Chevrolet Maintenance: Cost, Plans and Service Schedule

Are Chevrolets expensive to maintain?

Chevrolet vehicles are generally considered to have moderate maintenance costs compared with other brands.

RepairPal, an automotive data aggregator, claims that Chevy owners can expect to pay an average of $649 per year on repairs and maintenance. That’s just under the $652-per-year industry average, despite Chevy’s position in the bottom half of RepairPal’s own reliability rankings (No. 20 of 32 automakers).

How Chevrolet compares to other automakers

Although Chevrolet is beloved by many Americans, its vehicles tend to have just middling reliability ratings overall. While RepairPal ranked it No. 20 of 32, Chevrolet is the sixth most reliable car brand out of 30 in J.D. Power’s 2025 dependability ratings.

According to CarEdge’s data, though, Chevrolet vehicles cost an average of $9,602 over the first 10 years of ownership in maintenance and repairs — an average of $960.20 per year. That’s more than $300 over RepairPal’s estimate for Chevy.

Steve Sunkel, a longtime mechanic with experience working on nearly every car brand, told us: “Though Chevrolet is among the most popular American brands, it’s less reliable. … That’s due to lower-quality materials used — especially for its engines, which often have defects. Just look around. How many older Chevrolet S-10s do you see driving around? It’s a testament to the brand how many cars are still on the road, or not on the road.”

While it’s possible that these mixed opinions could be because of a recent resurgence in Chevrolet build quality, it’s hard to say for certain. Your vehicle’s costs may be significantly higher or lower than the average.

If you want a better picture of what keeping your Chevy on the road may cost, it’s important to take a look at the data for your particular model. Full-size trucks tend to be costlier to keep on the road than small cars, for example, and these model-by-model differences can really make a difference over the life of your vehicle.

Chevrolet maintenance and repair costs by model

Though some Chevrolets are considered unreliable and incur high repair costs, other models tend to be more dependable (or at least cheaper to fix). Chevy Cobalts, for instance, cost relatively little to repair and don't need frequent visits to the mechanic, according to RepairPal. Meanwhile, Silverados tend to incur more in repair bills.

While this data provides an overview of each model’s average yearly upkeep cost, it still doesn’t specify how much goes toward scheduled maintenance or repairs, even though these are different services. (Maintenance covers routine services such as oil changes, while repairs fix malfunctioning parts.)

To give you a better idea of how these services are different and how they may impact your budget, we’ve broken them down in further detail below.

Chevrolet maintenance costs and schedule

Getting regular maintenance is vital to your vehicle’s health. Your vehicle may have its own specific maintenance requirements, which you can find in your owner’s manual. But in general, here’s what you can expect from Chevy’s maintenance schedule.

• Every 7,500 miles: Oil change, tire rotation, vehicle diagnostics and fluid replenishment
• Every 15,000 miles: Cabin air filter change; brake fluid replacement; and suspension, exhaust and cooling systems inspection
• Every 30,000 miles: Spark plug check/replacement

Maintenance costs are fairly easy to calculate once you know how much your local shop charges. Just plot out the cost of each recommended service based on the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual to see how much you can expect to spend over time.

It’s also worth mentioning that Chevrolet offers some covered maintenance for new vehicles from model year 2024 and newer for the first year that you own the vehicle. During this time frame, eligible Chevy owners can get their first oil change, vehicle inspection and tire rotation for free. That’s not a huge value in the grand scheme of things, but it’s something.

2017 Chevrolet Tahoe maintenance costs

As an example of common maintenance costs, we’ve gathered estimates for a 2017 Chevy Tahoe below. Just be aware that your costs may differ depending on your mechanic, vehicle and geographic location.

Chevrolet maintenance by mileage interval

If you plan to keep your Chevrolet vehicle for a long time, you should check and replace certain things throughout its life to ensure it runs as well as possible. In addition to routine maintenance such as oil changes and tire rotation, Chevy suggests the following schedule.

12,000-mile service recommendations

Once your Chevy vehicle hits 12,000 miles, you should have the brake pads and rotors inspected for wear. You’ll probably need to change the engine’s air filter between 12,000 and 15,000 miles (though you can also do this with every other oil change as a rule of thumb).

You may need to replace your vehicle’s cabin oil filter around the 22,500- or 24,000-mile mark. Have it inspected around this time to see if it should be replaced. Your fuel system may also need to be cleaned during this 12,000-mile to 30,000-mile range.

30,000-mile service recommendations

If you haven’t changed your tires by the time your vehicle hits 30,000 miles, you may need to soon (though tire life expectancy can vary widely). It’s important to keep an eye on your tires at this point.

