Annual oil changes with Mobil 1?

Pennzoil motor oil
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Cubey

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Tacoma, WA, USA
For the most part, I don't drive my car very much at all. I flew across the country to buy my 03 Vibe ealier this month and drove it 3,000 within 10 days, as I was visiting family plus driving back home. But normally, I don't put that kind of miles on a car unless I go on a long trip, which is generally once a year.

But on the average, my car sits. I stay home most of the time, so it gets driven an average of maybe twice a week. Sometimes maybe 3-4 times but usually no more than that.

It's due for an oil change (which I'll get to in the next week or two) since I don't know when it last had one. The oil looks decent though and the level only dropped slightly over the 3,000 mile trip. It's probably a minor leak, not burning it. Oh, and it has about 146,100 miles on it.

I got a good deal on a Mobil 1 oil filter ($8 after a $5 rewards coupon at O'Reilly) and a 5 qt jug of Mobil 1 oil can be had for $26 at WalMart, so why the heck not?

Now to my question, how well does Mobil 1 stand up against breakdown from age/sitting in an engine? Considering my average annual mileage is in the neighborhood of 8k-10k miles, it's hard to justify running pure synthetic AND doing frequent oil changes. An annual OCI may work well for me since I don't drive much.
 
I change the oil in my signature Saturn once a year with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5w30. I have done this for three years now with no problems. I put about 6-7000 miles on the car annually and it sits outside all year in central PA. The inside of the engine (seen through the oil fill hole) is still shiny clean with only a very faint yellow tint to the metal. Zero sludge. The engine still burns essentially no oil between oil changes.

Go for it!!
 
Sounds like the perfect situation for Reg Mobil 1 and once a year changes. That is what I did on the ford focus I used to have. Worked out great as long as your around 10-12K miles a year.
 
If, when you drive, you drive long enough to get the engine up to good operating temperature, then the oil should be OK for a year. Short trips are the killer becuase you don't give enough time to burn off the moisture that accumulates inside the engine during warmup.

But at 8-10k a year, it still seems like enough miles to change the oil in the spring and fall. Just use a less expensive syn blend like Tropartic (costs around $25 for 12qt case at Sam's) and then you have no doubts.
 
I went with 1yr Mobil 1 Extended Performance on my 04 F150 because I was only putting on about 8k a year. UOA help up more than fine. Coulda gone longer with no issue.
 
One year between 12-20k miles Mobil 1 Extended Performance with Fram Ultra will be good, less than 12k miles M1 with Fram Ultra is okay.
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
You'll be just fine doing 1 year OCI's with Mobil 1.


+1000, asked and answered numerous times. Change yearly, don't worry, and get out on the highway and get it good and hot once a month.
 
Been doing year long oil changes with synthetic of different brands the last 5 years. The mileage has varied between 5K and 15K, no problems here and no oil use. If it says SM or SN on the back it will do fine.
 
I've run my stuff as much as 15 months and 11K miles with Mobil 1 Extended Performance, no issues...
 
Originally Posted By: Reddy45
If, when you drive, you drive long enough to get the engine up to good operating temperature, then the oil should be OK for a year. Short trips are the killer becuase you don't give enough time to burn off the moisture that accumulates inside the engine during warmup.

But at 8-10k a year, it still seems like enough miles to change the oil in the spring and fall. Just use a less expensive syn blend like Tropartic (costs around $25 for 12qt case at Sam's) and then you have no doubts.


Toyotas run pretty warm, at least in my opinion. It doesn't take long for them to get up to full operating temp. It's all low speed city driving around where I live. By the time I get about a mile away, it's nearly fully up to operating temp, even around 35-40F out. By two or three miles, the heater burns you up of it's set all the way to the hottest on the A/C thermostat. Engine temp never goes beyond about 47% (a bit below mid way) so it's not overheating, nor did it wander any in the 3,000 miles like a car would if it was running hot and the engine thermostat was opening and closing.
 
Walmart has the Mobil 1 High Mileage formula (API SL, 2004 or older, so it's fine for my 2003!) for the same price as regular M1, so I bought that instead. I will get around to the oil change sometime in January.

First though, I need to address an easy to fix oil leak on the timing chain tensioner o-ring that is common on these engines. It's just two nuts, pull the tensioner, replace the O-ring, apply some RTV around the O-ring (it's not a very good seal to start with), compress the tensioner, reinstall, move the alternator pulley back and forth with a socket wrnech until you hear the tensioner click (engage against the chain) and it's done.

In about 3300 miles, it has dropped about 45%, from the full dot to the "add" dot just prior to buying it, or probably close to 1/2 a quart. Using a tissue, I dabbed just below the tensioner and it has signs of fresh oil, as well as caked on grime from old oil, so yeah, I need to fix that first.

It also needs a new engine air filter. The one it has is filty, and could very well be the original (!!) since it's a Toyota branded one. (Assuming GM put a Toyota labeled filter anyway) I don't have anymore money for car stuff until Friday, but then I can order the O-ring and air filter. From the dealer (ordered online, free local pickup), the O-ring is about $4 and the air filter about $17 so I may as well go OEM.
 
Been doing it for 5 years with my 2010 fj that's sits outside and sometimes doesn't get started but once or twice a week.
Never a problem.
 
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