What is the longest you waited in between auto oil changes?

[LuvOrlando]

Today I realized I was close to a year on oil change for a car with very low mile usage and when I called the shop owner I normally go to he said if the miles stay super low it can be 1-2 years in between. I had no idea it could go this long and am shocked. Anyone out there wait so long? Maybe it is ok for so long because it is synthetic?

All sorts of car stuff lately for me.

 

[tvguy]

Not everybody agrees with the oil change schedule some auto makers recommend.
Our 2020 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Toyota says every 12 months or 10,000 miles. It uses full synthetic oil The longest I have gone is one year and 4,500 miles.
Our 2018 Ford Flex. Ford says every 6 months or 6,000 miles. It uses synthetic blend. The longest I have gone is 6 months and 2,500 miles.
Our 1965 Ford Mustang. Ford said (in 1965) every 3 months or 3,000 miles. It uses plain old oil. The longest I have gone is one year and 600 miles.
My mechanic changes oil when his customers tell him to, but if asked, he says he says 3 months or 3,000 miles. Given that he can't be making much money doing oil changes, I don't think drumming up business is his motive for shorter oil change intervals. As he puts it, he makes a whole lot more money overhauling your engine that he would make on doing all the oil changes he recommends.

 

[disneychrista]

I get my oil changed & tires rotated every 5,000 miles. Which is generally once every 10 months to a year.

 

[cvjw]

My Honda Pilot tells me when I need maintenance. When the maintenance minder light comes on, it tells you which services to ask for at the dealer. My oil change light comes on about once a year - or 8000 miles. The dealer uses synthetic oil.

 

[barkley]

Today I realized I was close to a year on oil change for a car with very low mile usage and when I called the shop owner I normally go to he said if the miles stay super low it can be 1-2 years in between. I had no idea it could go this long and am shocked. Anyone out there wait so long? Maybe it is ok for so long because it is synthetic?

All sorts of car stuff lately for me.

we run into this with both our vehicles. neither get driven a tremendous amount so if we went by the mileage it could a year OR TWO between changes. because we live on a dirt road it's not a good idea with the dust to go that long so we roll in to our mechanic and have it done at least once per year.

 

[CynBeth]

When I got my car was told I only need an oil change when my oil life is at 10%.
I only drive once or twice a week so it can be a year or more until I reach that.

 

[dizneegirl]

Haven't had one since I bought my electric car in 2018.

 

[TippyThomas]

At 12 months or 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

 

[jo-jo]

We also put very little mileage on our cars. We get once a year.

 

[lovin'fl]

I try to do about every 6 months. We drive from FL to MD quite often so we need to do more service. But sometimes I delay to 8-10 months.

 

[firefly_ris]

I change oil about every 4k in the F150 using full synthetic.
The Maverick has "intelligent oil sensor" so I keep an eye on that but it's good for about 10k on full synthetic it seems -- new car so we just did the first change recently. However we put an average of about 12k miles per year on our vehicles, so I'm doing the F150 fairly regularly. I have the V8 which is known for sometimes eating oil so to me better safe than sorry and I can keep a better eye on all fluid levels when I'm changing it more frequently.

My dad has a 2006 Corvette that only has I think about 14k on the clock, he just did its third oil change (!!). Because it doesn't get driven a lot he will drive it up and down the street once a week or so, because cars that sit a long time can get water condensation mixed with the oil. Everything looked good when he drained it this last time so I guess that is working.

 

[goofyernmost]

I have never based it on time, just mileage. Back in the day 3000 miles was the most but with the synthetic oil of today most autos recommend 10000 miles. I find that a little too long so now I set it for 7000 which takes almost a year anyway. No problems at all.

Also back "in the day" many people recommended instead of changing the oil, the filter was more important. Mainly that was because it was not uncommon for cars, especially older ones, to use about 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles so you were kind of changing the oil as you went along. At the time an oil change and filter only cost about $20 and most of us changed it ourselves for about $8.00. Today a synthetic oil change and filter can get to over $100. and very few do their own. On the plus side todays engines are built with such exact tolerances that if they burn oil, there is something drastically wrong and not normal. I'd like to take this opportunity to say that in the line of maintenance, nothing is more important than paying attention to the oil. No matter how expensive it may seem to have the oil changed it is nothing compared to replacing the car or the engine because it just gave out because it became all clogged up with sludge.

 

[_19disnA]

The computer in all modern cars does a calculation to determine what your remaining oil life is. I believe it uses various factors besides mileage/time and likely the exact formula varies from one manufacturer to the next. Cars with a turbocharger probably needs more frequent oil changes. Changing the oil more often doesn't hurt anything, but simply is an added cost. Some people believe in changing the oil on their new car within a few months of buying the vehicle. There are additives in new car engine oils to help with the break-in period, so changing it too soon after purchase is not recommended. Obviously how far and often you drive varies by individual. The filter should always be changed when doing an oil change.

In much older cars that didn't have a computer, they would recommend a standard number of months/miles between changes based on the specific type of engine.

 

[MillauFr]

Haven't had one since I bought my electric car in 2018.

That is risky. I would do it at least once per year. Have them also check your fuel filter. It can get clogged on EVs.

 

[Meriweather]

5 months or 5000 miles.
I get it done very 5 months......with less miles than 5000

 

[LuvOrlando]

Haven't had one since I bought my electric car in 2018.

Awesome, I find myself wondering though, how long is battery life? Is it expensive to replace? Hoping they got this figured out, it is the biggest deterrent for me.

 

[lynxstch]

1 year, I don't drive it all that often.

 

[soccerdad72]

Longest, I think was a year - my wife's car doesn't get nearly as many miles as mine, so it's usually time vs. miles that we have to have hers changed.

 

[_19disnA]

EV's is a totally different discussion and you can find a few older threads on here. Generally seems like those who have an EV think they are wonderful/amazing and can't understand that where/how far they drive might not be the same as everyone else.

 

[kdonnel]

EV's is a totally different discussion and you can find a few older threads on here. Generally seems like those who have an EV think they are wonderful/amazing and can't understand that where/how far they drive might not be the same as everyone else.

Or the people who have not yet experienced an EV think that every "truth" they have heard about an EV is true.

The inability to see the other view point goes both ways.