You fail to understand the reason for the time limit: Low-mile driving wears out oil more rapidly than high-mile driving at a given mileage, because of water and gas condensation and sludge formation.
Change it as you wish, but understand what’s actually going on with your oil. You appear unwilling to do that.
Take this example. You buy a car with the scheduled maintenance services we’ve already talked about. You choose the 5,000 mile/year, 4 month time interval for each scheduled service (not just the oil change). But because of the coronavirus pandemic, and then some family crisis, and then just a desire to do something else or because someone gives you a spiffy new sports car that you want to drive all the time, you put only 900 miles a year on your new car for the first three years. In that time, you are told by the maintenance schedule to change your oil 9 times (plus have nine additional 5,000 mile scheduled maintenance services!) on a car that at the end of three years has 2,700 miles on it. If this makes sense to you, then by all means follow the manufacturer’s guidance.
If the time interval did not apply to low mileage vehicles, please enlighten us, exactly what vehicles it does apply to.
You are missing the point of the scheduled maintenance schedule when it comes to motor oil. Motor oil and is the only thing on the schedule that is greatly affected by low mileage short trip driving. It is perfectly fine to leave the air filter in for 10 years if it takes you that long to get to the recommended mileage. coolant is more affected by age than mileage, don’t let it go past the time interval.
Those additional items on the standard 5000 mile service are a tire rotation and a list of items to inspect, nothing of great labor.
Most of my low mileage customers pass on the 5000 mile service and only have the oil changed. The list of inspection items are performed on every vehicle as part of the Multi Point Inspection, tire rotation is not necessary with low miles. These old vehicles call for new air filters, coolant and brake fluid every 30,000 miles, you can have those services performed individually at your discretion.
More than ten years ago Toyota/Lexus began a 10,000 mile oil change interval, the manufacture feels that 10,000 miles/one year is too long to go without a vehicle inspection so the maintenance schedule for those vehicles list an inspection with tire rotation every 5000 miles.
If I drive 3000 miles/year and if it is primarily 1-10 mile trips, then I’ll change my oil every 6 months.
If that 3000 miles/year with primarily 1-10 mile trips is mixed in with highway driving driving (at least 30-60 minutes twice a month), then I will wait the full year to change my oil.
The advice all of us give here is based on our experiences. And like many, I’m open to any new data that may change my view.
Not if the gasket becomes brittle and starts to crumble.
My hopes that this thread would end 5 posts ago are dashed.
[quote=“JamesCarney, post:59, topic:163296”]
“Driving the vehicle 15,000 miles a year or more (the manufacturer’s basis for calculating the time interval to coincide with the mileage schedule) does invoke the need for a time interval requirement, either for purposes of putting it on a calendar as an additional reminder or for additional emphasis on the importance of maintenance for vehicles getting a lot of use.”
In other words, the time interval is a way of informing car owners of when they should be planning to get their vehicles serviced if they are driving at the projected rate. For these drivers, following the maintenance schedule is very important and the time interval is a way of stressing that.
I’m feeling your pain.
Actually, your comment made me think that perhaps the owner’s manual intends for the low mileage driver to repeat the same mileage level maintenance until he/she gets to the next mileage level. That might actually make a little more sense. But, no. My manual, at least, pegs each maintenance level to each new 4 (or 6) month interval so that at 8 months, one is scheduled for the 10,000 mile maintenance service and so on as both time and mileage increase.
Your comment was also a good response from a knowledgeable mechanic. I’m a lawyer. Most Lexus drivers that I see look like they know even less about cars than I do, which isn’t much. We all just take our cars in for servicing in accordance with the mileage schedule (some probably follow the time schedule as well) and let the dealer do whatever it says on the list of prescribed checks and actions. But even the most docile housewife (or lawyer) who is a very low mileage driver, is not going to have their oil changed 9 times in 36 months [my hypothetical example] [or 6 times if they follow the 7,500 mile/6 month schedule] along with a whole list of other, sometimes expensive, maintenance services scheduled for all the way up to 45,000 miles [or 30,000 miles on the more extended schedule]. Nor would a conscientious dealer (or other mechanic) have them do so. They would provide advice along the lines you just gave. But once you start picking and choosing which items to do, the maintenance schedule is out the window anyway and after that you are just doing what your mechanic suggests should be done at that stage of vehicle use.
