Anyone tried a full service on their Infiniti FX35 during summer heat?

[mitchellhayes]

My husband and I are planning a road trip to Oman next month, and I realized yesterday that our FX35 has not seen a workshop since last winter. I am the one who usually handles the car stuff because he travels for work, so I have been trying to figure everything out by myself. The car has about 132,000 kilometers now and it still drives fine, but the AC takes longer to cool down than before and the brakes make a tiny squeak when I park in the evening. Nothing scary, but I know small things can turn into big things on a long drive. My neighbor said I should do a full service before the trip, but she could not tell me what that actually includes. She just said do everything and be safe. That is not very helpful when you have a budget. I spent a whole evening reading about it, and I found a workshop page from Mussafah that talked about oil, filters, brakes, belts and fluids, so at least I understand the basic list now. When I searched for Quality major and minor services for Infiniti in Musaffah, I also noticed that some places seem to push the big package for every car, even when the car may not need it. That made me a bit suspicious, to be honest. So I wanted to ask people here who have done long trips with these cars. What did you check or change before you left? Did you do a major service, or just a small one with a few extra checks? I am worried about the tires too, because the heat on those highways is crazy and I have read stories about tires blowing out. Mine look okay, but I do not really know how old they are. Is there a way to check that without being a mechanic? Also the battery, it is almost three years old, and I keep hearing that batteries die faster in this weather. Should I change it before the trip just to be safe, or wait until it shows a problem? Another thing is how long a service takes. I can only leave the car for one day at most, because my kids have summer classes and I need it for the pickup. If a shop says they need two or three days, I will have to find another way, which is hard. Did anyone get their service done in a few hours, and was it done properly or rushed? I would also love to know if you ask the workshop to write down what they did. My sister says I should always get a paper with the list so I can compare it next time. I never thought about that, but it sounds smart. Last question, and sorry for the mountain of text, is it better to do the service two weeks before the trip or right before leaving? I think two weeks is better so I can see if something feels strange after the work, but maybe I am overthinking. Thanks for any advice, even small tips will help me a lot.