# 2000 Lexus ES 300 - Oil life question **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** lexus\ **Created:** [March 21, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467 "2020-03-21T18:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RichardSplitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3d9bf3/32.png) [@RichardSplitt](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RichardSplitt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/1 "2020-03-21T18:51:44Z")
I’ve used Mobil 1 for years. We now drive as little as 1,500 miles a year. Everything I found online says to change oil every year no matter how few miles one drives, In today’s paper Ray said a guy could wait to change oil as he had only driven 6K miles, even though it had been 15 months. Can I wait longer than 1 year to change oil if driven much less than 7,500 miles? If so, how long? Thank you, Rich ---
**Author:** ![davepsinbox\_157004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@davepsinbox\_157004](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davepsinbox_157004)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/2 "2020-03-21T21:08:33Z")
Ray said to trust the car’s oil life monitor. I don’t think your Lexus has one of those. Go ahead and change your oil at least once a year. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/3 "2020-03-22T18:30:21Z")
Agree! Stick with the once a year oil and filter change. I spend twice as much on car washes than on oil changes. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/4 "2020-03-22T18:31:40Z")
Once a year with synthetics is the safe bet. ---
**Author:** ![RichardSplitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3d9bf3/32.png) [@RichardSplitt](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RichardSplitt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/5 "2020-03-22T18:59:32Z")
Thanks guys. However, Ray stated that it was OK to wait longer even though that person was already at 15 months bc he had 6 in lieu of 8K miles. That leads me to believe that the standard 1 year may be extended. That is what I’m trying to determine. It’s not about the money, it’s about throwing away oil that may still be good which may affect the environment. Another question – Do I really need to use Mobil 1 if the oil will be changed in one year with only 1.5K miles of use? Thanks again, Rich ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/6 "2020-03-22T19:03:26Z")
> [@RichardSplitt](#): > > Do I really need to use Mobil 1 if the oil will be changed in one year with only 1.5K miles of use? No. > **[Why Expensive Oil Is A Waste Of Money](https://jalopnik.com/why-expensive-oil-is-a-waste-of-money-1797241527)** > > This story was originally published on July 27, 2017 Tester ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/7 "2020-03-22T19:16:46Z")
Nobody here, nor Ray, has done any study to determine if you can go more than a year. Maybe you can, but we don’t know. It’s a pretty sure bet you can run Mobil1 a year. I wouldn’t stretch it. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/8 "2020-03-22T19:49:50Z")
Unless you are driving those 1,500 miles in the form of a few long trips, your driving so few miles is hard on the oil. Water from the combustion process makes its way into the oil and if you don’t drive long enough trips often enough, the oil doesn’t remain hot enough long enough to boil off the water. The result is sludge. If you are doing ALL short trips, I would change it every 6 months, at least. ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/9 "2020-03-22T20:13:56Z")
As recommended in another thread a year is too long to go without someone having a look under the hood. Change the oil every six months. ---
**Author:** ![RichardSplitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3d9bf3/32.png) [@RichardSplitt](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RichardSplitt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2000-lexus-es-300-oil-life-question/161467/10 "2020-03-22T23:57:44Z")
Thank you, great response.