How Often Should You Service Your Car? An Australian Guide

The short version

Most modern cars sold in Australia need a service every 10,000 to 15,000 km, or every six to twelve months, whichever comes first. The exact interval is in your owner's manual or service logbook, and it varies by make. Older cars often need shorter intervals. Hybrids can sometimes go a little longer. EVs need different work but still need servicing.

The single most important word in that paragraph is "whichever". Both the kilometres and the time matter. A car that does 8,000 km a year still needs an annual service, because oils degrade with time and exposure, not just with use.

This guide covers how to find your specific interval, what changes if you do mostly short trips or mostly highway, what missing services actually costs, and the difference between a minor and a major service.

How to find your specific service interval

Three places to look, in order of usefulness:

Your service logbook. Every new car comes with one. It is usually a small booklet stored in the glovebox alongside the owner's manual. It lists each scheduled service by kilometre count (often 15,000, 30,000, 45,000, 60,000 km and so on) and what each one includes. The first page typically states the interval as both kilometres and months. If you have the book, that is your answer.

Your owner's manual. Section heading is usually "Maintenance schedule" or "Service intervals". Most manufacturers publish the manual as a PDF on their Australian website too, free to download.

Your dealer. Phone the service department of the dealer who sold you the car, tell them the make, model, year and current kilometres, and ask what service is due next. They will tell you, in part because they hope you book with them.

Common intervals for popular Australian cars in 2026:

Make	Typical interval
Toyota (most models, since 2015)	15,000 km or 12 months
Mazda (most models, since 2016)	10,000 km or 12 months
Hyundai / Kia	15,000 km or 12 months (some models 10,000 km / 12 months)
Ford (Ranger, Everest, Mustang)	15,000 km or 12 months
Mitsubishi (Triton, Outlander, ASX)	15,000 km or 12 months
Nissan (Patrol, Navara, X-Trail)	10,000 km or 12 months (older Navara models on 6 months — check your logbook)
Volkswagen / Skoda	15,000 km or 12 months
Subaru (Forester, Outback, XV)	12,500 km or 12 months
BMW / Mercedes (most)	condition-based, typically 12 to 18 months

This table is general guidance. Your specific year and model may differ. The logbook always wins over the table.

Why "either or" actually means "both"

A common misunderstanding. "Every 15,000 km or 12 months, whichever comes first" does not mean "pick whichever is easier". It means the service is due as soon as either condition is met.

A car that does 8,000 km a year is due for a service every 12 months, even though it has only done half the kilometres of the interval. Engine oil degrades through three mechanisms: heat cycles (every time the engine warms up and cools down), contamination from combustion byproducts, and oxidation when oil is exposed to air over time. Even a car that barely gets driven is going through enough heat cycles and oxidation to break down its oil over a year.

The opposite case applies too. A rep doing 35,000 km a year needs servicing every five or six months. Higher kilometres means more wear, more contamination, and the oil change interval comes around faster than the calendar.

What changes if you do mostly short trips

This is the rule that surprises people. If most of your trips are under 15 minutes (school run, local shopping, work commute under five kilometres), your car's engine often does not reach proper operating temperature. Two things happen as a result:

1. Moisture builds up in the engine oil. A cold engine produces water as a normal byproduct of combustion. A warm engine boils that water out. An engine that never properly warms up keeps the water in the oil, where it degrades the oil and corrodes internal parts.

2. Fuel ends up in the oil. A cold engine runs a richer fuel mixture to compensate for cold air. Some of that fuel slips past the piston rings and into the oil pan, diluting the oil.

The practical implication: if you do mostly short trips, your manufacturer-stated interval is too long. We recommend halving it. So a 15,000 km interval becomes 7,500 km, and a 12-month interval becomes 6 months. Most manufacturers have a "severe duty" service schedule that acknowledges this, but it is often buried in the back of the manual.

This same logic applies if you live somewhere with heavy stop-start traffic (the worst inner-Brisbane suburbs at peak hour qualify), if you tow regularly, or if you live on unsealed roads (dust loading on the air filter).

What changes if you do mostly highway

Highway driving is the easiest condition on an engine. The engine runs at a steady moderate load, fully warm, with cool airflow. Oils stay in better condition for longer.

If you do almost all highway driving (think Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast each weekend, or Brisbane to Toowoomba weekly), the manufacturer interval is generally honest. You can run it to the recommended interval without concern. There is no benefit to servicing more often than recommended, despite what some workshops will tell you.

Hybrids: a little longer, but not by much

Hybrid powertrains share a lot with their petrol counterparts. The engine is still a four-cylinder petrol, with the same oil, the same filter, the same coolant. What is different is that the engine runs less of the time (the electric motor handles low-speed driving), so the engine itself ages a little slower per kilometre.

