OCI in the "new normal"

[Dave1027]

Most of my driving was commuting to work. I had been averaging 12k miles per year on both my car and my truck. I was switching between the two and put 6k on each per year. Because of Covid-19, last March my company directed me to work from home full time and the way they are sounding it's likely to be permanent. Since then I have put 750 miles on my car.

I normally would change the oil on my car late May/early June. By that time I'll only have about 1,200 miles on the oil. Do I still change the oil at that time or is that wasteful?

 

[AutoMechanic]

I still would do it at that time. My truck gets driven maybe 500 miles at most a year and i change the oil around every 6 months. Of course that is just my opinion but that is what makes me feel best.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

If you have a stash or can get some oil at a cheap price, change it. Otherwise, wait until next year or whenever you put more miles on it.

 

[PimTac]

Most of my driving was commuting to work. I had been averaging 12k miles per year on both my car and my truck. I was switching between the two and put 6k on each per year. Because of Covid-19, last March my company directed me to work from home full time and the way they are sounding it's likely to be permanent. Since then I have put 750 miles on my car.

I normally would change the oil on my car late May/early June. By that time I'll only have about 1,200 miles on the oil. Do I still change the oil at that time or is that wasteful?

You could go to a two year oci. Nothing wrong about that. The other option is to get out and drive that car more. It will be better for the car and better for you in other ways. Being cooped up is not healthy either.

 

[Eddie]

I agree with PimTac. I would go with a two year change, especiall if you can highway drive once every month.

 

[Fattylocks]

I agree with PimTac. I would go with a two year change, especiall if you can highway drive once every month.

Sounds reasonable. And let your insurance agent know about your low accumulation of miles.

 

[Leo99]

Do you even need a car and truck if you don't drive either of them much?

I don't know if work from home will be permanent for my company but senior management is very pleased with how productive we've been and I don't see us returning to the way things were. I used to work from home once or twice a week before. When the covid situation abates, might see me and many others working from home 3 or 4 times a week.

I'm sticking to my 10,000 mile OCI. That moves me from 6 months intervals to about 2 years. I'd push to 3 year OCIs if the mileage warranted it. If it was a hooptie and was driving 1200 miles a year, I'd consider never changing the oil again.

 

[Dave1027]

Do you even need a car and truck if you don't drive either of them much?

I don't know if work from home will be permanent for my company but senior management is very pleased with how productive we've been and I don't see us returning to the way things were. I used to work from home once or twice a week before. When the covid situation abates, might see me and many others working from home 3 or 4 times a week.

I'm sticking to my 10,000 mile OCI. That moves me from 6 months intervals to about 2 years. I'd push to 3 year OCIs if the mileage warranted it. If it was a hooptie and was driving 1200 miles a year, I'd consider never changing the oil again.

I could get by with just the truck. I need it to tow my boat and also to go camping, which we do quite often. The car is my "fun" vehicle.

Lot's of good comments posted. I have contacted my insurance company and am negotiating lower rates. Yes, I probably need to get out more but I live in a locked down state. Can't even go out to eat any more. Really sucks

 

[demarpaint]

I plan on getting a UOA on my wife's Liberty @ 5,000 miles vs. the 6K miles I was running it at with UOA data to back it up. The driving conditions for that vehicle have changed significantly since the pandemic, and not in a good way.

 

[manicrodder]

I still would do it at that time. My truck gets driven maybe 500 miles at most a year and i change the oil around every 6 months. Of course that is just my opinion but that is what makes me feel best.

For me, mostly in town 6 months but one year mostly on the road.

 

[mpack88]

I think you just need to get out more and drive your vehicle some. Take small day trips

 

[eljefino]

You could do two year OCIs, I've done them on my weekend-drive-to-the-dump truck. Just ensure you warm it up good (20+min) at least half the time you start it.

 

[AutoMechanic]

For me, mostly in town 6 months but one year mostly on the road.

Yeah I think that should be fine too. I’m running low on my oil stock so I have been kinda waiting a little while lol.

 

[supton]

I plan to keep with 5k OCI's. No real change for me, just not nearly as often.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

What is the severe service schedule in the owners manual? I’d probably go that route and forget about how long it’s been in the sump.

 

[SkaEnthusiast]

You could go to a two year oci. Nothing wrong about that. The other option is to get out and drive that car more. It will be better for the car and better for you in other ways. Being cooped up is not healthy either.

Do some highway driving every once in awhile with a good oil and it could last you 2 years easily. Take the saved gas and maintenance money and get some exercise equipment, that’ll do you the most justice in this situation if you aren’t getting out as much.

 

[A_Harman]

Most of my driving was commuting to work. I had been averaging 12k miles per year on both my car and my truck. I was switching between the two and put 6k on each per year. Because of Covid-19, last March my company directed me to work from home full time and the way they are sounding it's likely to be permanent. Since then I have put 750 miles on my car.

I normally would change the oil on my car late May/early June. By that time I'll only have about 1,200 miles on the oil. Do I still change the oil at that time or is that wasteful?

Wasteful. 5000 is the new 3000.

 

[wdn]

My son already has 27,000 miles on his 2020 Subaru Impreza hatchback that he bought 12 months ago. One month of that he was on paid leave and didn’t go to work. He is going by the book which is to change the oil every 6,000 miles.

 

[ka9mnx]

I've gone 200 miles in 4 years on my van and I'm not planning to change the oil.

 

[wolfox03SS]

BaaaaaAaaaaaaHHH!!!!111!!!one Humbug to all that noise.

But my refute is purely anecdotal and based on previous and current personal vehicle ownership.

My current manual states, "Oil *AND* oil filter must be changed @ no longer than 7500 miles and/or 12 months. Whichever happens first." She's a nasty, biggest of the small block mini-monsters. Guaranteed at about 6k Miles into an OCI, her clock's runs down on the OLM to 10%. Happens faster in the cold and frequent but short trips in the cooler temperatures. She adjusts for ambient block, intake temperatures, cold start frequency, how many LBS. per/minute you flow trough her throat.....yadda yadda yadda, blickity-boo.

Cold weather, short tripping, # of cold starts within a given OCI, how many thousands of liters of air and fuel mixed and burned at what rate and temperature, (And ethanol percentile) loading, throttle % all counts against you. It's a penalty system. She starts optimistically at 7500 miles but *PENALIZES* you for conditions that could detract from oil lifetime and usability as determined by research and careful engineering.

Oil is exposed (indirectly) to temperature and moisture even as your engine sits idle in the elements. It might be "easier" if your machine is shed/garaged stored without direct impact from the elements/weather. If you're a total plebeian like me, you're parked out on the tarmac whilst Mum's garage queen is snug in the garage. (Admittedly, my machine doesn't even fit anyway, so she can have it. )

She ticks down like a Corvette even if you don't run her and like it or not - even if you do NOT clock engine running hours? She'll Poo-Poo your current oil fill on the clock as a calendar year may have passed. On *some* GM vehicles, it's not worth changing oil before winter storage. She could and may expire your fresh sump and go into limp mode until changed/reset with fresh oil.

Conversely, you could just lie and push the menu buttons to indicate a fresh oil change. Be it on your head, mates!

(I personally think that if they bothered to engineer a time sensitive aspect of the GM OLM into the "cloth" - it merits a thought. Especially if it's a treasured to you machine. Treat it well and it'll always, without fault; get you home.)

Edit: Four schpiellingh and g8ter grahmmer c00rekshunz! I might have also slipped a little Harvard grammatical style in here, somewhere. BUT - you may not even know.