Oil change on very low mileage vehicle

[teachme]

The oil would be less of my concern versus the filter. As stated by 427Vette the oil is should be acceptable for longer change intervals. If you have a high quality filter it "should" be fine but if it is a paper filter element (versus synthetic) I'd probably spend the money to change, at minimum, the filter.

If you want to talk to some serious oil change people visit
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/

 

[OldShooter]

The oil would be less of my concern versus the filter. As stated by 427Vette the oil is should be acceptable for longer change intervals. If you have a high quality filter it "should" be fine but if it is a paper filter element (versus synthetic) I'd probably spend the money to change, at minimum, the filter. ...

Do you have a link or a reference to support the idea that filter media can deteriorate with time alone?

In years playing with race cars and airplanes and of examining automobile oil filters, non-bypassing hydraulic filters use for motor oil, and piston aircraft oil filters I have never seen any filter medium that looked to be deteriorating. Admittedly none were stored for long periods soaked with lightly contaminated oil. That's why I am curious about your source for this information.

 

[ut2sua]

IIRC, BMW manual has oil change recommended very 15K miles (and up to 2 years). So the occasional slip beyond 1 year should be fine, I think.

 

[teachme]

Do you have a link or a reference to support the idea that filter media can deteriorate with time alone?

In years playing with race cars and airplanes and of examining automobile oil filters, non-bypassing hydraulic filters use for motor oil, and piston aircraft oil filters I have never seen any filter medium that looked to be deteriorating. Admittedly none were stored for long periods soaked with lightly contaminated oil. That's why I am curious about your source for this information.

Not handy, no. It was gathered over the years on the web and I seem to recall something about it on bobistheoilguy.com but cannot find. Personally I rarely leave my cars sitting for long periods but it would seem unlikely the filter element would dry out if even driven occasionally.

Nice to meet a fellow racer and in my younger years of racing 5L Mustangs have seen a few cheap oil filters with paper element or bypass valve issues but it was rare and never resulted in engine failure and those were pretty extreme conditions.

 

[RetiredHappy]

We put about 5K miles per year on our 2020 Subaru Ascent and the dealership wants us to take it in for synthetic oil change every 6 months. We did prepay something like $1.5K for lifetime oil changes so it costs us nothing to take the car in. In addition we get free coffee/tea/hot chocolate and snacks in a very nice lounge area while we wait.

 

[street]

The oil would be less of my concern versus the filter. As stated by 427Vette the oil is should be acceptable for longer change intervals. If you have a high quality filter it "should" be fine but if it is a paper filter element (versus synthetic) I'd probably spend the money to change, at minimum, the filter.

If you want to talk to some serious oil change people visit
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/

The synthetic oil would be my least worry, like you said the filter is just as or more important when miles are put on a vehicle versus hardly no miles and changing every other year.

A filter need to match the quality of the oil and have the longevity as well, to protect the engine.

Good point and I forgot to mention that and glad you did.

 

[RobbieB]

I let the car tell me when to change the oil.

 

[Jerry1]

I let the car tell me when to change the oil.

Yeah, I’m wondering if at the year mark, it will indicate the need to change the oil. I still think I’ll change it at the one year mark, only because the manual was very specific on that point. I still have a couple years left on the drivetrain warranty. It won’t be worth the cost of an oil change to void the warranty.

 

[wolf]

IMHO. Lots of misinformation. My concern, would be "acids" that build up in your oil.
The acids will slowly eat into the metal parts of your engine.

The oil may be OK, but the contaminants, will eventually destroy your engine.
Change the oil/filter at least once a year.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We are in the same position. Our 2019 car has just 8,000 miles on it. We asked our dealer who said to at least make sure you change the oil annually.

Of course they did.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Yeah, I’m wondering if at the year mark, it will indicate the need to change the oil. I still think I’ll change it at the one year mark, only because the manual was very specific on that point. I still have a couple years left on the drivetrain warranty. It won’t be worth the cost of an oil change to void the warranty.

