OT: Spark Plug Replacement- Mileage vs. Time

I'd let it ride. Last car I changed plugs on had 110,000 miles and about 10 years. If it is running OK, no misses and such, I don't see that age makes a difference.

Most cars today can go 48,000 to 100,000 miles on plugs.

Yeah, used to change my own too. Now you can't even see them.

It's been my experience that nothing ever goes as planned. How lucky do you feel?

Rotted Out Spark Plugs episode

Let it ride. Our dealer would let it go for the full mileage. My wife's '08 Forester was about to hit 60,000 miles and we were going to get it done but unfortunately it got totaled. The Forester plugs are iridium and should be good for over 100,000 miles.

No one can understand how important time is, except with the fullness of time.

Age brings wisdom and appreciation of metal and ceramic.

Plugs cost about a dollar each, iirc.

I can change 3 of mine. I can't see the other 3.

I may not drive as much as you but I've stopped changing plugs altogether. The hire secondary/spark voltage since the late 60's keeps them frrom fouling

LOL!

You are getting old, it seems.

My last car - 2015 Kia - bought new & driven 170000 km over 8 1/2 years on original spark plugs. When I finally decided to pull one out for a look-see it was so tight I was afraid of breaking it off .. I was dealing the car soon and just abandoned the job. Perhaps there is a trick to removing difficult spark plugs but I wasn't prepared to experiment.

ps Micky - the new plugs were ~ $ 25. each .. Canuck-Bucks.

John T.

And if you did find and change them your car would probably tattle to (whatever entity you desire) and they'd void your warranty and remotely program your car to operate in "limp mode" until you took it to a dealer and paid him an outrageous fee to replace them with "authorized replacement spark plugs" - which will be identical to the ones you installed except they'll be "authorized" . We do not own a car/appliance/device other than our personal computers that has internet connectivity . And I use software to minimize our "footprint" as much as I can .

No s*it ! Last time I changed plugs in the '99 4Runner they were 8 bucks apiece ! Of course they're supposed to last 75,000 miles ... Plugs for the more mundane things like chainsaws and Harleys run from

Must be some Canadian scam Everyone knows spark plugs cost $1 each, and whatever that is in Canada.

We understand that you haven't bought a plug in decades. Nobody but you "knows" that.

Look like about $5 each and also noted for my Crosstrek a set of ignition coils and plugs runs about $80. With boxer engine I would not think of DYI.

I recall back in the day with old Chevy I would take out plugs and clean and gap every 6 months or so. Then there was dwell/tach and timing light. All changed today. Gave to Goodwill years ago.

Yeah, I had a late 70's VW Rabbit that ate spark plugs. I had to replace them every 2,000-3,000 miles.

They sat right atop the engine and were so easy to get at I could change all four within five minutes and not get my hands dirty :-)

Cars were easier to work on then but needed more frequent work.

My Crosstrek had a recall to reprogram something related to the ignition coils than again a couple of years later to replace all the ignition coils. These things may not outlast the spark plugs.

I think that recommendation is aimed at people who get their cars serviced at dealers for the entire time they own the car. The recommendation in question is probably a way to help their dealers make more money. Dealerships make the overwhelming majority of their profits from maintenance not from car sales. The manufacturers want the dealers to stay in business so they can sell their brand's models.

Dealers are different and not owned by manufacturer. It has been my experience that the dealers will call for more frequent service than the manufacturers recommend. I take car to dealer for service, I tell them what to do. Made mistake once just telling them to do 60,000 mile service and got an unneeded engine flush.

I didn't say that the dealers are owned by the manufacturers. I suggested that they are locked in a symbiotic relationship. If it were not for the manufacturers, there would be no dealers selling new cars. And where do they sell them? Ans., at the dealers. And what do many owners do while waiting for their overpriced repairs at the dealers? They look at the new models on the almost-always attached showroom. It's strongly in the manufacturers' interest to keep the owners of those care returning to the dealers for service - whether needed, appropriately priced, or not.

Some dealers have questionable ethics. If you are not sure of yours, check the yellow pages. The questionable ones are listed there in alphabetical order.

Yes, of course. I still go to dealer and their repair cost is about what other local shops charge. Ed is right. Easy to find questionable ones.

The last time a dealer sees my car is when I drive it off the lot. The one exception I can think of was a Toyota airbag recall when they finally nagged me into getting it done. With a Toyota the maintenance manual is pretty boring; change the oil and filter every 5000 miles. They even dropped the 100000 mile coolant replacement. There must be an air filter in there someplace but I haven't gotten there yet.

Oh, and rotate the tires. I do that twice a year when I swap the street tires for studs in November.