Help

Vehicle Maintenance Tracker keeps each vehicle's service history, receipts, recalls, specs and warranties in one place, and emails you when maintenance is coming due.

Pick a topic on the left, or search for a word like “oil”, “receipt” or “transfer”.

First steps

1. Accept your invitation. Accounts are by invitation. Sign in with your email and the temporary password from the invitation email, then choose your own password (at least 8 characters). See Signing in and out.
2. Add your first vehicle with Add a vehicle. Enter the VIN to fill in the details automatically, and the current mileage. See Adding a vehicle.
3. Set up reminders. On the Reminders tab choose Add common reminders to pick oil changes, tire rotations and the like in one go. See Reminders.
4. Record past service. Add service records on the Service log tab, or import a history you've kept in a spreadsheet.
5. Check your email settings in Settings › Alerts and send yourself a test email.
6. Add your name in Settings › Profile, so it appears at the top and on transfers.

Finding your way around

• Your garage is the list of vehicles on the left (at the top on a phone). Click a vehicle to open it. Once you've set a first name it reads, for example, “Mike's Garage”. Vehicles you've archived are in a collapsed Archived section below the rest.
• The account menu is your name and photo at the top right. Click it for Facilities, Settings, Help and Sign out.
• The vehicle header shows the vehicle's name with a pencil to edit it, year, make and model, VIN (with a copy button), the owner or lessee, any warranty in force, and the odometer.
• Three tabs sit under the header: Service log, Reminders (with a count of items due) and Specs.
• Dialogs close only with their Cancel, Close or ✕ buttons, never by clicking outside them or pressing Esc, so you don't lose what you've typed.

Adding a vehicle

Click + Vehicle above your garage.

• VIN: type or paste the 17-character VIN (on the dashboard by the windshield or the driver's door jamb) and click Look up. Year, make, model, trim and engine details are filled in from the U.S. government's free vehicle database. Many VINs, Ford's in particular, don't include the trim, so type it in when it's left blank.
• Year, make, model, trim: without a VIN, pick the year and make and the Model list offers that year's models. You can always type your own.
• Plate, ownership and owner's name (see Owner or lessee).
• Name: how the vehicle is labeled in the app and in reminder emails, like “Claire's Escape”.
• Current mileage and notes.

Editing a vehicle

Click the pencil next to the vehicle's name. The editor has four tabs:

Vehicle photo

Open the vehicle editor (pencil) › Vehicle details and click Add a photo, or drop a picture onto the empty photo box. JPEG, PNG and iPhone (HEIC) photos work; big ones are resized.

The photo shows in your garage list, at the top of the vehicle's page and on the PDF report. Change photo replaces it and the trash can on the photo removes it. It goes with the vehicle on a transfer.

Owner or lessee

In Vehicle details, set Ownership to Owned or Leased and enter the owner's (or lessee's) name. It shows under the vehicle's name as “Owner: Claire Szmansky” or “Leased · Lessee: Mike Szmansky”, and in the PDF report.

New vehicles start with your own name from Settings › Profile. A vehicle transferred to you starts with no name, so fill in your own.

Odometer and mileage

The odometer panel under the vehicle header shows the latest reading, when it was updated and about how many miles a month you drive. To record a new reading, type it in New reading, adjust the date if needed and click Update.

• Saving a service record with a higher mileage updates the odometer too.
• Your driving rate is worked out from your readings and used to predict when mileage-based reminders will come due.
• If a reading is lower than an earlier one, the app asks whether it's a correction before saving it.
• If the mileage hasn't been updated for a while (30 days by default), the reminder email nudges you to update it.

Estimated mileage

Don't know the mileage on a service record? Click ≈ Estimate next to the Mileage field.

• Between two known readings it draws a straight line by date. For example, halfway between 20,000 on Jan 10 and 22,000 on Mar 10 is about 21,000.
• After your latest reading it adds your average miles per day.
• It uses your odometer readings and other service records, never other estimates. If there isn't enough history, it says so.

Estimated mileage is shown as ≈21,000 mi with an est. tag in the log and “(est.)” in the PDF report, and it never moves the odometer. Typing a real mileage into the record removes the mark. Changing the date after estimating re-estimates.

Automatic mileage (FordPass and other connected cars)

Instead of typing the odometer in, you can have it read from the car every day through Smartcar, an official connected-car partner of Ford and most other brands (2015 and newer).

