Oil change, if only put a few thousand miles a year
- Thread starter tutermoe
- Start date
I think annually is fine if you don't put a lot of miles on.
Should be fine. If all your driving is short trip, where the engine doesn't get up to full operating temperature, you might want to do 6 month intervals.
Bud_One
Site Donor 2025
I currently have a 2005 Chevy Silverado with the 6.0 .
We don't drive it often .
It's had yearly oil changes for most of it's life with me.
We usually put 3k to 5k a year at most on it.
Currently we haven't used it much since changing the oil last year in Feb.
Oil life monitor is at 73% currently with just a bit over 1k miles on the oil change.
I'm gonna ride it out to at least 25%. Which might put it at 2 yrs , we shall see.
I have no oil related issues and it runs like a top. YMMV
We don't drive it often .
It's had yearly oil changes for most of it's life with me.
We usually put 3k to 5k a year at most on it.
Currently we haven't used it much since changing the oil last year in Feb.
Oil life monitor is at 73% currently with just a bit over 1k miles on the oil change.
I'm gonna ride it out to at least 25%. Which might put it at 2 yrs , we shall see.
I have no oil related issues and it runs like a top. YMMV
If it's short trip miles then once a year is good.
2500 miles annually of daily driving is a very different use schedule than 2500 miles annually of Sunday driver.
Two miles cold to church and cold back in the morning an then two miles cold to grocery/bingo/library and cold back in the afternoon, 365 days a year (four two mile trips a day) would be pretty abusive on oil.
25 miles each way to see the family for Sunday dinner wouldn't be as bad.
56 driver door slams per week or 4....
Two miles cold to church and cold back in the morning an then two miles cold to grocery/bingo/library and cold back in the afternoon, 365 days a year (four two mile trips a day) would be pretty abusive on oil.
25 miles each way to see the family for Sunday dinner wouldn't be as bad.
56 driver door slams per week or 4....
Family only 25 miles away even on Sunday isnt far enough
My Ram 1500 Hemi gets the oil and filter changed about every other year. More often when I drive it a lot. I only use Mobil 1 and most of the driving is way more than needed to thoroughly heat up the engine.
What does the maintenance minder tell you to do?
Most oil manufactures have that little asterisk on the bottle that says XX,XXX miles or annually. I'm of the mind that if you put a few thousand miles on each year, then an annual change should be done. If its less than a few hundred miles (we didn't even do that on my wife's Beetle last year), it could wait till the following year.
My family asked why I moved so far away. I said, "it's better for my car to get some long trips to drive off crankcase moisture."Family only 25 miles away even on Sunday isnt far enough
Most of my driving is local, short trips, etc. I change at 6-month intervals ... I like to say 5,000 miles or 6-months, but I don't reach 5,000 miles in that time frame. When sweetie was alive, we visited her family frequently, and there were a lot of 50 mile trips thrown into the mix.
Now, when driving around town, I keep the car in 3rd or 4th gear, hoping to put a little more heat into the oil, and the engine feels a little happier at 2,000 rpm in 3rd rather than at 1,400 rpm in top gear.
Even though I use an oil rated for higher mileage (M1 EP) I don't feel right about abusing it by driving an entire year in a severe servce situation. However, I'm in the process of transitioning to HPL, and when the switch is completed, I'll feel better about going a full year.
What I'm doing might be considered overkill by many - short OCIs with spendy oil in a lowly 4-cylinder Camry - and I agree, but it allows me to feel good to be doing something that may help prolong the life of the engine. When you get right down to it, unless a part breaks or wears out, the car requires nothing, and has required almost nothing, in the way of maintenance other than fluid changes and a set of plugs at 90,000 miles, so why not pamper it, and myself, with a bit of excess.
Now, when driving around town, I keep the car in 3rd or 4th gear, hoping to put a little more heat into the oil, and the engine feels a little happier at 2,000 rpm in 3rd rather than at 1,400 rpm in top gear.
Even though I use an oil rated for higher mileage (M1 EP) I don't feel right about abusing it by driving an entire year in a severe servce situation. However, I'm in the process of transitioning to HPL, and when the switch is completed, I'll feel better about going a full year.
What I'm doing might be considered overkill by many - short OCIs with spendy oil in a lowly 4-cylinder Camry - and I agree, but it allows me to feel good to be doing something that may help prolong the life of the engine. When you get right down to it, unless a part breaks or wears out, the car requires nothing, and has required almost nothing, in the way of maintenance other than fluid changes and a set of plugs at 90,000 miles, so why not pamper it, and myself, with a bit of excess.
No, but the correlation in steady state usage is pretty dang tight. If you figure coolant +30F, you'll be closer to right than wrong 95% of the time.
I have a truck I out 1k a year on now and I just change every year. I run QS Euro which has a heavy additive package. Could easily do a couple years. I just do it because I like knowing it’s been done and I’m usually doing the trick, boat, ATV etc all at once.
That sounds like something that I would say.
^^^
This