my gt vert turned 5 years old a couple of months ago and now has about 16,500 miles on it; since i have owned it the oil has been changed regularly and the tires have been rotated; now i need advice: what do i really need to do to maintain this beauty: should i be changing some of the fluids, for example: brake fluid, anti-freeze etc. The car has been garaged and never been driven in any wet or snowy weather. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Your manual is your friend

It shows what needs to be changed at what interval.

Your mileage is actually very low for your car though.

I like to change my brake fluid every 20k miles or so, but I don't think the manual has anything regarding the brake fluid.

 

Yep, your owner's manual tells you exactly what to change and when, maintenance-wise. Read through that and then post any questions you might have.

 

"Your mileage is actually very low for your car though."

how about my mileage? i have just a little over 7,000 and its a 2006

 

First thing I would suggest is actually putting some miles on the car.

That said, there's a couple things you should consider that isn't going to be covered by your maintenance guide. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs moisture from the air. Over time this can cause the boiling point of the brake fluid to decrease to potentially dangerous levels. Assuming your brake fluid is the original from the factory, I'd say go ahead and get the system fully flushed, and replaced with new DOT-3 fluid. Ford Heavy Duty DOT-3 is pretty good stuff for the money. From a safety standpoint doing this every couple years is not a bad idea, and is fairly inexpensive.

The other big thing to consider is that at 5 years old, if you're on the factory tires, you're going to be getting near the end of their serviceable life. Despite having plenty of tread left on them, the rubber compounds (like everything else in the world) begin to break down over time. There was a story on one of the prime time news shows about this very issue a while ago. And while the tires may even be brand new (say, stock on a shelf at a tire store) and not show any signs of aging, from a safety standpoint things are getting kinda sketchy at that kind of age.

As long as the car gets driven on a fairly regular basis, the lubricants should all be fine for servicing according to the maintenance manual. You might want to check other rubber components like the LCA and sway bar bushings just to make sure they're all right as well.

 

thanks for this advice; for what it is worth i did check my manual and the fluids are not mentioned in the service manual that is why i am asking on here. the tire advice is also good - i have heard that before; thanks again.

 

You should have a "Scheduled Maintenance Guide" in there.

If not just go here:

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/pub.../05frdmg4e.pdf

 

The brake fluid is a good idea because it can absorb water.
Less absorption in a dry garage though. I am going to wait on mine.
The tires are also a good idea.
My experience with previous cars kept in my warm dry garage is they last longer than 5 years.
Personally I feel I can go 8-10 years safely, but I also can't say that is absolutely safe.
I can tell you I had a previously unused 17 year old tire come apart within the first 50 miles.
(It still held air, but had big chunks of tread missing.)
Oh, and if anyone is counting my 2006 has 11k mi.

 

i tried this link but an told i dont have permission to go here. guess you must be a subscriber.

 

https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/owners_manuals/

 

Mines a 06 and has all of 14350 miles. A few months ago I took it to the Dealer, and got The tranny fluid, radiator fluid and flush, rear-end fluid and the fuel filter changed out. Being Preformance White, all the Mechs and Advisors could not get over that there was no dirt in the door jambs. Cost about $500, but I'm happy and so is the Mustang.

 

I would change the coolant.

 

Isn't this 100,000 mile coolant? Why would you change it so soon, especially if it really hasn't been driven?

I have 22,000 on my 06, and the original tires are really staring to get on my nerves, they don't hold air like they used to. Unfortunately, my car has spent a lot of time in garages due to my frquent moves overseas. I have done all the regular maintenance I can, but probably due for a fuel filter change now.

 

Someone get this guy a cookie!

 

Or a bicycle.......

 

no chocolate chip please!
snicker-doodles are the best!!
...and i do have a bike.

 

The coolant is designed to be stored in plastic bottle for 5 years not an aluminum block. In this case time over rules mileage.

 

got you beat,my 06 has 3200 miles.

 

My 05 has got about 14K miles on it and I have not done any thing to it yet besides oil changes.

Is it reasonable to just have the coolant and brake fluid checked at the shop to see if it really needs replacing??

 

You guys need to get out and drive your cars wtf!!!

2008 32k miles loving every one, go drive!