1. Open the vehicle editor (pencil) › Vehicle details › Automatic mileage › Connect car…
2. Sign in with your FordPass (or other brand) account on Smartcar's page and allow odometer access.
3. You come back to the app with the current odometer filled in. If your account has more than one car, pick which one this is.

• The odometer is read every day before reminders are checked. Read now on the odometer panel reads it on demand.
• Disconnect in the same section switches back to typing it in. Transferring a vehicle also disconnects it.
• If a read fails, the editor shows why and the app carries on with the last known mileage.

If connecting fails

• “Action is required on FORD account portal”: sign in at ford.com in a web browser (not the FordPass app), complete whatever it asks (accept new terms, verify your email or phone, reset your password), then connect again.
• Connected services aren't active: in the FordPass app, make sure FordPass Connect (the car's modem) is activated.
• No vehicles: add the car to your FordPass account, signed in as its owner rather than a secondary driver.
• A server error: usually temporary. Smartcar's status page is at brandreliability.smartcar.com.

Specs

The Specs tab keeps the details you need at the parts counter: tire size, oil type and capacity, battery, wiper blades, filter part numbers and so on.

• Click + Add specs (or Edit specs), then pick common specs from the list or add your own with + Custom spec.
• Drag the ⋮⋮ handle to put them in the order you want.
• Engine, drive, body, fuel and assembly plant decoded from the VIN are listed automatically.

Warranties

Open the vehicle editor (pencil) › Warranties › + Add warranty. A vehicle can have several: factory, powertrain, extended, tire road hazard.

• Name, sold by, contract number, date and mileage of sale, cost and deductible.
• Contract terms, such as 60 months or 75,000 miles, whichever comes first.
• Expiration date and mileage are filled in from the sale plus the terms. Change them to match your contract, for example a factory warranty that ends at 60,000 miles on the odometer.
• Notes for what's covered and how to file a claim.

Under the vehicle's name you'll see “Under warranty · expires on Mar 5, 2029 or 105,000 mi” for each warranty still in force. It turns amber within 60 days or 2,000 miles of expiring. When none is left, the most recent shows as “Warranty expired”. Click the line to open the list. Warranties are also in the PDF report and go with the vehicle on a transfer.

Service log

The Service log tab lists the work done on the vehicle, newest first, with the record count, total spent and number of recalls at the top.

• Each record shows the date, mileage, work performed, facility and cost ($0.00 when none was entered), plus thumbnails of any receipts and its recalls.
• Click a facility name to see its address, phone and website.
• Edit changes a record; Delete record (inside Edit) removes it and its files.
• Buttons at the top: PDF report, Export CSV, Import CSV and + Add service record.

Adding a service record

Click + Add service record, or Mark done on a reminder.

• Date and mileage (use ≈ Estimate if you don't know it).
• Facility: pick one, choose “None” if you did it yourself, or click + New to add a shop on the spot.
• Description of work and cost.
• Recalls done on the visit (see Recalls).
• Receipts & documents (see Receipts and documents).
• Reset reminders: tick the reminders this work satisfies, like an oil change. That resets their countdowns and emails. Use + New reminder to create one without leaving the record: pick a common one (its usual intervals fill in) or type your own, then Add reminder.

Receipts and documents

• Drag photos or PDFs onto the dashed area in a service record, or click it to browse. On a phone, tap it to take a photo or pick from your library.
• JPEG, PNG, HEIC (iPhone) and WebP photos and PDFs, up to 20 per record and 15 MB each. Large photos are resized before uploading.
• Remove a file with its ✕ before saving (↶ undoes it).
• Click a thumbnail in the log to view it full size, step through with ‹ Previous and Next ›, or download it.
• Files are stored privately; the links that show them work for an hour. Deleting a record or vehicle deletes its files.

Recalls

Recall work is recorded on a service record with + Add recall: the recall number and what it fixed. The date, mileage and facility come from the record.

• For a visit that was only recall work, leave the description blank; it becomes “Recall work: 23S45”.
• Recalls done during other service (say, an oil change) go on that same record.
• A recall number can be recorded only once per vehicle (ignoring capitals, spaces and dashes).
• The PDF report has a separate Recalls section, and the CSV export a Recalls column.

Facilities

Facilities are the shops and dealers that work on your vehicles. They're shared by all your vehicles. Open them from the account menu › Facilities, or add one from a service record with + New.