Toyota's hybrid intervals are typically the same as their petrol equivalents (15,000 km or 12 months). The Camry Hybrid is on the same schedule as the petrol Camry. The RAV4 Hybrid is on the same schedule as the petrol RAV4.

Regenerative braking does extend brake life significantly on hybrids. Pads that last 60,000 km on a petrol RAV4 often last 90,000 to 100,000 km on a RAV4 Hybrid. That part of the service schedule is genuinely lighter.

EVs: different work, still important

Full-electric vehicles do not have engine oil to change, but they are not maintenance-free. The brake fluid, coolant for the battery thermal management system, cabin air filter, tyres, suspension and wiper blades all still need attention. Most EV manufacturers publish a service schedule, typically every 20,000 to 30,000 km or every 12 to 24 months.

We do EV servicing case by case, depending on the make and model. Call us with the specifics before booking.

Minor versus major service: the actual difference

A minor service is your routine oil and filter change plus a multi-point safety inspection. It happens at every interval (every 10,000 to 15,000 km, or six to twelve months). The cost varies by vehicle size and is quoted fixed-price upfront. Routine servicing in Brisbane typically ranges from $188 to $449 as a general market guide.

A major service includes everything in a minor service plus the items that have longer intervals: air filter, cabin filter, brake fluid check or flush, spark plugs at the recommended interval (typically 60,000 to 100,000 km on iridium plugs), differential and transfer case oil checks on 4WDs, and a deeper inspection of CV boots, exhaust and fuel lines. Major services usually fall every 30,000 to 60,000 km depending on the make. The cost is quoted fixed-price upfront based on vehicle size and what is due.

Some manufacturers (Mazda, Hyundai, Kia) publish very specific service schedules that vary at almost every interval. A Mazda 3, for example, might have:

• 15,000 km: minor service
• 30,000 km: minor service + cabin filter
• 45,000 km: minor service + air filter
• 60,000 km: major service with spark plugs, brake fluid flush, transmission fluid check

We follow your specific logbook exactly. No "while we are at it" upsell.

What missing services actually costs

The honest answer is "it depends what gets missed". A single skipped minor service usually causes no permanent damage. The oil is slightly more degraded than ideal, but a fresh oil change catches it back up. The risk is not the one missed service, it is the pattern. Cars that have not been serviced in two or three years routinely show:

• Sludge buildup in the engine (from contaminated oil that turned acidic over time)
• Premature wear on timing chain tensioners
• Failed valve cover gaskets
• Carbon buildup on intake valves (especially direct-injection engines)
• Clogged air filters reducing fuel economy by 10 to 15 percent
• Cabin filters that have become a health issue (mould, dust, dead insects, blocked airflow)

The cost of catching this up is rarely just an oil change. By the time someone notices the consequences (rough running, oil leak, dropping fuel economy), the repair bill is usually $800 to $2,500. A few hundred dollars of timely servicing prevents most of it.

The other real cost is resale. A car with a stamped, complete service history sells for typically 10 to 20 percent more than the same car with gaps in the book. On a $30,000 used Hilux, that is the cost of three to six services worth of resale value.

What to track yourself

Whatever your service interval, two things are worth keeping a simple record of:

1. Your service dates and kilometres. Either in a notes app on your phone, or by keeping invoices in a folder. This is what proves the car has been looked after when you go to sell, and it is what protects your warranty if a dealer ever pushes back.

2. Anything you have noticed between services. A new noise. A warning light that came on and went off. The brakes felt different one day. Even small things are useful for the next mechanic to know about. Telling us "the engine has been making a tappy noise when cold for the last month, only on cold mornings, only for the first few minutes" tells us a lot more than handing over the keys without context.

We send service reminders automatically to customers who have booked with us before. The reminder lands a couple of weeks before your service is due. No spam, just one email when it matters.

The bottom line

Most modern cars want servicing every 10,000 to 15,000 km or every six to twelve months. Short-trip drivers should halve that. Highway drivers can run the manufacturer interval honestly. Each missed service usually does not cause permanent damage on its own, but the pattern of missing services adds up to expensive repairs and lost resale value.

If you are unsure when your last service was, or what your specific interval should be, call us on 0451 159 954 with the make, model, year and kilometres, and we will tell you straight. Booking is online via the quote form or by phone.

Full details on what is included in a service, and current pricing for the common Brisbane vehicles, are on the logbook servicing service page. If you are wondering whether using a mobile mechanic affects your new-car warranty, our warranty post covers it in detail.