Maintenance Questions..

[NaNoMaN06]

I have a few maintenance type quesitons.

1.) How does one put an Elio in the air to be worked on? (like on a lift)
2.) Will there will be jack points for at home people (me)
3.) How long will oil change and air filter intervals be?
4.) Will oil changes / air filter changes be easy enough to do at home?
5.) Will the two front tires be rotated side to side ( I assume yes..)
6.) How much space will be in the engine bay? Can we work on this?
7.) Will there be a maintenance schedule? I have one for my focus so I was curious.


Not a maintenance question but will extended powertrain / bumper-to-bumper warrantys be offered?

 

[zelio]

I have a few maintenance type quesitons.

1.) How does one put an Elio in the air to be worked on? (like on a lift)
2.) Will there will be jack points for at home people (me)
3.) How long will oil change and air filter intervals be?
4.) Will oil changes / air filter changes be easy enough to do at home?
5.) Will the two front tires be rotated side to side ( I assume yes..)
6.) How much space will be in the engine bay? Can we work on this?
7.) Will there be a maintenance schedule? I have one for my focus so I was curious.


Not a maintenance question but will extended powertrain / bumper-to-bumper warrantys be offered?

If you use the search function for the site you will likely find lots of answers to some of your questions. Many of the members are DIY so have a lot of experience to share. I am not one of them. If you check out the FAQ section of the Elio Motors website you will find some of your answers. We will learn more about options later this year. The last I heard the oil change interval is 3,000 miles. I know for a fact there is a lot of discussion about that on this forum. I understand there is a way of lifting the Elio by running a support bar under the rear of the vehicle and bracing it on the lift but I do not know the details. You can definitely work on the Elio as is stated in the FAQ at EM.com. I hope this helps a little. I encourage to read everything on EM.com. That is how I started my knowledge search about the Elio after my son introduced me to it in January. Having that knowledge has helped me a lot in understanding many of the things discussed here. I also encourage you to use the search function here. This site has grown very rapidly in the last 6 months and there are many discussions that are spread all over the place. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the adventure of learning about our Elios. :-) Z - the little old lady from Oregon

 

[Darrell]

I looked at the engine mockup in Boston and also an Elio rep confirmed that you can change the oil filter from the top. I plan on replacing the oil pan bolt with a Fumoto oil drain valve that you can attach a hose to your oil container, and just need to depress and rotate a lever 90 degrees to cleanly drain your oil.

 

[tazairforce]

I looked at the engine mockup in Boston and also an Elio rep confirmed that you can change the oil filter from the top. I plan on replacing the oil pan bolt with a Fumoto oil drain valve that you can attach a hose to your oil container, and just need to depress and rotate a lever 90 degrees to cleanly drain your oil.

As all oil drain plugs are at the lowest point of the pan, I would think LONG and HARD about 'replacing the oil pan bolt with a Fumoto oil drain valve that you can attach a hose to your oil container, and just need to depress and rotate a lever 90 degrees to cleanly drain your oil'. If you hit some thing in the road, brick or Road Kill, draining your oil while driving just don't sound like a good idea to me. I think I'll stay with the plug.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

I have a few maintenance type quesitons.

1.) How does one put an Elio in the air to be worked on? (like on a lift)
2.) Will there will be jack points for at home people (me)
3.) How long will oil change and air filter intervals be?
4.) Will oil changes / air filter changes be easy enough to do at home?
5.) Will the two front tires be rotated side to side ( I assume yes..)
6.) How much space will be in the engine bay? Can we work on this?
7.) Will there be a maintenance schedule? I have one for my focus so I was curious.


Not a maintenance question but will extended powertrain / bumper-to-bumper warrantys be offered?

1. Lifts will need a center ramp. Most lifts have them today or can be modded with little effort
2. From what I've read, it is being designed for easy maintenance by the owner. There will likely be easy access jack points for each wheel.
3. Likely 3-5k miles like any car.
4. Likely. Easy maintenance by owner.
5. Assuming all 3 tires are the same size, it's not out of the question that a 3 way rotation would be the norm assuming normal ware. If the rear tire is of a different size, left to right swap is suggested.
6. I haven't seen the new engine but assuming the simple design philosophy, there SHOULD be some room for basic maintenance. This is still unknown.
7. Being like a normal car there should be a maintenance schedule, it will likely be like most normal cars in reference to oil changes, tune up's, suspension maintenance, tire rotations, etc. Pep Boys should be the first to know considering they are the service contractors.

Hope that helps.

 

[NaNoMaN06]

1. Lifts will need a center ramp. Most lifts have them today or can be modded with little effort
2. From what I've read, it is being designed for easy maintenance by the owner. There will likely be easy access jack points for each wheel.
3. Likely 3-5k miles like any car.
4. Likely. Easy maintenance by owner.
5. Assuming all 3 tires are the same size, it's not out of the question that a 3 way rotation would be the norm assuming normal ware. If the rear tire is of a different size, left to right swap is suggested.
6. I haven't seen the new engine but assuming the simple design philosophy, there SHOULD be some room for basic maintenance. This is still unknown.
7. Being like a normal car there should be a maintenance schedule, it will likely be like most normal cars in reference to oil changes, tune up's, suspension maintenance, tire rotations, etc. Pep Boys should be the first to know considering they are the service contractors.

Hope that helps.

Thanks to all and you. Maybe I should wander into a pepboys and see if anyone has anything to spill early..lol.

 

[Darrell]

I've had Fumoto valves on my former Saturn, and for 15 years on my present Mercedes SUV, which I have used off road. In both cars the Fumoto comes out of the side of the oil pan, and doesn't extend below it, so not much exposure to being hit.

 

[Ty]

1. Lifts will need a center ramp. Most lifts have them today or can be modded with little effort
2. From what I've read, it is being designed for easy maintenance by the owner. There will likely be easy access jack points for each wheel.
3. Likely 3-5k miles like any car.
4. Likely. Easy maintenance by owner.
5. Assuming all 3 tires are the same size, it's not out of the question that a 3 way rotation would be the norm assuming normal ware. If the rear tire is of a different size, left to right swap is suggested.
6. I haven't seen the new engine but assuming the simple design philosophy, there SHOULD be some room for basic maintenance. This is still unknown.
7. Being like a normal car there should be a maintenance schedule, it will likely be like most normal cars in reference to oil changes, tune up's, suspension maintenance, tire rotations, etc. Pep Boys should be the first to know considering they are the service contractors.

Hope that helps.

Maybe it's just me but my tires always wear evenly... I haven't rotated a tire in 28 years. I don't see the Elio being heavy enough for it to matter. It used to be that you didn't want to reverse the direction of rotation of tires i.e.. left to right would make them spin backwards. I know tire rotation is always advised. The Elio will have a separate side on the rear so a left to right rotation is all you can do... if you are so inclined.

 

[wizard of ahs]

I looked at the engine mockup in Boston and also an Elio rep confirmed that you can change the oil filter from the top. I plan on replacing the oil pan bolt with a Fumoto oil drain valve that you can attach a hose to your oil container, and just need to depress and rotate a lever 90 degrees to cleanly drain your oil.

DITTO....got them on all my vehicles and wouldn't leave home without them

 

[msmith5150]

Thanks to all and you. Maybe I should wander into a pepboys and see if anyone has anything to spill early..lol.

Not sure how far that will get you, every time I have read that someone went to their local Pep Boys and asked about the Elio they were met with odd stares and "wtf is an Elio?" questions, lol