Less than 200 Miles a year, Change Oil every 6 months?

[SC Maintenance]

Every couple of years or so. I certainly wouldn't any more often.

You do need to think about a quarterly highway drive at minimum.

I agree - E0 fuel only, save yourself lots of trouble.

 

[billt460]

You might want to add a bottle of Ethanol Shield to the fuel. That will prevent water in the fuel from becoming a problem.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I know you said you can’t drive it on the highway but I’d be more concerned about the fuel system than the engine.

Why exactly can’t it go on the highway for 20 minutes every few months?

 

[SC Maintenance]

Why exactly can’t it go on the highway for 20 minutes every few months?

I presume 30 minutes at 30mph would be fine also?

 

[RhondaHonda]

I presume 30 minutes at 30mph would be fine also?

Basically anything more than the 3 mile drive once in a while!

 

[John105]

get rid of car and use a ride share, or taxi etc,this maybe cheaper than paying insurance, have a relative or friend drive you etc.,,,the rest of the car may suffer by sitting a lot as the tires, transmission battery on and on.

This is sound financial advice and actually what some young people would do. But in the meantime I still feel 100 mile oil changes really don’t accomplish anything. I can’t see changing the oil until 1,000 miles or it’s just being silly and a waste of money and natural resources

 

[John105]

Basically anything more than the 3 mile drive once in a while!

It could be turned into a game and everyone could have fun while helping the vehicle. Pretend it’s like the movie Speed with Keanu Reaves and if the vehicle goes under 50 mph it will explode. Once it’s gone 30 miles, pretend the game finished and head home.

 

[ATex7239]

Yearly gets my vote. Something cheap like Supertech oil and filter shouldn’t break the bank. And I probably wouldn’t put anymore than half a tank of gas at a time. Keep it fresh.

 

[Rand]

I'm still puzzled over why it cant be driven on the highway or more often.
at 200 miles a year put it up on blocks and long term storage.

unless this car is on an island somewhere.

 

[SC Maintenance]

unless this car is on an island somewhere.

There is a show called port protection Alaska. A bunch of people that live on an island in Alaska. They all have these old rusted out vehicles they leave parked along the road on shore. Once a month or so they boat over, take there vehicle somewhere and stock up on supplies.

Maybe he lives there?

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/show/a3753db0-7f6d-41c0-a97f-841f96b45584

 

[John105]

If it were me I’d keep the tank full. Can’t fully remember the reason maybe to fight condensation, but I had decided that years ago listening to the topic being debated.

 

[ecotourist]

We have a similar situation. We drive our '07 Honda Accord V6 about 500 km/year. But we do take it on a longer trip (about 100 km return) occasionally.

I change the oil every 2 or 3 years.

We spend more on maintenance than on fuel. We keep it well maintained as a potential future vehicle for grand-kids. It would cost less to take a taxi or Uber but we like the convenience of having a second vehicle and we can afford it, so why not.

 

[altaylar]

If you’re only driving it 200 miles per year then the car is still going to last 50+ years no matter how often you change the oil

Probably he could run soy oil and still be fine.
Seriously though, no need to overthink. Even if you change every other year, i would expect that car to easily last 50+ years

 

[ammolab]

Would ethanol free gas eliminate the potential problem of separation?
Over 2 years, a fuel stabilizer might be useful...I do not know.

Separation requires a lot of water in the fuel. Stabilizers prevent gasoline turning into gum and other things that degrade or block fuel system passages

 

[Carlostrece]

If you can't take it on the highway spend a little time with one foot on the brake and one on the gas. Honestly it'll be good for keeping rust off the rotors.

You are right, idling is not great. But loading it up is.

Would that be hard on transmission?

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I put about 2 to 300 miles per year on my '77 F-100 and I change oil every couple years. As long as there isn't a warranty to worry about, I'd run that length of time no worries as long as it was brought up to temperature periodically.

With a 180 degree thermostat in that big block, I'm wondering if my oil ever gets to temperature except during long summer drives at speed with a load on (i.e. when I'm moving across country every 3 years).

 

[Carlostrece]

This is a really dumb solution to my question I'm ngl.
The tires are fine, 6 years old now and aging well, zero dryrot. The transmission isn't going to suffer by sitting off, and the car has a solar panel and backup battery which maintains the lead acid now so that I don't have to charge it. It literally can't die unless the world went dark for 2.5 weeks.

I've read that sitting for longer than a month at a time increases risk of a transmission leak. Does anyone know if that's a valid concern? My car sits for 1-3 months at a time with no issues.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I've read that sitting for longer than a month at a time increases risk of a transmission leak. Does anyone know if that's a valid concern? My car sits for 1-3 months at a time with no issues.

I certainly wouldn't worry about 1 to 3 months. I'd keep the battery topped off with a solar charger if parked outside, or a plug in if parked in a garage, and would sleep well at night.

 

[Carlostrece]

Once a year at the most is plenty. If the moisture on the cap doesn't make a reappearance, then you could safely go every 2 years or more.

I recommend following that ^ advice for the OP's situation.

My situation is a bit different. I've been changing my oil every 3 years. I'm considering extending it to 5 years. My car drives around 400 miles a year (mixed city, highway) and is stored in a heated garage. My oil never gets wet and I never see water dripping from exhaust. My heated garage is the key because it reduces heat cycling. Also one 30 min highway drive a month helps.

 

[tired]

get rid of car and use a ride share, or taxi etc,this maybe cheaper than paying insurance, have a relative or friend drive you etc.,,,the rest of the car may suffer by sitting a lot as the tires, transmission battery on and on.

This is a really dumb solution to my question I'm ngl.
The tires are fine, 6 years old now and aging well, zero dryrot. The transmission isn't going to suffer by sitting off, and the car has a solar panel and backup battery which maintains the lead acid now so that I don't have to charge it. It literally can't die unless the world went dark for 2.5 weeks.

It's really not a dumb solution. How much do you pay in car insurance? How much for the tag? Not to mention depreciation and an oil change. Unless you're keeping it for sentimental purposes, I don't see how the math maths on this.