I know the St,Louis area how many of those car’s have Illinois tags from just across the state line the one’s I see are from most of the MW states a long way from Ga. where I live.
Still comes on every 5k miles because it recommends a tire rotation then.
I change mine at 5000 with Mobil 1 full synthetic. Others of course disagree but short trips and infrequent use is “severe service” in my book and requires more frequent changes. The extra $35 a year for DIY or $70 at the dealer seems like a nominal cost compared to the cost of the car. Plus it gives the dealer a chance to look everything else over for any other problems developing.
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Honda recommends either mileage or once a year which ever comes first. I too drive very low mileage and change my oil once a year per the Honda Manual in both of our Accords. I use Mobil 1.
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Mark is asking about a Toyota Corolla not an Honda Accord.
At a higher level of abstraction, he was asking about oil changes; I was responding at that level.
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Don’t take it personally, I think 5k miles once a year could work, but for me spring and fall is a minimum no matter what the miles, for 5k a year though I usually have 8 to 10, if it is not a deal breaker do spring and fall, my thought.
Hostility and tribalism are not uncommon hereabouts. Best to develop a thick skin.
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Since it’s your car and your money, do what makes you feel good about yourself and your car.
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I think one of the issues here is that Toyota used a maintenance warning light that comes on every 5k miles that year. The 5k is because the shortest maintenance interval is tire rotation. I think a lot of Toyota owners thing that they should go my that light exclusively. They are simply not aware of the one year time interval and there is no warning about that.
Dealer salesman do not usually tell the customer about that. The dealers service department usually sends out maintenance due postcards indicating that the time has expired, but since these are dealer generated cards, their wording is in my experience a little vague. It usually starts with something like Our records indicate your vehicle is one year old and should have about 15,000 miles and is due for service.
An owner like @MarkAnderson may see that his mileage is only 4k and ignore the card not understanding the importance of the one year part. I have not seen any of the postcard reminders that I have received ever stress the importance of the time interval.
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I change oil according to the service indicator simply because it’s convenient. I don’t have to think about it, I just have my oil changed when the light comes on. In my case 5k works out to 7 or 8 months anyway. FWIW, the shop that changes my oil recommends 3k even with full synthetic, which I think is a bit much.
Several months ago I had the oil changed in my six year old car despite having put only 4,200 miles on it since the last oil change seven months earlier. The mechanic at the independent shop I use stepped into the waiting area to double check before doing the work because of that low mileage since the last oil change. I told him that in the past few weeks doing my weekly check pulling the stick I had noticed a bit of darkening like occurs at more miles and that I had not been managing to take regular longer drives but had only been making extremely short trips of no more than six to ten miles at most, often as short as two to three miles, with upwards of three to four stops (grocery, pharmacy, library, etc.) in each such short trip, and that given such by definition extreme use, time interval, and noticed beginning change in oil color I’d rather pay to change the oil on short miles than to shorten the life of the engine. His reply actually was “you’ve read your service manual!” Yep. I sure have. And I’ve also learned a lot over the years from this forum. To all you regulars, thanks for putting up with me here.
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There are lights for all that stuff now! 
It’s a good idea to check your oil every time you get gas. That’s what we learned back in the day (before all the dummy lights that we have now existed)
I don’t trust idiot light’s by the time they come on it most time’s to late that is why I have a full set of gauge’s in my truck’s.
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It’s important to understand what the lights are for. Most common is a low oil pressure light. Some cars also have an oil level light. And there may be “service due” light. And these systems can be misunderstood, or can fail. So physically checking the oil level with a dipstick is still important.
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We also learned that it was best to check it after the engine has sat–without being run–for an extended period of time. I check my oil every couple of weeks (it still consumes almost nothing between changes, and it took me 9 years to use-up two quarts of oil that I had on hand) but I wouldn’t think of inconveniencing other customers at the gas station while I do it. Instead, I check it in my garage, before I go to gas-up.
If one must check at the fuel station at least they should show enough curtesy to pull out of the way . Let the vehicle set for a period long enough for the oil to drain down . Of course checking before leaving the house would be simpler .
It’s a good idea to check your oil. Period. When and where is optional. The important thing is to check it. I often get gas in the evening when the light is poor for checking oil. I check mine once a week with the car sitting in the driveway stone cold. While I’m at it I also check coolant and brake fluid levels and the condition of my battery terminals on principle.
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Oh yeah, I totally agree! By the time the idiot lights come on, it’s too late … I’m in my 40s and I was 17 when I bought my first car… after countless months at the library (the library! before the interwebs) reading car care books. It doesn’t matter what state you’re in, checking your oil level when you’re waiting for the gas to pump by itself is a good idea!
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