Aston Martin Maintenance Service Guide

The James Bond series has done a lot to cement Aston Martin as one of the coolest car brands out there. This, combined with front mid-engined V12s and V8s with rear-wheel drive and luxury interiors, have made them desirable to car enthusiasts worldwide. With the prices of DB7s and 9s dropping beneath the prices of a modern Civic Type R, buying an Aston Martin is now more attractive than ever. Now before you rush out to buy an Aston, let’s discuss some of the required services every Aston needs.

Aston Martin Recommended Maintenance Schedule

Aston Martin’s recommended maintenance schedule is 10,000 miles or every 12 months, with three different maintenance tasks required at the 10,000-mile mark, 20, 000-mile, and 30,000-mile mark.

Aston Martins Parts Suppliers

The last generation of Aston Martin to use an in-house developed engine was the DB6 generation which featured a 3995cc straight-six engine. The DB7 generation’s borrowed the 3.2L Jaguar AJ6 engine, although in a modified supercharged guise. ​​​​​​​

Under Ford’s ownership, the DB7 and DB9 generation cars featured Aston Martin’s very own AML V12 engine. To keep development and production costs within budget, Aston Martin made the decision to base the design of the AML V12 on Ford’s Duratec V6.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

It featured a straight six that was sourced from Jaguar, and the V12 used in the DB7 and DB9 generation is developed by Ford using many parts from the Duratec v6. The DB11 generation sources both V8 from Mercedes-Benz AMG. The DB9 generation of cars, such as the Vantage, ditched the inline-six engine in favor of Jaguar’s AJ37 V8 engine.​​​​​​​

From 2016 onwards, the DB11 generation and all other modern Aston Martins, like the DBX, use twin-turbo engines sourced from AMG for both its V8 and V12 applications. ​​​​​​​

Another important factor when servicing an Aston Martin is to be familiar with common issues that each drive train may experience.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Common Repair Tasks

An easy way to find out what could go wrong on a modern Aston Martin is to look at common issues experienced on V8 AMG cars and follow the maintenance checklist for AMG. Some of these repair items include:​​​​​​​

Engine Mount Failures​​​​​​​

Aston Martin uses the same oil-filled engine mounts as Mercedes-Benz. While these are excellent at reducing vibration and noise while still restricting the engine’s movement, they are known to fail. As they age, the rubber begins the to crack, and the oil begins to seep out. This is most common on cars with over 100,000 miles.​​​​​​​

Oil Leaks

The Mercedes-AMG M177 engine that modern V8 Aston Martins use is prone to oil leaks, especially around the valve covers, oil filter housing, and oil cooler hose inlets. Leaks must be detected and addressed before they can cause catastrophic damage.​​​​​​​

Turbocharger Faults

The M177 makes use of twin turbochargers to help it deliver those high power figures you expect from an AMG car, and that’s even more true for an Aston Martin. Unfortunately, the stock turbos are prone to faults. The wastegates often malfunction, causing a boost leak which reduces the power output. On rare occasions, the turbocharger compressor wheel can experience damage, which can have a knock-on effect if any pieces of compressor wheel debris make their way into the engine.​​​​​​​

Carbon Buildup

All direct injection engines suffer from carbon buildup. These carbon deposits can accumulate on intake valves and decrease engine performance. While cleaning carbon out of the engine can be an in-depth task, it only has to be done every 50,000 miles.​​​​​​​

Electrical Issues

All modern engines rely on a complex network of electronics, computers, and sensors. Aston Martin has done an amazing job at squeezing a big engine into a relatively small body. Unfortunately, this generates a lot of heat in the engine bay, which, over time, can cause sensors to fail. One bad sensor can have a ripple effect that can force the engine into limp home mode or cause other systems to show false faults.​​​​​​​

Sportshift Transmission Issues

What makes the Sportshift so special compared to other transmissions is that it allows drivers to upshift without the use of a clutch, which leads to better acceleration. Unfortunately, early models equipped with a sport shift suffered from poorly implemented software which would cause the car to stall or experience a sudden drop in power. Fortunately, this has been rectified by Aston Martin and can be rectified with software updates. ​​​​​​​

Premature Rusting

One thing that concerns Florida car lovers is rust. While Aston Martin has made large gains in weatherproofing their vehicles, older Astons have a tendency to start rusting far sooner than one would expect. The DB5 may be one of the most guilty of this, with owners commonly having to replace large body panels in order to keep their classic on the road. Unfortunately, cars as new as the DB7, which ended production in 2006, still suffer from rust issues.​​​​​​​

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