# The UK car maintenance schedule: what to check and when

> From MOT prep to winter checks, here's a simple month-by-month car maintenance schedule for UK drivers, plus what happens if you skip it.

Canonical: https://motorbook.uk/articles/uk-car-maintenance-schedule/
Last updated: 2026-09-22

Maintenance: checklists

A simple monthly rhythm catches almost every problem before it becomes an expensive one.

Nathan James · Updated September 2026

TL;DR

Most costly car problems start as something small and ignorable. Checking tyres, oil, and lights monthly, fluids and wipers every three months, and booking a full service every 6–12 months (per your manufacturer’s interval) catches nearly everything before it becomes a repair bill, on top of the annual MOT, tax, and insurance renewals every UK driver needs to track.

**1.6mm** legal minimum tyre tread depth

**12mo** typical full-service interval

Most car problems that end up costly started as something small and ignorable: a tyre a few PSI low, an oil change pushed back “one more month.” A basic maintenance rhythm catches almost all of it.

## Every month

- Tyre pressure and tread depth (legal minimum is 1.6mm, but replace nearer 3mm in winter)
- Oil level check
- Lights: indicators, brake lights, headlights

## Every 3 months

- Coolant and screenwash levels
- Wiper blades
- Battery terminals, especially before winter

## Every 6–12 months

- Full service (check your manufacturer’s interval: many modern cars are 12,000 miles or 12 months)
- Brake pad and disc inspection
- Air filter

## Annually, non-negotiable

- MOT (once the car turns 3 years old)
- Road tax renewal
- Insurance renewal, worth shopping around even if you plan to stay put

## Why a schedule beats memory

Garages will remind you about *their* service, but nothing coordinates MOT, tax, and multiple services across more than one car unless you’re tracking it yourself. This is where most people fall behind, not from neglect, but because the dates live in different places (a text from the garage, a letter from the DVLA, a sticker on the windscreen).

## A simpler approach

Keeping all of these dates in one place, ideally somewhere that reminds you before they’re due rather than after, turns car maintenance from something you scramble to catch up on into something that just runs in the background.

**Motorbook** tracks MOT, tax, and service intervals for every vehicle you own in one place, with reminders before anything lapses.

**Written by Nathan James**, the developer of Motorbook, an independent UK car-admin app for iPhone.

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