Hi, I live in Hawaii and drive as little as a few times a month and sometimes less than 50 miles a year. I drive mostly city with an occasional highway. And, my driving style is very conservative. How often do you think I should change my oil and filter, rotate tires, etc. Thank you for your input.
Why do you even have car ? but you should change the once a year just because of time .
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Most manufacturers recommend an oil and filter change at least every 12 months, even if the car is driven very little.
I’d rotate the tires by mileage. Every 5k should be plenty.
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Your driving is brutal on an engine. It never gets warmed up and the oil can end up with condensation messing up the oil. Once a month take the car out for a nice 45 minute ride to get it up to temp. Rotate the tires based on mileage, 5000 miles is a good target
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Given the warm climate and the low miles, I’d also suggest you buy a new set of tires every 7 years if it sits outside or 10 years if inside no matter how many miles on the tires nor how deep the tread. Rubber ages, gets harder and traction can be very limited. The rubber also can crack and cause a blowout if the tire gets too old.
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I think you should do it as often as the manufacturer instructed you to do it in your owner’s manual.
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Given how little you drive, your gasoline is likely to get stale and
gum up the engine. I would recommend adding a stabilizer
such as StaBil right away.
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Yes, but I really hope that the OP can wrap his head around the elapsed time interval (probably 12 months) that the mfr specifies in the Owner’s Manual.
All-too-many people only seem to be able to comprehend the concept of odometer miles, and can’t seem to understand the extremely important elapsed time factor.
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Yes, once a year makes sense! We have many retired friends who spend 6 months out of the country, and their cars don’t travel much on a yearly basis…
We have a military veteran who has an immaculate 1976 Chevy Impala. the biggest Chevv ever built. It’s an ungainly beast when parked in the supermarket lot besides today’s cars. I’m sue he maintains it well!
And what is the deal with all these supposed first-time posters who title their topics the same way:
Year and make – issue
???
50miles/yr? it might only have 300miles on it now. nice
At 50 miles per year, I’d be inclined at the end of the year to simply take it out for a 1-2-hour highway drive to burn the moisture out of the oil, and then let it go for another year.
I doubt I’d change the filter at such low mileage.
I would sell it. You can taxi, Uber, or Lyft those fifty miles for less than your insurance premium.
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Your Owner’s manual is your best advice as far as the oil change. It specifies a certain amount of miles OR a certain time, WHICHEVER comes first ! Use the time interval.
As far as the tires are concerned, if you park your car outside, the sun WILL ruin your tires, so I would cover them up just like the RV owners do to their motorhomes when they sit (which is most of the times). Also, I would take the weight off of those tires, cause they’ll form a flat spot on the side they sit on. Lift the tires a half an inch off the ground and put stands under the frame so it takes the weight off of those tires. And as one responder suggested: Replace those tires after 6 years or so because rubber plasticizes and it’s very dangerous to drive on. I would absolutely not drive on wet ground on tires that old, no matter if the tires look brand new !
My situation is similar; I’m retired and put very few miles on my two cars (one for me and one for my wife). I’ve checked a lot on this kind of question and have decided on the following based on general research and the Honda Owner’s Manual. Oil change once a year regardless of mileage, brake fluid every three years regardless, tires can vary based on their exposure to the sun. The usual time is 5-6 years if exposed to the sun; my two cars stay in an enclosed garage unless being driven so I managed to get 12 years before the tires started exhibiting signs of aging. Another consideration is the serpentine belt; the new belts being used have a much longer service life but it would be good to keep an eye on it after a few years. I just had the timing belt and the serpentine belt replace on my 2007 Accord V6 at 12 years and the old belts still looked good. You probably have a timing chain which should be good for the life of the engine. I hope this helps.
Get an electric and a solar panel charger.