Safe to extend OCI? short trips & low mileage

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Hi, all.

I'd like to hear some advices regarding extended OCI for my car.

First, about my car and my driving habits:
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2005 4runner v8 4.7L 4wd 35k miles.
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
SM 5w30 5000m or 6 mon which comes first
3. Where you live
New York city
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Usually slow and easy
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
Local short trips 6. Whether your car has any known problems
No.

I only drove my 4runner something like 2000 miles per year, with 2 short trips around 1 mile a day, and a 40 miles trip once a month. Usually I do the oil change at dealership every 6 months or 1000 miles. I began to seriously think to extend OCI when I lately suspected that occasionally the dealership didn't change the oil or filter at all. Maybe I just wasted time and money to do oil change every 6 months in my case.

My question is if I can switch to Mobile 1 synthetic and safely extend OCI to 1 year/2k miles?

Thanks in advance!
 
There have been a TON of these questions over the last few days. Please do a search.

Based upon real world experience and UOA, my answer is yes.

You should do a UOA to check though.
 
In the cold climate with under 1 mile trips my gut would say no. If it were mine I would do it once a year. Only a UOA to give you some fuel dilution numbers would know, but to be honest at the cost of an oil change it's a false economy in your situation IMO.

If you had some weekly or even monthly trip to burn the fuel and moisture out of the oil, then I could more easily see 2 years.
 
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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
There have been a TON of these questions over the last few days. Please do a search.

Based upon real world experience and UOA, my answer is yes.

You should do a UOA to check though.


Thanks. Actually I did search before posting my question. Just couldn't find any conclusion for my specific situation. I think moisture is a key factor here, but not sure if Mobile 1 or any other synthetic could hold up well.
 
Take that poor truck out on the road for a good 20+ mile trip every few months to drive the moisture/fuel out of the oil, charge the battery, etc...
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
In the cold climate with under 1 mile trips my gut would say no. If it were mine I would do it once a year. Only a UOA to give you some fuel dilution numbers would know, but to be honest at the cost of an oil change it's a false economy in your situation IMO.

If you had some weekly or even monthly trip to burn the fuel and moisture out of the oil, then I could more easily see 2 years.


Thanks for sharing your thought. I didn't see the color differences between before and after oil change for a couple of times, therefore I suspected the job was actually not done. So the mechanic might also think it's unnecessary to change oil every 1000 miles.

Anyway I'll order a UOA to see how it goes.
 
Originally Posted By: MatKimChi
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
There have been a TON of these questions over the last few days. Please do a search.

Based upon real world experience and UOA, my answer is yes.

You should do a UOA to check though.


Thanks. Actually I did search before posting my question. Just couldn't find any conclusion for my specific situation. I think moisture is a key factor here, but not sure if Mobile 1 or any other synthetic could hold up well.


The 40 mile trip, while on the shorter end of what I'd like to see, should help that out substantially. That is exactly what we found.

Only UOA will tell you the answer to moisture for your engine and driving profile.
 
You need to use that T4R. I make it a point to take some nice long trips a few times a year. Go to Canada in the Summer, Florida in the Winter.....a few trips down to Atlantic City would be great for your vehicle.

I like to get my T4R opened up on the Interstate to 80 mph for a nice long run...when it is safe, cleans out the engine, injectors and get all the fluids flowing nice and hot.

IMO...Enjoy your T4R.....they are made to be driven hard and fast.... enjoy it before the salt and corrosion consume it.
 
Bottom line is NO. Extra short trips means extra short OCIs. You don't get the water and fuel dilution burned off. There is a UOA on this site with a similar driving pattern that had the oil completely used up after 3000 miles.

You should follow your manufacturer's severe service schedule for OCIs. Synthetic will not help. The fuel dilution and water in the oil will use up the additive package in synthetic oil just as quickly as in conventional oil.

BTW, infrequent long trips don't help. The fuel and water contamination begins to affect the engine by the creation of acids which rapidly lowers the TBN. A longer drive once a week may help a little, but you'll still see rapid depletion of the TBN.
 
I was facing a similar dilemma, wanting to extend my oil change interval, but unsure if short tripping wouldn't put to much water in the oil to allow it. UOA's showed zero water in the oil even with 10,000 mile 1 year oil change intervals. The answer for you can be yes, IF the combustion chamber on your particular engine is tight enough to not allow much water to blow by the piston rings (as shown by a UOA). Without doing a UOA, I would stick with a 6 month oil change interval in your situation.
 
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