Change my oil Before or After road trip?

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Aug 16, 2018
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Location
TX, USA
I drive a 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid. So, take note some of the miles below is in EV mode where the ICE is completely off.

On 3/22/2022, I changed my oil and filter when my odometer was at 49,494 miles.

As of today, I have put 3,000 miles so far on the oil. Know that atleast 500 of those miles has been in EV mode.

I leave on 7/28/2022 for a 7,500 miles road trip to Canada and back that would last 26 days on the road. 70% of the miles would be strictly highway miles doing 70mph to 80mph.

By 7/27, I am guessing I would have put about 5,000 miles on this oil and I know the oil still has a lot of life in it. My guess here is atleast 1,000 of those miles miles would have been in EV mode.

So, should I change my oil before I leave for this trip? Or should I just go ahead and go on my trip and add 7,500 miles to 5,000 miles and then change my oil when I get back home?

That would be putting about 12,500 miles on the oil. And I can guarantee atleast 3,000 of those miles would have been in EV mode.
 
Does it have a Maintenance Minder? If so, what is the typical mileage / % oil life when you normally change? At least with ICE-only Honda’s, driving mostly highway miles extends the drain interval. That makes sense.

I personally avoid any DIY maintenance over the summer months given how hot it is here in TX.
 
Does it have a Maintenance Minder? If so, what is the typical mileage / % oil life when you normally change? At least with ICE-only Honda’s, driving mostly highway miles extends the drain interval. That makes sense.

I personally avoid any DIY maintenance over the summer months given how hot it is here in TX.
Yes, my car has a MM. I did the first oil change on my car when the MM turned ZER0 at 11,800 miles on odometer. I bought my car brand new with 37 miles on odometer.

The current oil in the car was put in when my MM was 50% and I had driven for 7,000 miles on the oil that was there before this current one.

I honestly was just looking at my oil stash at home and said to myself that I want to change my oil. I went to my car and looked at the MM which was showing 50% oil life remaining after 7,000 miles of use. So, I could still go a long way before needing to change it. But I was bored that day at home and wanted to work on my car, lol. So, I went ahead and changed the oil and filter.
 
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When I return home from this trip, I will change the oil no matter if I change it before I leave for the trip or not. So, I was wondering if it was a waste of oil to change it now when I will change it again after 26 days. It is not often people do an oil change after 26 days.

Since the trip is 7,500 of mostly highway miles, I have been debating with myself that leaving this same oil for the trip may still be ok. So, I was telling myself that it may be a waste changing the oil before and after the trip when the oil may probably be still very ok by the time I get back home. Though by the time I get home, my total mileage will be guaranteed to be between 12,000 and 13,000 miles. My MM too will be guaranteed to be past ZERO and my mileage would have been counting negative past 0 already.

But I am very sure if I do go on this trip with this oil and return and send a sample to Blackstone, they will tell me the oil was ok.
 
My first oil change on this car was done at exactly 12,034. Here is the UOA from Blackstone. This oil did not see a long road trip of 7,500 miles. So, it had more city miles than highway miles.

Since I could do 12,000 miles, that is why I was thinking of doing 12,000 miles again, especially as this time, I will have a lot more highway miles which is easier on oil. But this time, I am sure I may be about 13,000 miles on the oil and way past MM of 0.

Your inputs are very well appreciated as I try to decide not to waste an oil change, if I do not really have to.

Picture of my odometer and UOA for my first oil change which was 12,034 miles.
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I drive a 2020 Honda Accord Hybrid. So, take note some of the miles below is in EV mode where the ICE is completely off.

On 3/22/2022, I changed my oil and filter when my odometer was at 49,494 miles.

As of today, I have put 3,000 miles so far on the oil. Know that atleast 500 of those miles has been in EV mode.

I leave on 7/28/2022 for a 7,500 miles road trip to Canada and back that would last 26 days on the road. 70% of the miles would be strictly highway miles doing 70mph to 80mph.

By 7/27, I am guessing I would have put about 5,000 miles on this oil and I know the oil still has a lot of life in it. My guess here is atleast 1,000 of those miles miles would have been in EV mode.

So, should I change my oil before I leave for this trip? Or should I just go ahead and go on my trip and add 7,500 miles to 5,000 miles and then change my oil when I get back home?

That would be putting about 12,500 miles on the oil. And I can guarantee atleast 3,000 of those miles would have been in EV mode.
When in doubt: Change it out!
 
This is my current stash of oil at home all lined up the way I will use them for an oil change. Mixing things up. All bought for $2 a quart. Enough for 6 oil changes. Did not want to waste an oil change if not really necessary.
zB6Xk9O.jpg

And this is what I will mix for my next 3 different oil changes. 2 quarts of 0W16, 1 quart of 0W20 High Mileage and 1 quart of 10W30. All Castrol Edge Full Synthetic.
ZAQXBfd.jpg
 
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