Wait, I have an actual question.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck)
06/03/2018 at 22:28 • Filed to: Zoidberg cannot into modern car care

I have a modernish VVT-i engine that is 1,500 miles short of the next recommended oil change, BUT it’s been 10 months since it was last done. Should I change it anyways? What kind of schedule should I have for this car moving forward, given that I drive maybe 4,500 miles annually?

It’s got relatively low miles and I like it a lot... I want to treat the engine well.

DISCUSSION (30)

Wagon Guy drives a Boostang > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:30

I’d go 5000 miles or yearly, whatever comes first.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:31

Change it and pet Luna.

It’s a win for everyone.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:36

Your maintenance schedule may have time and mileage recommendations. But once annually should be plenty.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:36

If you’re doing that few miles per year

Change it annually

That’s my 2c

dogisbadob > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:36

once a year

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > pip bip - choose Corrour
06/03/2018 at 22:40

Kinja'd!!!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
06/03/2018 at 22:41

Lexus says an oil change every 5k along with a tire rotation. So I guess whichever comes first is a safe bet: one year or 5k.

His Stigness > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:42

If you drive it on a regular basis and get the oil up to temp long enough to evaporate any condensation then only go by miles.

The conventional wisdom is to change synthetic, regardless of miles, ever year. But it’s a waste if you are driving it on a regular basis.

If you’re super keen on keeping that car forever and taking great care of it then I would recommend taking oil samples at each oil change. Go to Blackstone-labs.com to order free test kits. And if you’re not doing oil changes yourself then also order their vacuum pump so you can take a sample before you go get it changed.

Doing oil samples has helped me refine my additive package and also pick the best oils for my cars. I’ve also used the oil samples to show that I was right to switch from 5W40 to 0W40 on my Mercedes.

And doing oil samples on a continual basis can catch potential failures before they become a problem. IE: headgasket failure before you reach catastrophic failure. Component failures within the engine that can grenade it. Stuff like that.

gettingoldercarguy > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:44

What oil?

wafflesnfalafel > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:45

Even with full synthetic I don’t go much more than 6 months on my wife’s car even though she doesn’t put a bunch of miles on it. Maybe it’s overkill...

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > gettingoldercarguy
06/03/2018 at 22:51

5W30 Synthetic

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:52

That 5k rotation and oil change also specifies 6 months if the mileage isn’t met.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:52

5k or once a year for sure.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
06/03/2018 at 22:53

linky plox

HammerheadFistpunch > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 22:56

Use synthetic. Change every 5000. Wish I could get away with driving less than 5k annually

gettingoldercarguy > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 23:04

Fine for more miles than that on the straight six.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 23:10

5k is usually equivalent to 6 months by most standards

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 23:20

Go to LexusDrivers.com and download you warranty and service guide.

E92M3 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 23:23

I recently did a Blackstone Analysis on 2 year old oil from my truck. I only drove it about 4k miles in the 2 years, but it passed their test and they said to extend my interval out to 6k miles on the next change. It was Castrol Synthetic.

Maybe if it was conventional oil it would be a different story?

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > HammerheadFistpunch
06/03/2018 at 23:24

Well you’re forgetting I do like 20k in the Tacoma...

Future Heap Owner > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/03/2018 at 23:46

As long as you’re not mostly doing short trips for those 5k miles, I’d stay with once a year, especially on synthetic. I have exactly a modern-ish VVT-i 4-banger, although I’ve only had it for a year and changed the oil twice.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/04/2018 at 01:07

We do 10,000km/6200 mike intervals on all our fleet vehicles at work, and some of them get worked pretty hard. No time factor. We just surplussed a truck with 455,000km of mountain-work-truck duties, with no engine issues. Thing didn’t even seep oil.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > His Stigness
06/04/2018 at 01:29

Thanks. I think I may keep this one for a while and I’ve never had a car with less than 100k so I just might start doing the tests you suggest.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/04/2018 at 01:30

I have seen two opinions. One was to simply go to 5k each time (I drive maybe 5k a year in my car and that average is going down) and the other was 6 months or 5k, whichever comes first. I’ve been erring on the side of the latter rather than the former and switched dealers so they’d quit treating me like I’m stupid for wanting my oil changed so often.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/04/2018 at 01:30

I’m in same boat with about 5-6k annual miles and a high strung vvt engine and I only change oil annually with synthetic. I change in the fall because I would like to think fresh 5-20 is better in the cold months.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
06/04/2018 at 01:39

I see the conundrum. It’s like on one hand, changing your oil too often could be a waste of time, money and good oil. On the other hand, you can’t hurt your car by changing too often, and maybe you’re preventing even the slightest amount of extra wear by not waiting and extra six months...

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/04/2018 at 01:53

Yeah, that’s pretty much how I see it. But I also see my car as something I’m likely to keep for decades. Unlike the average person that only keeps a car about 3-4 years, I’m expecting to keep this car until it has at least 100k miles, which is at least 20 years.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
06/04/2018 at 01:56

Ive never had a car longer than 5 years, but that’s a byproduct of hand-me-downs and beaters.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/04/2018 at 02:19

Yeah, you’ve had an interesting collection of cars, but I see how their being old and things you’d ultimately need to replace would make it hard to know what to do with a modern car.

For me, I’ve found modern cars to be ridiculously reliable (except the excrement of GM and the various incarnations of Chrysler) and I feel weird going by the infrequent maintenance schedules they have. The cycles seem to be designed around an assumption that the car will be driven a lot and have a short lifespan.

Then again, the way you and I use our cars is weird. Even driving 7.5k/year is considered low mileage by most insurers. Most males in our age ranges put nearly 20k miles a year on our cars...

Shift24 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
06/04/2018 at 11:39

I feel ether is fine but on my Camaro which sees about 5k a year, I go by the oils dirtiness and sometimes smell. If the oil seems dirty, change it. If it smells dirty change it