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

[kdonnel]

Also, the fact that EVs weigh an avg of 30% more than gas cars means more wear and tear on highways, but less tax money (taxes on gas) coming in to fix them.

The majority of states charge an annual fee to capture the lost gas tax. EV are not getting a free ride. I pay a little over $200 per year in Georgia to pay my share of the gas tax.

 

[dez1978]

The majority of states charge an annual fee to capture the lost gas tax. EV are not getting a free ride. I pay a little over $200 per year in Georgia to pay my share of the gas tax.

My state only charges an extra $100 for annual registration fees for EVs, and you get a tax credit yearly. Which is great for the owner, but kinda makes for a loss on the $ for roadways.

On trips I stop for 30 minutes every 3 hours. I spend the majority of that time going to the bathroom. I also time my stops with tasks needed on the trip like shopping for breakfast/lunch items that will be eaten at the destination. I estimate I could save less than 30 minutes driving ICE on a typical road trip I take that has 2 DCFC sessions. And my car is a slower charging car. The 800v cars are significantly faster.

I'd be out on that point lol. I can get around 650 miles per tank on my car depending on the drive. Like I said earlier, I know they are great for many people, and lots of people have no problems with the range or the stopping or whatever. Just like lots of people will take flights with layovers to save a few bucks. I don't want to take any longer than I absolutely have to to get to my destination, so I will not book a flight with a layover unless that is my only choice, and I don't want to stop any more or any longer than I have to when driving.
Another consideration is the weather where you live. If you live in the south where there aren't super cold spells, not as much to consider, tho extreme heat can also affect the battery life. But if you live up north, where you have cold winters, you have to factor in that the cold decreases your range by up to 39%, and makes it take longer to charge. This past January in Chicago there were numerous stories where due to the sub zero weather, people were stranded because the cars lost so much range and it was so cold it was taking hours to charge them, or the charging stations were completely out of service. I've worked for the state in different buildings, both in the state capital, and out, including the hospital I work at now. Not one of the 4 places I've worked at in the last 5 has a single charging station or garage parking. And sure, proper planning can offset these issues some, lie panning your charges, paying more attention to your range, parking indoors etc. But even temps as high as 20 F can cause 12% drain on the battery as compared to 75 F temps. Of course cold weather affects ICE vehicles too. But my car is a diesel, which tend to have more problems in the cold than gas cars because it can gel. The only thing I have to do in the winter when I know it's going to be bitterly cold, like below zero wind chill advisory type cold, is make sure that I put some anti gel stuff in the tank, but further north, like Chicago, in the winter all the diesel is a winter blend with that already added. I think I've had to do that once each of the 2 winters I've had it. But that's it.
Again, there are so many factors that come into play in considering an EV, that there just isn't going to be one answer that works for everyone. Not everyone travels the same way, or has access to the same charging capabilities. We don't all need or want the same things out of a vehicle. A retired couple isn't going to want/need the same thing in a car as a couple with 3-4 kids in school. People who live in a metro area with 5 Targets and 37 Starbucks (give or take) within 10 mins and plenty of access to public transportation, aren't going to have the same needs as someone who lives 45 mins from a Target. Just like lots of families live within walking distance of their school, while some of us have an hour or more bus ride each way. Some people live within Uber distance of an airport, and some of us are 2 hours away. Some people put 5,000 miles on their car in a year, some do that in a month. But lots and lots of us have done the research, looked at all the things, and just have made the decision for whatever reason, an EV isn't the best choice for us at this time. Would it maybe work out better than I think? Sure. Is that a chance I'm willing to shell out I'm willing to shell out 90K for (a Rivian R1S is the closest thing to my Yukon XL w/ duramax)? Nope. For more $ the Rivian tows less, has a shorter range than my car, and less space.

 

[tvguy]

On trips I stop for 30 minutes every 3 hours. I spend the majority of that time going to the bathroom. I also time my stops with tasks needed on the trip like shopping for breakfast/lunch items that will be eaten at the destination. I estimate I could save less than 30 minutes driving ICE on a typical road trip I take that has 2 DCFC sessions. And my car is a slower charging car. The 800v cars are significantly faster.

It really depends on your situation. My son and DIL love their EV and it is their primary vehicle. They live in Los Angeles and the majority of their trips are 30 miles or less. But they keep their ICE for long trips, simply because with three children age 5 and younger, you don't want to have to stop for 30 to 45 minutes to charge.
My concern based on their ownership of 3 EVs is repairing them. Dealerships don't have the staff or interest in fixing them. Their Fiat 500e problems I will chalk up entirely to it being a Fiat. Their Hyundai Kona electric, well it did have multiple battery recalls, but the dealer either did not have the staff, or care to fix it. To the point that Hyundai stepped in and bought the car back, although the dealer did not cooperate with that effort either. I would say all is well as the ownership changed, but a co-worker of my daughter has a Kona EV and the new ownership needed two weeks to do a battery software update.
As for my son and DIL and their ID4, no issues with the battery or charging. My son says the car controls are odd and software sluggish. And when he needed a tire after hitting a pothole, it took 4 days to be one shipped because nobody in Los Angeles stocked the specialized tire.
Service would be my big concern, as evidenced by half the Buick Dealers refusing to upgrade to fix EV models, and GM buying them out in 2023.