The odds of having a drive train related warranty claim is minimal...especially for oil related issues. If you really want to change it, take a look at local dealership webpages...they often will have sales (or free!) oil changes. I almost never paid for oil changes when I had the Infiniti because the local dealership would send coupons for free changes in hopes of getting you in and selling you a new car.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

We put about 5K miles per year on our 2020 Subaru Ascent and the dealership wants us to take it in for synthetic oil change every 6 months. We did prepay something like $1.5K for lifetime oil changes so it costs us nothing to take the car in. In addition we get free coffee/tea/hot chocolate and snacks in a very nice lounge area while we wait.

Hopefully you're getting more than just oil changes and coffee for $1500. My guess is that the dealer is looking for warranty items on the 6-month visit, which they then invoice to Subaru corporate. My assessment is that with only 5000 miles a year, the car needs an annual oil change at most (except for the first one, which I would do at 1,000 on the odometer). I'd be perfectly comfortable going 18 months.

 

[RunningBum]

I put less than 1000 miles a year on my Miata. I get the oil changed every fall when I get my state inspection. Minimal cost, and no extra trip to the mechanic or dealing with it myself. Maybe I don't need to bother, but it seems like cheap insurance to me.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We did prepay something like $1.5K for lifetime oil changes so it costs us nothing to take the car in. In addition we get free coffee/tea/hot chocolate and snacks in a very nice lounge area while we wait.

Uh, that is some expensive "free" coffee! I do understand why the lounge is "very nice" though.

 

[Bamaman]

What ever you do, don't ask your dealership Service Advisor for his opinion on maintenance. He'll make you think you've got to have 6 month, 12 month, 8 month checkups, and that the dealership is the only place you can have it done is at the dealership. Those 6 months will take a $40 oil change and make it cost $150.

But remember that that Service Advisor is not your friend. He's a highly paid commission salesman with not the first sign of conscience. His job is selling $900 brake jobs to little old ladies (that ought to cost more like $300) and using fear to sell it.

Unless a factory is paying for a repair or recall, I avoid car dealership service departments like the plague. I can get repair work done for less than half dealership labor rates--if I cannot do the job. Even my daughter does brake jobs on her cars.

 

[brett]

We used to get free oil changes at our Honda dealer on our 2006 Accord.

The one condition is that we get all of our servicing done at this dealer shop.

We passed on the so called 'free' oil changes some time ago in favor of dealing with a local Honda mechanic whose rates are much less.

There is no such thing as a free lunch...

When we were considering buying a Lexus I walked into their service area. There was a free coffee bar. The works, caps, expresso, plus food. Figured we did not want to pay for a subscription to the coffee bar every time we had the car serviced.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

What ever you do, don't ask your dealership Service Advisor for his opinion on maintenance. He'll make you think you've got to have 6 month, 12 month, 8 month checkups, and that the dealership is the only place you can have it done is at the dealership. Those 6 months will take a $40 oil change and make it cost $150.

But remember that that Service Advisor is not your friend. He's a highly paid commission salesman with not the first sign of conscience. His job is selling $900 brake jobs to little old ladies (that ought to cost more like $300) and using fear to sell it.

Unless a factory is paying for a repair or recall, I avoid car dealership service departments like the plague. I can get repair work done for less than half dealership labor rates--if I cannot do the job. Even my daughter does brake jobs on her cars.

Not *ALL* of them. Yes, a large percentage...but not all. And yes, I know your family has been in the "biz" for a while. I agree though that going to a stealership is usually not the best choice for maintenance.

 

[JRon]

I agree with those that say synthetic oil will last a couple years, but I always change it at least once a year to be safe. Cheap price for piece of mind.

 

[brett]

What ever you do, don't ask your dealership Service Advisor for his opinion on maintenance. He'll make you think you've got to have 6 month, 12 month, 8 month checkups, and that the dealership is the only place you can have it done is at the dealership. Those 6 months will take a $40 oil change and make it cost $150.

