Valvoline R&P if you can’t manage the next two OCI on time?

[newoilguy1]

doing oil changes for a elderly neighbor. They don’t keep track of their mileage and the little sticker I put on their windshield doesn’t seem to help.

I think their 2001 RAV4 (78,000 miles!) could use some R&P.

What happens if I don’t get a chance to change the filter on time? Should I just stick to Maxlife High Mileage Full Synthetic?

 

[JohnnyG]

Depending on mileage driven, I'd say you'd be OK for two years.

 

[Zenon]

78,000 miles / 24 years = 3,250 miles/year.
I would go with one oil change yearly (two may be safer); the car is probably sludged up from short-tripping.

 

[ATex7239]

Cleaning oil, long drain intervals, neglected maintenance, and an older vehicle sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn’t be comfortable with VRP unless the interval was reasonable and I could monitor progress. There is a potential for more harm than good here if not properly monitored/ maintained. I’d say stick with regular FS or HM FS oils.

 

[ChrisD46]

Cleaning oil, long drain intervals, neglected maintenance, and an older vehicle sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn’t be comfortable with VRP unless the interval was reasonable and I could monitor progress. There is a potential for more harm than good here if not properly monitored/ maintained. I’d say stick with regular FS or HM FS oils.

In this case , M1 EP synthetic oil might be worth a look for a short tripper with a 6 month to 1 year OCI.

 

[WiskyBadger]

doing oil changes for a elderly neighbor. They don’t keep track of their mileage and the little sticker I put on their windshield doesn’t seem to help.

I think their 2001 RAV4 (78,000 miles!) could use some R&P.

What happens if I don’t get a chance to change the filter on time? Should I just stick to Maxlife High Mileage Full Synthetic?

Can you reset their tripmeter and give them a mileage to let you know when it’s service time and don’t reset it before that? That’s what I do with my wife even though I monitor it.

 

[tired]

doing oil changes for a elderly neighbor. They don’t keep track of their mileage and the little sticker I put on their windshield doesn’t seem to help.

I think their 2001 RAV4 (78,000 miles!) could use some R&P.

What happens if I don’t get a chance to change the filter on time? Should I just stick to Maxlife High Mileage Full Synthetic?

Why do you think you need to change the filter "on time"?

It's designed to be a gentle cleaner and keep deposits in suspension. It's not like doing an engine flush.

I agree with others. I'd run VRP for 6 month intervals. Make a calendar event on your phone.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

R&P is made to address an issue. Why use it when you haven’t confirmed there is an issue? Just stick to what’s been done prior.

 

[melk]

lol R&P is literally just a API SN / SP engine oil, that just so happens to do a superior job at cleaning. It is not some “speciality product” just because it has some novel tech that others have not yet figured out. Once the secret is out and other manufacturers start adding it will the story change? Once everybody’s favorite pet oil has similar cleaning tech only then it will be acceptable?

 

[ltslimjim]

Cleaning oil, long drain intervals, neglected maintenance, and an older vehicle sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn’t be comfortable with VRP unless the interval was reasonable and I could monitor progress. There is a potential for more harm than good here if not properly monitored/ maintained. I’d say stick with regular FS or HM FS oils.

While I like erring on the side of caution, if the mileage is really under 4k annually as another poster highlighted, then I think VRP is perfectly fine for the full year or once every 6 months.

It’s a no brainer for the price of any OTS full synthetic and there is no need to worry about filter changes as the OP asked. If they were to short trip the vehicle frequently and run 10k yearly; then definitely twice a year at half that mileage.

At the same time, given the year make, it may also be advisable to swap to a HM oil to rejuvenate some of the seals as the age is there, but the mileage and hours exposed to operating temp might leave an opening to keep them pliable and prevent more shrinkage moving forward.

So, to me, it could be a case of run VRP for their 4 OCIs recommendation spread across 2 years (one every 6 months) and then convert to a HM oil. Cleaning gets done, it’s changed frequently enough and then HM oils help prevent leaks from developing.

 

[newoilguy1]

Thank you for the great advice everyone. There’s way more maintenance that this car needs to keep going a few more years than just oil changes, and from what I can tell it’s not suffering any issues (certainly no significant burning in the 3,000 miles per year.

So I will slowly adopt this car as my own to take care of all the other important stuff.

 

[tired]

Thank you for the great advice everyone. There’s way more maintenance that this car needs to keep going a few more years than just oil changes, and from what I can tell it’s not suffering any issues (certainly no significant burning in the 3,000 miles per year.

So I will slowly adopt this car as my own to take care of all the other important stuff.

You are a kind soul. Wish we had more people like you.