In January I purchased a 2020 Outlander which had 36000 miles on it. The dealership did a oil change and such prior to my purchase. Since January I have put about 1000 miles on the car with about 90% of it being city street driving. For the most part I only drive on average maybe 1 time per week and on rare occasions 2 times. I work from home so don’t go out often. I checked my oil the other day and it still looks clean. My question is I grew up being told you changed oil every 3 months or 3000 miles, but I know oils and engines have changed over time. So, given how little I drive when would be the best option for an oil change. Wait till I get near 3000 miles…do it say every 6 months or so or watch my oil and if I start to see it turn darker then change.
Do an oil change once a year if less than 5000 miles. I’d suggest using synthetic oil.
It has been a long time since the 3 month 3000 mile recommendation. I would suggest changing the brake fluid every 3-4 years and replacing tires at about 8 years no matter how much tread they have since they tend to dry rot with time.
You asked in 2010 if 3000 mile oil changes were still recommended. You were told then to look in the manual . The same still applies but with your current driving pattern you should use the severe service schedule.
That type of infrequent use can result in water and gasoline accumulation in the oil sump. The longer those substances are in contact with the engine’s internal parts, the more likely they will corrode or otherwise damage something expensive to fix. I wouldn’t want that stuff sitting in my oil pan more than 6 months.
If you’re not sure whether this applies in your case, suggest to send an oil sample to a testing facility for chemical analysis.
Good point on short drives. Also causes the battery to lose its charge. I’d change oil every 12 months and drive it 30+ minutes once every week or two.
Usually on Saturday I go out and run all my errands for the week and usually end driving for a bit as I rotate the stores I shop at. In the summer I get out a tad more like going to a ballgame or concert…but in the winter not much …in fact last winter when we got really cold weather in I didn’t go anywhere for over 12 days and ended up with a dead battery. I have since bought a jump box I have here at home in case I need to jump my battery.
So you are saying that if you only drive 1000 miles a year to only change your oil once every 5 years???
@indy4192, please ignore Roberts advise to only go on mileage alone…You go by 5,000 miles or once a year, which ever comes 1st… unless stated otherwise in your owners manual…
In that case, I would do Severe Service miles in the vehicle manual.
OR??
Which one, you can’t have both??
If the 2nd one, then you need to delete the 1st post…