But remember that that Service Advisor is not your friend. He's a highly paid commission salesman with not the first sign of conscience. His job is selling $900 brake jobs to little old ladies (that ought to cost more like $300) and using fear to sell it.

Unless a factory is paying for a repair or recall, I avoid car dealership service departments like the plague. I can get repair work done for less than half dealership labor rates--if I cannot do the job. Even my daughter does brake jobs on her cars.

Our sentiments exactly. Once the warranty expired on any of our vehicles we sought out a factory trained mechanic with his/her own shop. None of the fancy accompaniments but none of the high labor and parts charges plus questionable maintenance items. Especially those set price XXX mileage services.

The last time our former Camry was in for an oil change at the dealer, the dealer gave me a $3300. list of things that were required.

Took the list to our Toyota mechanic. $1800. dollars later everything necessary on the list plus a few extras were completed.....with Toyota parts and fluids. Same with our current Honda and Toyota vehicles.

 

[OldShooter]

... Unless a factory is paying for a repair or recall, I avoid car dealership service departments like the plague. ...

Yes. Having become old, prosperous, and lazy I farm all of the car work out to an independent shop where the owner is a friend. He makes great efforts to save me money and will never recommend work that is not necessary. So my garage full of tools stays pretty quiet.

Not *ALL* of them. Yes, a large percentage...but not all. ...

True enough about any generalization, but if the odds are strongly against me in finding an honest dealership it is optimum for me to instead look elsewhere. So all dealerships logically end up being tarred with the same brush. That is before we talk about labor rate differentials.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Yes. Having become old, prosperous, and lazy I farm all of the car work out to an independent shop where the owner is a friend. He makes great efforts to save me money and will never recommend work that is not necessary. So my garage full of tools stays pretty quiet.

True enough about any generalization, but if the odds are strongly against me in finding an honest dealership it is optimum for me to instead look elsewhere. So all dealerships logically end up being tarred with the same brush. That is before we talk about labor rate differentials.

True. Although, I have an acquaintance who owns a small shop and has been more than forthcoming about ripping off customers. So, I think a good general rule is do your research when finding someone (big or small) to work on your car.

Plus, the small shop won't be able to effectively repair newer cars when the software required to scan/troubleshoot/repair costs thousands of dollars annually for the license. I think this will be a bigger deal as the cars get more complicated.

 

[Texas Proud]

Just my opinion, but if you have synthetic I bet you could go 3 or 4 years... I doubt that anything will be damaged by acids etc. in the oil...


My sister told me about one of her friends who owns a BMW.... she gets her oil changed when the low oil light comes on... YES, that is what she does... just think how long it takes to burn a quart or so of oil in these new engines... IIRC here car is between 15 and 17 years old...

 

[ERD50]

Yeah, I’m wondering if at the year mark, it will indicate the need to change the oil. I still think I’ll change it at the one year mark, only because the manual was very specific on that point. I still have a couple years left on the drivetrain warranty. It won’t be worth the cost of an oil change to void the warranty.

Not sure if you mentioned the make/model/year, but I know that the oil minder in DW's 2011 Honda CR-V shows % oil life remaining, but it does *not* keep track of the annual requirement in the manual. I've gone past the one year point with the limited miles she puts on it, but has some longer runs so it does get up to temperature regularly.

I'm not too worried about pushing it a bit from time to time, but if it was still under warranty, I'd for sure get it done as the manual states.

-ERD50

 

[REWahoo]

Here's the solution.

 

[stephenson]

In these circumstances (synthetic, and not in warranty), I would feel comfortable for a couple of years - frankly, more important is running the engine long enough to get condensate out of the exhaust, but even those components are less likely to rust, now.

The Europeans run their oil - synthetic - much longer than in the US.

Much of what happens with consumers in the US is driven by marketing, sales needs - not what the science says.