• Each has a name, address, phone, website and notes. Phone numbers are tidied to (248) 555-1212 when you leave the field.
• Deleting a facility keeps its name on the records that used it.

Importing from a spreadsheet

Kept a history in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets? Save it as CSV and click Import CSV on the Service log tab. Nothing is saved until the final Import button.

1. Choose the CSV file. The ⓘ button explains how to export one: Excel File › Save As › CSV UTF-8, Numbers File › Export To › CSV, Google Sheets File › Download › Comma-separated values.
2. Match the columns. Each column is guessed as Date, Mileage, Work performed, Cost, Facility (name, address, phone, website), Recalls or Don't import. Change any that are wrong. Several columns can be Work performed; they're combined. Choose month/day or day/month if dates are ambiguous. Rows with problems are listed and skipped.
3. Confirm facilities. Names matching your facilities (ignoring capitals, punctuation, “Inc”) link automatically. A close match asks “Is it the same place?”. A new name lets you add the facility. “Self Service”, “DIY” or “Myself” means no facility.
4. Review. Each record shows the reminders it looks like it resets, from its description; untick any that are wrong or add others. Rows that look like records already in the log are skipped.

• Costs: $1,234.50, 1234.5, a blank or Excel's $- (which means $0.00).
• Missing mileage is estimated from the dates and other records (you can turn that off).
• Up to 1,000 rows at a time. A file from Export CSV imports straight back in.

PDF report and CSV export

• PDF report builds a printable history of the vehicle: every service record with totals, a Recalls section, Warranties and a contact list of the facilities used, with the vehicle's photo at the top. It opens on screen to print or download, handy when selling the car.
• Export CSV downloads the same records for Excel or Numbers.

Reminders

Reminders are recurring maintenance due every so many miles, every so many months, or both, whichever comes first.

• Add common reminders lists typical items (oil and filter, tire rotation, brakes, filters, fluids, battery, registration and more) with usual intervals. Tick the ones you want; the checkbox at the top selects or clears them all.
• + Reminder adds your own. Edit changes one; Delete reminder is inside Edit.
• A reminder's “last done” always comes from the newest service record ticked to reset it, so editing or deleting records keeps reminders right.
• Mark done opens a new service record already ticked for that reminder.

Reminder status

The garage shows each vehicle's overdue and due-soon counts, and the Reminders tab shows how many are due.

Email alerts

The app checks every day at your send hour (8:00 AM by default). It only emails when something needs attention:

• Due soon: an email right away, then again every 7 days while it stays due soon.
• Overdue: an email when it becomes overdue, then every 3 days until you log the service.
• Logging the service stops the emails and starts the countdown over.
• Everything due that day comes in one email, grouped by vehicle.
• If a vehicle's mileage hasn't been updated for 30 days, the email nudges you to update it.
• Archived vehicles never send reminders.

Change the recipients, send hour and more in Alert settings, or per reminder in Alerts for one reminder.

Alerts for one reminder

On the Reminders tab, click a reminder's Alerts button:

• Turn its emails on or off.
• Warn … days before and Warn … miles before.
• Repeat while due soon and Repeat while overdue, in days (0 sends just once).
• Also email other addresses for this reminder only, such as your shop.
• Note in the email, like “Use 5W-30 full synthetic”.

Transferring a vehicle

Selling the car, or handing it to a family member? Transfer it with its whole history.

1. Open the vehicle editor (pencil) › Transfer.
2. Enter their email address, check your name (it starts with your name from Settings; a change here applies to this transfer only) and add an optional message.
3. Click Send transfer. They get an email.

• When they accept, the vehicle moves to their account with its service log, recalls, reminders, specs, warranties, odometer history, receipts and copies of the facilities it used. It leaves yours, so download the PDF report or CSV first if you want a copy.
• You're emailed when they accept or decline. Until then the vehicle stays yours; the Transfer tab shows it's waiting and lets you Cancel transfer. Offers expire after 30 days.

Receiving a vehicle

When someone transfers a vehicle to you, you get an email (and, if you're new, an invitation with a temporary password). Sign in with that email address and you'll be asked: “… would like to transfer vehicle … to you. Would you like to accept this transfer?”

• Accept adds it to your garage. Decline turns it down; the vehicle stays with the sender. Decide later keeps the offer in a banner at the top until you choose.
• Afterwards, fill in your own name as owner, and connect automatic mileage again if you use it.

