The Way We Care for Cars Is Quietly Changing

Oil Changes Are Still Happening—But for Different Reasons

During the 2024 monsoon season, at a Toyota-authorised workshop in Bangkok’s Don Mueang district, technician Anan lifted the bonnet of a Corolla Cross Hybrid and ran his finger along the dipstick—dark, but not milky. The car had just returned from Bang Pakong, where last week’s floods left water halfway up the tyres. He pulled back the rear seat cushion to reveal the battery cooling intake filter, clogged with strands of hair and snack crumbs. “The owner is a ride-hailing driver,” Anan said, shaking his head as he cleaned it. “His kids eat in the back all day.” When the filter gets blocked, the battery overheats, the car limits power, and passengers complain the car feels “weak”—not because something’s broken, but because airflow is restricted.

Hybrid vehicles still require oil changes, though intervals have stretched to 10,000 kilometres. Spark plugs last longer, yet frequent low-speed engine starts lead to more carbon buildup. Brake pads wear slower thanks to regenerative braking, but if the car drives through floodwater, the E-CVT transmission is more sensitive to moisture than traditional automatics. “Before, we’d check the oil pan for metal shavings to judge engine health,” said Lao Nguyen, who has run a repair shop in Ho Chi Minh City for ten years. “Now we plug in a computer and read the battery’s state-of-charge curve.”

With pure electric vehicles, the shift is even more pronounced. At a BYD service centre in southern Jakarta, receptionist Lina told me the top three reasons Atto 3 owners bring their cars in are: musty cabin air (41%), tyre pressure warnings (32%), and charging port noises (18%). None involve the drivetrain. “They expect a major repair,” she said, “but often it’s just a dirty cabin filter or a tyre scraped on a raised manhole cover.”

Electric cars eliminate oil, belts, and exhaust systems—but introduce new maintenance points. Battery coolant, for instance, must be replaced every three years; if its conductivity rises, it risks short circuits. High-voltage connectors need regular checks for seal degradation—especially critical in Southeast Asia, where humidity routinely exceeds 80%.

Rainforests Fear Water; Deserts Fear Dust

In District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City, a late-afternoon thunderstorm had just passed, leaving streets half-flooded. A white Atto 3 crept through, its 170mm ground clearance barely keeping the battery pack above water. Owner Mr. Tran wasn’t worried: “I added the factory underbody shield—2.5mm thick, with an epoxy coating.” He opened his phone app to show the battery temperature graph: peaked at 38°C over the past hour, triggering low-power mode automatically.

In Dubai’s Jebel Ali industrial zone, the challenge is the opposite. Engineer Karim parked his Atto 3 outdoors for three months. Fine sand coated the front grille. He ignored it until one day, while cruising on the highway, a “motor overheating” warning flashed. Repairs revealed the heat pump condenser was clogged—cooling efficiency dropped by nearly 30%. “Now I blow out the grille with an air gun every week,” he said. “Like cleaning a camel’s nostrils.”

Local conditions shape care routines in stark ways. In Bandung, Indonesia, workshops remind customers before monsoon season to inspect waterproof seals on underbody wiring. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, dealers offer “dust protection kits”: high-efficiency air filters, anti-static wheel covers, UV-resistant sunshades.

Even identical components meet different fates. The Atto 3’s panoramic roof is popular in Vietnam—its extra light helps on cloudy days. But in Abu Dhabi, over 60% of buyers add a retractable sunshade; without it, summer cabin temperatures can hit 65°C, forcing the infotainment screen to throttle performance.

Two Cars, Two Paths: Corolla Cross Hybrid and Atto 3

In Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, taxi driver Somchai has driven his Corolla Cross Hybrid for three years and 180,000 kilometres. His favourite feature? “I don’t refuel often—city fuel consumption is just 4.5L/100km.” But he complains: “The AC is slow in the morning, especially for my first passenger.” That’s because hybrids prioritise electric drive at startup; the engine—and its traditional compressor—only kick in once battery charge drops below 60%. Many users didn’t understand this at first.

Toyota has sold hybrids in Southeast Asia for over a decade. Its service network is mature, and technicians know the THS system well. Local models have been tweaked—electric AC compressors are more powerful, and engine engagement logic is optimised for stop-and-go traffic.

BYD entered Southeast Asia and the Middle East more recently, but quickly gained traction. The Atto 3 now sells steadily in Thailand, Israel, and Singapore. To handle tropical heat and humidity, it features enhanced thermal management, better sealing, and improved cabin filtration. In desert markets, intake systems are reinforced against dust, and electronic components meet higher temperature ratings.

Crucially, local production is expanding. BYD’s plant in Rayong, Thailand, now assembles complete vehicles and is beginning to source some electric components locally—cutting delivery times for common parts from weeks to days.

Where There’s No 4S Shop, How Do You Fix a Car?

In Zamboanga City on Mindanao island, Philippines, Atto 3 owner Rafael noticed his charging port acting up. The nearest BYD service centre was in Manila—a two-hour flight away. Instead of waiting, he took it to a local EV modification workshop. The owner used a multimeter, found a loose contact spring inside the plug, adjusted it with tweezers, and applied conductive grease. “Not OEM, but it works,” Rafael said. His dashboard still shows a “charging fault,” but he’s driven it for three months. “As long as it charges, I’m not rushing to Manila.”

Stories like this are common across secondary cities in Southeast Asia and West Asia. New energy vehicles often arrive faster than official service networks can follow. Informal repair ecosystems have quietly emerged:

• In Surabaya, Indonesia, former motorcycle mechanics study high-voltage safety via YouTube and translated Chinese manuals;

• In Amman, Jordan, a former petrol-car technician connects a Toyota hybrid scanner to a BYD—can’t read all data, but can detect insulation faults;

• In Chiang Mai, Thailand, a group of Atto 3 owners runs a Telegram channel sharing charger status, trusted tyre shops, and bulk orders for cabin filters from Bangkok.

These workarounds carry risks. A technician in Ho Chi Minh City recalled a case where an amateur had opened a battery pack—the high-voltage connector wasn’t locked, nearly causing a short circuit. Yet for many, it’s a practical necessity: not that they prefer informal fixes, but that authorised service lies far outside their daily radius.

Interestingly, this grassroots adaptation is feeding back to manufacturers. Dealers report customers now ask less about range and more: “Can I fix this myself?” In response, some brands have added “safe self-check” guides to owner manuals—how to visually inspect coolant levels, or tell if a tyre pressure warning stems from a bent rim.

The car remains the same machine. But how people live with it is growing its own local shape.

Early morning in Bangkok, Sukhumvit Road is still quiet. A Corolla Cross Hybrid idles outside a 7-Eleven, driver napping in the back, AC humming softly. Nearby, an Atto 3 plugs into a public charger—screen reading “18 minutes remaining.”

At the same moment, on a desert highway outside Riyadh, an old Fortuner kicks up dust, its exhaust puffing white vapour; a new Atto 3 glides past at 110 km/h, nearly silent.

Oil drums are disappearing from corner garages; diagnostic tablets are appearing.

Drivers no longer only ask, “How many litres per hundred?”—now they also say, “How much did it charge to last night?”

On a rainy afternoon somewhere, a mother wipes her child’s sticky seat and casually clears the small filter beneath the rear seat—her movements smooth, as natural as dusting a windowsill.

Note on AI Assistance:

This article was researched and written by a human author, with the support of AI tools for drafting, language refinement, and structural suggestions. All observations, narratives, and contextual details are based on real-world reporting principles and regional automotive practices. The final text reflects editorial judgment, factual verification, and a commitment to grounded, non-promotional storytelling.