My long-serving Volvo S60 D5 manual will reach 100,000 miles some time this autumn. Never having run a car anything like this long before, I'm starting to wonder when I should expect predictable bits to wear out.
By this I mean especially clutch, brakes and exhaust. The car's been through a few tyres, wiper blades and bulbs, and has had some model-specific maintenance items - cambelt and some bushes - but what I'm thinking of is what's a good service lifespan for a clutch or an exhaust?
I'm using my particular car as an example but the question could apply to anything. Mine has done most of its miles in top gear and at motorway speed, which is gentle on these components. I know I'll have to replace the brake pads before much longer, but what about the clutch and exhaust? Is it possible to make these last indefinitely?
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Don't worry about it!
I recall a story about some mediocre car (Datsun Cherry perhaps) that did a regular run a couple of times a week from Stevenage to the North-West. It's tyre wear was minimal and things like clutch and exhaust were 300K plus.
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We personally ran a second car for 16 years with everything original except the exhaust intact. 157K and the steering joints started to play up, eventually we scrapped it because we couldn't give it away, believe me we tried. That was a Honda Accord petrol 2.01. an ex company car of mine bought from the lease company. I have regularly put 120K miles on cars in 3 years and have never had to replace anything significant with Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Renault, Honda, Toyota, VW etc. The type of mileage you do is taylor made for preserving modern cars. i.e. regular use, long journeys at cruising speeds, not much town work. Just keep it serviced and well run with considerate driving and most vehicles will last and last. Concrete
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Thanks, chaps. There's another component I meant to ask about that we may as well include in this thread: airbags. Not strictly a consumable but I believe they are supposed to be replaced at ten years. Airbags first gained a foothold here at the time of the first Mondeo in 1993, so there must be plenty of cars about that (should) have had them replaced. I can't imagine it's a simple pop-out, push-in job like changing a bulb, but has anyone here had it done? If so, is it the kind of expense that turns serviceable old chariots like mine (which has front, side and curtain 'bags) into scrapyard material?
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. I can't imagine it's a simple pop-out push-in job likechanging a bulb but has anyone here had it done?
My ageing MB needed a new single column switch not long after i bought it, it does dipswitch, wipers, washers and indicators so at roughly £80 (memory) i wasn't complaining.
After reading the haynes on the subject of airbags and all the dire warnings i instead commissioned my able sparky with the job, he was a sparky for MB at one time so knows his way round these.
He simply unscrewed the airbag from the rear of the steering wheel and popped the bag off and disconnected it, no fuss at all, so much for all the warnings (ISTR he disconnected the battery first), and reconnection was just as simple.
I was thinking much the same WDB, can't think that the steering wheel airbag would be too painful, luckily the MB's is a separate bolt on item presumably likewise the passenger side, some steering wheels look like they are complete with bag moulded in.
I'm hoping to get another 5 years out of my car as it is and then i'll have to make the decision whether to spend a large amount on a rebuild i'd imagine...i wonder if the govt of the day will allow me the privilege?
What the cost will be of a fully curtained car is anyone's guess, but it won't be cheap.
Edited by gordonbennet on 13/09/2009 at 21:24
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None of my 150K+ Vauxhalls have needed a clutch change, it's much more to do with driving habits than mileage.
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Clutches are worn out by hill-starts, getting away from the lights, and resting the foot on the pedal. If you don't do much of these, clutch may outlast car.
Even 40 years ago I sold on a 1100 estate which passed 90K miles on the original clutch, and those cars weren't noted for long-lasting parts.
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I suppose sometimes you just get lucky with cars. They will occasionally rumble on mainly trouble free for remarkable numbers of years or miles. Kept maintained and driven with a modicum of empathy they can achieve levels of usage far beyond that which has become the expected norm. I think it's mainly about having lowered expectations and heightened delight at their abilities.
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Very true, Humph. I sold my beloved BMW 525TD a couple of years ago, on the basis that after 185K miles something was likely to go expensively wrong soon.
I eventually sold it to my friend in the Harley club who has enjoyed trouble-free motoring ever since, and ironically it now does far more miles per day than it ever did with me.
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My '99 S80 is still going strong on its original exhaust at 158,000 miles, so hopefully yours has plenty of life in it yet :-)
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