Archiving and deleting

Archive

When a vehicle is sold, traded in, totaled, junked, stolen or donated, open the editor › Archive. Choose the reason and date, and optionally the final mileage and a note. It moves to the Archived section of your garage, its reminder emails stop, and its history, receipts and reports are kept. Restore to garage brings it back.

Delete

Delete on the Vehicle details tab permanently removes the vehicle with its records, recalls, receipts, reminders and mileage. It can't be undone, so archive instead if you might want the history.

Profile

Account menu › Settings › Profile.

• First and last name: shown above your email at the top, in “Mike's Garage”, and on transfers. Click Save profile.
• Profile photo: Upload photo (JPEG, PNG or HEIC). It's cropped to a square and shown in a circle. The trash can on the photo removes it.
• Email: click the pencil, enter the new address and Email me a code. Enter the 6-digit code we send to the new address and click Confirm. Until then your current address keeps working; afterwards you sign in with the new one, and reminder emails that went to the old address go to the new one.

Alert settings

Account menu › Settings › Alerts:

• Send reminders to: one or more email addresses.
• Send at and Time zone: when the daily check runs.
• Email subject.
• Remind me to update mileage after so many days.
• Pause all reminder emails, for example while the car is in storage.
• Send test email shows exactly what a reminder email looks like.

Password and two-step verification

Account menu › Settings › Security.

Change password

Enter your current password and the new one (at least 8 characters). Forgot it? Use Forgot password? on the sign-in screen to get a reset code. You'll get an email to confirm the change either way.

Two-step verification

1. Click Set up authenticator app.
2. Scan the QR code with an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, 1Password or Authy (or type the key shown).
3. Enter the 6-digit code it shows and click Verify and turn on.

From then on, signing in asks for a code from the app after your password, so a stolen password alone isn't enough. Turn off removes it.

Inviting people

Accounts are by invitation. If you're a site administrator, Account menu › Settings › Invite: enter an email address and click Send invitation. They get an email with a temporary password, valid for 30 days; inviting the same address again resends it. Transferring a vehicle to someone without an account invites them automatically.

Signing in and out

• Invitations: there's no public sign-up. An invitation email has a temporary password (good for 30 days). Sign in with it and choose your own password. Someone who transfers you a vehicle invites you automatically.
• Remember my email on this device: check it when you sign in and the email box is filled in next time on this browser. Only the address is kept (in the browser's local storage, not a cookie), never your password. Uncheck it on a shared computer.
• Forgot your password? Click Forgot password?, enter your email, then type the 6-digit code we send along with a new password.
• Two-step verification: if it's on, you'll be asked for the 6-digit code from your authenticator app after your password. Lost your phone? Ask the site administrator to reset it for your account.
• Inactivity timeout: after 30 minutes with no clicks, typing, scrolling or touches you're signed out. A “Still there?” box counts down the last 2 minutes; Stay signed in keeps you going. Using the app in any open tab counts, and coming back to a sleeping computer or a closed tab after 30 minutes signs you out.
• Sign out is in the account menu.
• Anything typed but not saved is lost when you're signed out, so save as you go.

Your data

• Your vehicles and records are private to your account. Nobody else can see them unless you transfer a vehicle.
• Receipts and photos are stored privately and shown through links that expire after an hour.
• Sign-in and all your data are handled by Amazon Web Services (Cognito for accounts, DynamoDB and S3 for data). Automatic mileage, if you connect it, shares the odometer through Smartcar.

Troubleshooting

I'm not getting reminder emails

• Check your spam or junk folder, and add the sender to your contacts.
• In Settings › Alerts, check the addresses and that Pause is off, then Send test email.
• Emails only go out when something is due soon or overdue, and only at your send hour. Check the reminder's status and its Alerts button (emails may be off for it).
• A reminder marked Needs start hasn't been reset by a service record yet, so it can't come due.

A reminder's “last done” is wrong

It comes from the newest service record ticked for it. Edit that record and tick or untick the reminder.

The mileage looks wrong

Enter a new reading on the odometer panel. A reading lower than an earlier one asks whether it's a correction. Mileage shown as “≈ … est.” is an estimate; edit the record and type the real reading.

I was signed out

That happens after 30 minutes without activity. Sign in again; your saved data is all there.

The VIN lookup didn't fill everything in

The government database doesn't have every detail for every VIN (trim is often missing). Type the rest in.

A transfer didn't arrive

The recipient must sign in with exactly the address it was sent to. Offers expire after 30 days; the sender can cancel and send it again.