Your vehicle’s battery generally should last about 60,000 miles, so you should prepare for replacement between the 30,000- and 60,000-mile marks. Your engine coolant should also be flushed and replaced by the time you hit 60,000 miles. Brake pads and rotors will likely need replacement between 40,000 and 60,000 miles.

60,000-mile service recommendations

You should have your Chevy’s shocks and struts inspected sometime between the 60,000- and 75,000-mile marks to see if they need replacement. Belts and hoses should also be inspected (and possibly replaced) around the vehicle’s 70,000-mile mark.

During this same mileage range, you should have the transmission fluid inspected. Some Chevys may recommend a flush and replacement, along with a filter change.

90,000-mile and beyond service recommendations

If your Chevrolet has a timing belt, it may need to be replaced around the 100,000-mile mark. In addition, the lifespan of most spark plugs is about 100,000 miles, so you may need a spark plug replacement during this time. Have your differential (and transfer case, if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle) inspected and serviced, if needed, around 100,000 miles.

Chevrolet repair costs

While it’s fairly easy to anticipate maintenance costs, it’s harder to predict repairs because you don’t know when your car will break down. The two main problems reported by Chevrolet drivers, according to RepairPal, are hard/erratic shifting and vehicles that fail to start.

Steve Sunkel, the mechanic we spoke with, confirmed the former, telling us: “Transmission problems can be a burden for Chevrolet owners. … Due to overly complex automatic transmissions now, it’s usually the end of the vehicle’s life because it’s so expensive to fix a bad transmission. If you have to dump four grand on a transmission repair, you may as well go put it down on a new car instead.”

While we wouldn’t recommend scrapping a vehicle that still has much of its value when fixed, having to abandon an older, out-of-warranty Chevy because of an expensive repair is not out of the question.

Reports of transmission problems are also backed up in some consumer reviews. James, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer from Virginia, told us, “I come from a family that prided itself on owning Chevrolet trucks — trucks that ran for 200K-plus miles. That came to an end for me today."

“I own a 2016 Suburban LT. … At just over 64K miles, the car started to show signs of a delayed shifting. … The dealer first suggested reprogramming the transmission and a fluid flush at a cost of $700, but the symptoms persisted. Upon further investigation by the transmission technician, I was presented with a price of $7,000 to replace the transmission with a remanufactured one.”

» MORE: How much does a transmission cost?

2017 Chevrolet Tahoe repair costs

Each vehicle will experience different hiccups, and major repairs like transmission replacements aren’t going to be needed for every Chevy, even if they are a common weak point.

For a closer look at what other repairs might cost you, we collected repair cost estimates for the same 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe we used to get maintenance estimates above.

Chevrolet generally provides a three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile warranty on new vehicles to help protect owners against repair bills. But if you intend on keeping your Chevrolet past its manufacturer’s warranty period, it’s a good idea to have a plan or budget in place in case you get stuck with an expensive repair bill.

How can an extended warranty or maintenance plan help?

If the cost of repairing and maintaining your Chevy has you in a panic, there are ways you can lower your financial liability.

A prepaid maintenance plan or extended warranty can save you money on upkeep, and Chevrolet offers its own versions of these products. Just take the time to understand what these products do and how they stack up against your other options before you buy.

» MORE: Pros and cons of extended auto warranties

Chevrolet prepaid maintenance plans

Prepaid maintenance plans let you pay for maintenance services ahead of time. This can result in savings because some dealerships offer discounts when you buy ahead. Paying in advance also protects you from possible price increases or inflation.

Chevrolet offers two prepaid maintenance plans: Pre-Paid Maintenance and Pre-Paid Maintenance Plus. Both include engine oil and filter changes, tire rotations and inspections for up to six years or 12 services, whichever comes first. Pre-Paid Maintenance Plus adds coverage for replacing cabin air filters, engine air filters, brake fluid and windshield wiper blades.

These plans are available for new, pre-owned and leased vehicles. Just know that you’ll need to have all of these services done at your local Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac dealership.

Chevrolet extended warranties

While prepaid maintenance plans only apply to scheduled maintenance services, extended warranties, also called vehicle service contracts, cover the cost of unexpected repairs when your vehicle breaks down.

Chevrolet offers three extended warranty plans: Powertrain, Silver and Platinum. When we investigated these plans, we found they were often more affordable than warranties from third-party warranty companies (possibly due to those companies playing it safe regarding Chevy’s mixed record for reliability).

However, it’s still important to shop around for the best deal; we’ve seen warranty price quotes fluctuate substantially between companies with little rhyme or reason.

If you’re concerned about getting a massive bill for something like a transmission replacement, an extended warranty might be the way to go.

» MORE: Car warranty vs. car insurance