So I read the thread about used car mileage, and the comments all said that driving 5k miles/yr is worse than driving 20k or more miles/yr.
My question is: I only drive about 5k miles/yr due to being retired and one main medical issue. Since that’s not supposed to be good for my now “new” car - 2021 with 14k miles on it - how many miles would be the least/best to drive it to avoid the problems commenters stated about the engine not getting hot enough, etc,? Should I drive it just for the hell of it, not having anywhere in particular to go, for the betterment of the car, just to put a bunch of miles on it?
Just look in the owner’s manual and use the “severe” maintenance schedule - or whatever it is called similar to that. There are lots of reasons that cars are not best left to sit around not being driven, or driven on lots of short trips.
No one said that. What people said is that if you are shopping for a used car, one which has been driven only a few thousand miles per year is a worse bet than one which has been driven 10,000 or 15,000 miles per year.
Just change the oil more often, and don’t worry about it. Change it based upon time, not mileage. Never go more than a year without changing the oil and oil filter.
It wouldn’t hurt to do this occasionally, but all you really need to do is change the oil and filter at least once a year.
Well I wouldn’t be driving it just to put miles on it, but putting miles on it, according to some comments, like yours, is the way to warm the engine oil up, which is said is good for the car. So it’s not just to put miles on, it’s for the “good of the engine”. Right?
I think you should take it out and stretch it’s legs about once a month or so, just to get ALL the driveline fluids up to temp and the cobwebs out… Once a week would be better as Texases mentioned, but at least once a month…
Maybe pick someplace different to go see or something, make a date out of it, or just to get some you quite time, either or works… lol
There are two kinds of “low miles”. Well actually a sliding scale. At one end, lots of very short trips, at the other end longer trips but less frequent. I.e. 4 to 6 trips a day all less than 3 miles or 1 to 3 trips a week that are 30 miles or more each.
Short frequent trips need more frequent oil changes. Longer but less frequent trips can tolerate a much longer oil change interval.
The bitter truth is… you can abuse the car, or take care of it exactly to the manufacturer’s specifications. And still be T-boned in a wreck and total the car tomorrow. Kind of like the old stories of the ultramarathoner in peak physical health dropping dead of a heart attack during a race.
Just drive the car as it suites you, change the oil 1-2 times a year. Worry about something else.
If you can take a longer drive once in awhile it wouldn’t hurt but really it depends on how you’re driving and servicing this once a year or so. Dad’s averaged 4,500mi/yr on both of his Honda CRV’s since 2006 servicing on time basis more than just mileage and has never had an issue.
My understanding is that the primary benefit of “longer” drives is to warm up the car long enough to remove accumulated water from the engine and exhaust, thus delaying corrosion, redistributing the lubricants and “working” exposed components like the brake system to avoid rust and crud buildup that could result in components “freezing up”.
Was important in older cars, made of older materials and using older lubricants but today, not so much.
Today stick with the manufacturer’s Severe Service schedule, consider a battery charger and you should be fine but depending on the climate and how it’s stored, to prevent mold and “that old car smell”, regularly exercising the interior climate controls (Heat and A/C) is a good idea.
Just because a vehicle is not driven that many miles does NOT mean they have to follow the severe service schedule. Low miles means you follow the TIME part of the recommended service schedule instead of the miles. Following the time will keep the engine in top shape. In this persons case, every 6 months would translate into changing the oil every 2500 miles, which is actually less than the miles recommended on the severe schedule.
Good point. And the type of driving has to be taken into account as well when devising the service plan. Low miles / year could be accomplished by a few long freeway drives, or by hundreds of 1/2 - 2 mile drives.
Read all the comments, and thanks to all that gave advice. Will do what some recommend about changing oil and hopefullly taking it out for a long run once a month, though it might be more than a month before I could do that.
Unfortunately, it’ll be sitting out in the driveway for the winter months (all year long, in fact). Husband’s car is in the garage since he goes to work every day. But I am having it rustproofed/undercoated since that’s what wrecked my Mazda.
Rust proofing is OK depending on how it is done, but undercoating can lead to more rust. If the undercoating blocks the drain holes, you will get rust in the sills, along door bottoms and other parts of the bottom of your car because water will get trapped between the interior and exterior panels.
That is not a good idea and a waste of money. A drive through car wash with the underside spray after winter and a long drive to dry the vehicle off will do more good.
+1
Additionally, I would not undercoat a car unless it was brand new. Inevitably, there will be some debris (possibly including salt residue) on the chassis of a car that has been driven for several years, and the undercoating would seal-in that debris.
We had a local auto talk radio show some years ago with Paul Brandt as the host. He was involved in racing. He used to say that they would put new bearings in a race engine and then run it around the track and tear the engine apart again. The bearing wear was evident just from the start up. So every time you start the car, you can expect some wear compared to driving it an additional 50 miles.
That’s why short drives are worse than long drives. Once it’s started, you don’t lose much by running it in addition to cleaning out th3 moisture in th3 system.
Of course I’m not a mechanic and never overhauled a car engine. I just get 2, 3, 4, 500,000 miles from my cars.
After 20 years of short trips the OP’s car rusted out.
Many forum members buy a new vehicle every ten years, what is the purpose of the long trips?
The OP’s Terrain has a 1.5-liter engine, not a 700 lb. V-8 from the 1970’s, it doesn’t take 25 miles to reach operating temperature. Also, PCV system have improved since then.
And how do I avoid getting road salt on the underside again when driving home from getting it all washed off in the car wash?? Didn’t that just negate the car wash??