Cars are vehicles, vehicles are machines, and as machines, cars (and trucks, SUVs, vans, sedans, coupes, and most all other means of road-going conveyance) are all built of parts and components that will eventually wear out, wear down, and need replacement.
Further, many of the parts and components rely on a clean and fresh supply of fluid circulating within them to do their job properly. Like the parts themselves, fluids typically have a lifespan — after which point they need to be flushed out, refilled and replaced as part of your vehicle’s long-term care needs.
Below, we’ll look at a variety of the commonly replaceable parts and fluids that require occasional attention, how often you might change or replace them, and what might happen if you don’t.
But first, a caveat: the information below is a guideline only. Specific maintenance and replacement requirements vary widely from vehicle to vehicle, and the specific instructions you’ll need to follow for your specific year, make and model of car or truck are located in your owner’s manual.
We’ve listed the parts alphabetically, but if you want to jump to a specific part, use the table of contents to navigate.