 

[dez1978]

It really depends on your situation. My son and DIL love their EV and it is their primary vehicle. They live in Los Angeles and the majority of their trips are 30 miles or less. But they keep their ICE for long trips, simply because with three children age 5 and younger, you don't want to have to stop for 30 to 45 minutes to charge.
My concern based on their ownership of 3 EVs is repairing them. Dealerships don't have the staff or interest in fixing them. Their Fiat 500e problems I will chalk up entirely to it being a Fiat. Their Hyundai Kona electric, well it did have multiple battery recalls, but the dealer either did not have the staff, or care to fix it. To the point that Hyundai stepped in and bought the car back, although the dealer did not cooperate with that effort either. I would say all is well as the ownership changed, but a co-worker of my daughter has a Kona EV and the new ownership needed two weeks to do a battery software update.
As for my son and DIL and their ID4, no issues with the battery or charging. My son says the car controls are odd and software sluggish. And when he needed a tire after hitting a pothole, it took 4 days to be one shipped because nobody in Los Angeles stocked the specialized tire.
Service would be my big concern, as evidenced by half the Buick Dealers refusing to upgrade to fix EV models, and GM buying them out in 2023.

That’s also another valid concern. It’s all fine and dandy that the warranty covers most of the major issues for such a long time. But if there isn’t any place that can or will fix the problems what good is the warranty? And heck, if LA dealerships are having problems with time or staff to fix them, what does that mean for all of us in the more rural areas of the country? It took over 6 months to fix my friends Bolt after hitting a deer. Who can be without a car that long? And insurance is only going to cover a rental so long. I think they got one for a couple months before insurance stopped covering it.

 

[fla4fun]

Now, my new car has all the digital bells and whistles and is all like, "It's time for your regular maintenance. Tap to make an appointent." It's crazy.

When I take my car in for an oil change, the technician must do some sort of reset in the on board computer because I get a message on my nav screen that says something like “Oil change due in 500 miles. Make service appointment now.” If it was hardwired into the car’s computer system, it would eventually get out of whack, because no one goes in precisely at that mile on the odometer every single time. Sometimes I am a few miles short and sometimes a few miles over. My car just had its 30,000 mile service visit, so she’s a happy camper. I am tempted to take her on a road trip!

To answer the OPs question, when I was working, I went by miles, and it worked out for two changes per year. While I am unemployed, I am going by time, and get it changed once a year. Once I am working again, I will go back to mileage based oil changes.

 

[tvguy]

When I take my car in for an oil change, the technician must do some sort of reset in the on board computer because I get a message on my nav screen that says something like “Oil change due in 500 miles. Make service appointment now.” If it was hardwired into the car’s computer system, it would eventually get out of whack, because no one goes in precisely at that mile on the odometer every single time. Sometimes I am a few miles short and sometimes a few miles over. My car just had its 30,000 mile service visit, so she’s a happy camper. I am tempted to take her on a road trip!

To answer the OPs question, when I was working, I went by miles, and it worked out for two changes per year. While I am unemployed, I am going by time, and get it changed once a year. Once I am working again, I will go back to mileage based oil changes.

You can reset that oil change tracker yourself. It is in the menus. Or do a search of YouTube because seems like there are videos for how to reset that specific to every car. Last time I had my oil change, the mechanic asked me if I knew how to do it on my Camry, otherwise, he would look it up on youtube. Since I was right there I did it. And I have changed the oil myself on my daughters Fusion and she reset the monitor herself.

 

[LuvOrlando]

So for regular care is it silly to get oil changed once every 6 months?

I feel like changing it with the wiper blades might be a reasonable idea, I don't want to waste money but the oil seems so important to engine care.

 

[firefly_ris]

If it's not a budget breaker, I don't see why not just do it, then you know you've got fresh in there even if you really don't direly "need" it at the mileage you're doing per year. At that time, they'll also be having a look at how the rest of your fluids are looking and maybe catch something else you might not have noticed. I change my own oil and I tend to do it more frequently than is really required with full synthetic oil, but it makes me take a look around underneath while I'm down there, and then under the hood just do a general once-over everything. I'm getting ready to take it on a long road trip next week, so I'm doing a full synthetic change on Sunday so I have peace of mind knowing nothing's burned off and it has fresh oil for the trip. I paid $8 for the filter and $43 for 10 quarts of full synthetic so it's worth it to me. But my truck's specific engine has known issues with possibly eating a quart between changes and so that is something in the back of my mind already -- I guess it would all depend on the behavior of your particular vehicle's engine. I intend to keep this truck for at least another 7-10 years (it is 6 years old now) so the cost of materials to change the oil more frequently is worth it to me even if it doesn't absolutely require it.

 

[fla4fun]

So for regular care is it silly to get oil changed once every 6 months?

I feel like changing it with the wiper blades might be a reasonable idea, I don't want to waste money but the oil seems so important to engine care.

Do you trust your mechanic? If so, ask them for advice.

If you don’t have a good mechanic or take it to quick change places, look online for a forum dedicated to your make and model of car (there is a website forum for just about every one). You will get more specialized information based on the needs of your particular car and when you ask questions, the responses you get will be more precise than asking here on a Disney board.

The frequency is going to depend on what car you have, how much you drive it, etc. It’s not a one size fits all response. Everyone is going to have a different answer, which can be confusing to sift through.

 

[_19disnA]

Modern cars all have computers that calculate when the next oil change is needed. Look in your owner's manual to see how to reset yours since the exact buttons to push vary by car. The computer likely uses a number of factors like distance driven, how many starts/stops, time since last oil change and perhaps considers the climate where you drive (hot/cold). I would assume each car company has their own formulas and some types of engines require more frequent oil changes.

 

[tvguy]

So for regular care is it silly to get oil changed once every 6 months?

I feel like changing it with the wiper blades might be a reasonable idea, I don't want to waste money but the oil seems so important to engine care.

I change my oil more frequently than my wiper blades. By a long shot.