Which brings me back to my basic contention. The time interval guidance in the owner’s manual is not intended for low mileage drivers. They should either follow the mileage rules or guidance provided by their dealer or other qualified mechanics. But here’s a warning about relying too much on that. Back in the mid-90s, I was taking my 1987 Honda to a local garage that I thought was looking after my car’s needed maintenance requirements. He always seemed pretty knowledgeable and attentive. But when the timing belt broke and I ruined my engine, I found out he wasn’t paying all that much attention.
One more time: you are exactly wrong.
What in the world is wrong with James ? You would think a Lawyer could read and understand better then this.
I believe he wants to interpret the owner manual in his own way
I’m not insulting him, by the way
But that’s how I see the situation
Can you define a low mileage driver? Six 150 mile trips in a year for 900 miles? 250 3 1/2 mile trips in a year for 900 miles? There’s a world of difference there.
I haven’t read all the posts above but I’m wondering, with all the talk about not needing to do a yearly oil change, I 'm at a loss to see what you could gain by not doing it. Changing oil more often than needed certainly can’t hurt anything.
Now you are saying some who drives 15000 mile a year can wait the full year instead of changing it at 10000 miles that his owners manual calls for.
How can you read and understand contracts and be so dense about owners manuals.
The time based maintenance guide may not appeal to infrequent drivers but it is necessary for the daily driver the drives short trips.
Driving 3 miles each day pollutes the engine oil nearly as much as driving 30 miles each day but the former would take almost 3 years to accumulate 3000 miles, that is far too long to go between oil changes. The primary service in the 5000 mile/6 month service is the oil change. The tires and brakes should be inspected every 6 months for your safety.
If you only use a vehicle twice a month for grocery shopping you may choose to stretch these limits, most vehicles are driven daily and the maintenance schedules are meant to suit the majority of owners. If your vehicle is parked in a museum you need to make your own maintenance plan.
A secretary at work drove a 1998 Dodge. About 10 years ago I reviewed the maintenance history on that vehicle, she had been changing the oil every 3000 miles/once a year. She drove the vehicle at least 5 days a week to work, she must have lived close. It seems that none of the service advisors warned her the those engines can’t handle that type of neglect, the engine seized in 2015. On the positive side, 17 years from a cheap car isn’t bad and the money saved on oil changes went towards a better car.
I believe if you read the lease, you’ll find that the finance company is the lessor.
I said previously in this thread that I would include the results of a Blackstone Labs analysis of my oil. Here it is: [Omitted now.]
Here is the summary for the report:
“JAMES: Your engine and the oil are in good shape. The viscosity is correct and there isn’t any fuel or water contamination, and solids (insolubles) are low at 0.2%. There is, however, a bit of fuel in the oil, indicated by the low flashpoint. But that’s nothing to worry about. Fuel is at just 1.0% and less than 2.0% is usually operational. Wear metals show your engine is wearing fine, as wear metals resemble universal averages (based on ~5,100 miles on the oil). TBN of 2.0 shows additive left, since 1.0 or less is low. This oil doesn’t need changed yet - add about 2,000 mi to this fill.”
If the link opens up, it will show that total miles on the oil currently in my car is 3,857. That change took place just over 13 months ago. Total mileage on the car as of the time of this analysis was 114,223. As we discussed ad nauseum above, I want to wait until I reach the 5,000 mile mark in actual driving, not follow the time interval recommendation of the owner’s manual. Blackstone Labs says I can safely do that. Note that Blackstone makes no reference to a recommended time interval for oil changes. Nor did they when I discussed this on the phone.
Thanks, “Wolyrobb,” for recommending Blackstone Labs. And thanks to everyone else who weighed in on this discussion, especially Circuitsmith and JoeMario.
The report from Blackstone Labs says the your engine and oil are in good shape. That is great.
It does not indicate that the time interval in your owners manual is not intended for low mileage drivers.All drivers can be put into 3 categories. Low mileage drivers. average mileage drivers and high mileage drivers.
Average and high mileage drivers will never get to the time interval because they will hit the mileage mark first so please enlighten me. Who is the time interval for?
@JamesCarney I suggest that you remove your personal information from that document.