't stop that clock.
Do electric cars need maintenance?
Less, but yes. No engine oil changes or spark plugs. Electric cars still have fluids, and their own manuals set the service. Tesla's Model 3 lists brake-fluid checks, a cabin filter every two years, wipers every year, and tire rotation at 6,250 miles or a tread-depth difference of 2/32 inch, whichever comes first. Tick "This car is fully electric" to leave out six combustion-car service rows, then use your manual's numbers for the remaining ones. A hybrid keeps all rows.
How do I know when my car was last serviced?
Follow the paper: the sticker on the windshield, receipts in the glove box, the invoices from the shop you used. A used car often comes with nothing. That's fine. Leave the item on No record. All that says is nothing's written down. Use "Not sure - plan it" for the ones you want done anyway, keep that receipt, and next time the row has a date.
Do I need to follow the car maintenance schedule?
Follow the one in your owner's manual. It's the schedule the maker built your car around. A shop can suggest more, and Toyota's own guide says your dealer "may recommend more frequent maintenance intervals or more maintenance services". Ask why, and ask which page of the manual it's on. Warranty questions are a different matter: your warranty booklet answers those, and we don't.
How long should I keep car maintenance records?
For as long as you own the car, then hand them over. Ford's manual says to keep all receipts for completed maintenance with the vehicle, and Toyota's guide says to give your maintenance records to the new owner when you sell. Print your checklist, write each service on it as it happens, and staple the receipts behind it.
Does anything I type get saved or sent?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is sent, nothing is stored, and the next visit starts blank. To keep your list, print it, copy it, or add the dates to your calendar.
Car maintenance schedule by mileage and time
A car maintenance schedule is two lists in one: what's due by the odometer and what's due by the calendar. The mileage list is the one everybody prints. The time list catches the cars that sit, because brake fluid, coolant and oil all carry time limits in the manuals whether the car moves or not. Put both on one sheet, start each item from its last service, and the checklist sorts itself. Swap our typical numbers for your manual's, and the sheet is yours.
Sources and last checked
- Toyota, 2020 Camry Warranty & Maintenance Guide: the maintenance log, special operating conditions and "Miles or Months?". Toyota's live address no longer opens, so the link goes to the Internet Archive copy we read.
- Ford, 2020 Escape Owner's Manual, Scheduled Maintenance. The oil-life text comes from Ford's 2024 Maverick Owner's Manual.
- Nissan, 2016 Service & Maintenance Guide: the standard schedule and its severe-driving additions.
- Tesla, Model 3 Owner's Manual, Maintenance Service Intervals.
- U.S. EPA, the definition of a model year and its production period: 40 CFR 85.2302 and 85.2304.
- Typical intervals: version 2026-10-07.
Last checked October 8, 2026.
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