My car was due a service last year but it had only done 4k miles since the one 12 months prior so I didn't bother. It's coming up to another 12 months and has done fewer than 1k further miles.
I read that oil shouldn't be left in the car year after year, opinions on that if you will.
Then there are these oil sucker-outer machines which make DIY change easier, opinions on these seem to differ....
They used to be on many petrol station forecourts in the sixties and you could do an oil change on the spot. In those days we also used an intermediate flushing oil.
The main argument for the formula "12k or 12 months, whichever is sooner" is about the fact that oil oxidation leads to the formation of acids which, in the presence of traces of moisture in the oil can corrode ferrous and other surfaces. Given that modern oils have pretty good anti-corrosion and anti-oxidation additives (also semi-synth or fully synth oils will oxidise less), I think you will get away with this. My cars do less than 12k a year, I tend to get an oil change and service with the MOT because I'm not particularly cost-sensitive. But I only "maintained on failure" with my old tractor, now replaced by an ATV so they were both running on five to 10 year old oil. Similarly for my assorted mowers, strimmers, trimmers, and chain saws.
I remember the days where you did an annual oil change on gearboxes and back axles.
I did see an oil sucker in Lidl a few weeks ago, I just managed to resist it on the grounds that I've left this to my mechanic mate for ten years or so.
I?ve always changed my oil every year ( or 6 mths in the days it was 6 mths etc) or, in the days I did a lot of miles, at the recommended mileage if earlier. For the cost of oil and filter, plus a minimal amount of time, I regard it was money well spent.
Our Ducato has a specified 24 mth / 24 k ( I think that is the mileage) interval. I follow it but it seems a long time. That said, I suspect most do 24k miles in a year or less while motorhomes - even well used ones- tend to do a few thousand per year. The recommended oil is £80 a fill !
As for the pumps which suck out the oil, I wouldn?t use them. Some Smart cars don?t have a sump plug ( I think the 450s or early 451s.). A standard modification is to replace the sump with a modified one. When we bought our Smart Car, the first thing I checked while looking for one is they had a sump plug. Ours was a 451- we replaced it last summer.
Cheapskates used 50:50 oil and paraffin for that!
If you leave it in for long enough then the oil filter casing will rust away from the outside! If you are hardly using the vehicle then it strikes me that the oil is fairly safe from accumulating debris. Just check from time to time that there is still enough oil in the sump.
I'd be more worried about hydraulic brake fluid absorbing moisture than the oil becoming too old. Provided there is still enough of it I would be inclined to leave it for up to 3-5 years between services. Modern synthetic oils are now fairly resistant to forming acidic compounds.
I do fairly high mileage so the problem hardly ever arises. Lockdown years have been unusual but it still had one oil service last summer.
My car was in similar position last year, garage was not doing collect/deliver as they'd furloughed all their drivers, not doing loan cars, so then it involves two buses or a bus and a 3 mile walk each way.
So I bought one of the oil suckers and did it myself.
I can't see any good reason not to do that chemistry or physics wise.
The main reason for changing the oil is combustion products ending up in the oil, mostly acids and that isn't going to happen as much if the car isn't used much. Tho I spose you can claim that if say the few miles a year are due to lots of very short trips say just to do the weekly food shopping, the engine is less likely to get hot enough for long enough to boil off the acids as much.
But otoh, how many actually keep a car for long enough to see enough corrosion in the engine to need the car being replaced even with those who never bother to change the oil at all.
Can't see how they can get most of the old oil out. But again, does it really matter ?
I had no oil change during lockdown years but only did about 7K miles in the two years. I did however when visiting the supermarkets do a long round trip to ensure that the engine was up to temperature and I also exercised the AC every time to ensure that the seals were lubricated. The 7k miles did however include 8 off 4/5hour motorway journeys.
I don't have expert knowledge, but would be dubious about using a sucker because it may not get any sludge out and you wouldn't be able to check for metallic particles. My days of DIY car repairs (including engine/gearbox rebuilds and two kit cars) are behind me but it's not difficult to cut-open the side of an oil can and undo the sump plug (or wasn't when I last did it). One concern with piston aero engines is that the moist air enters as the engine cools and leads to corrosion of the cam (in particular) and contamination of the oil - hence the need to regularly run the engine and to make sure it is held at temperature ... even if not flown. I can't see why a car engine would be different (?)
Why? Pressed steel sumps never did, even though much of the paint flaked off in fifteen years or so. I have never seen significant corrosion on an oil filter.
Paraffin's perfectly effective. AFAIK there's no need to use an intermediate mix, just add a little paraffin to the existing oil, warm up & drain out. Only if you've got a horrid situation in there would flushes be worthwhile.
Main dealers use them, don't they?
Wasn't this just another garage scam? Charge for an engine flush but in reality just drain the old and put in the new.
That would surprise me, but I've been surprised before. Time to switch to an independent.
I have at about the 5 year mark. A combination of our damp UK winters and salty grit impacts (and a not very friendly location of the filter). Low mileage vehicle too but often used in bad weather and quite likely put away in a nice warm garage whilst still wet with salt.
It didn't quite leak but it was definitely well on its way.
My car uses a synthetic oil...
Is synthetic oil better for your car's engine than conventional oil? Yes. Although conventional oil provides adequate lubrication, it doesn't compete with synthetic oil's overall engine protection and performance.
Synthetic oils are created with base oils which are of a higher quality than conventional, less-refined base oils. These higher quality base oils make synthetics:
Less likely to acidify and oxidise More chemically stable Harder to break down and lose desired qualities Consumer Reports says that fully synthetic oils provide superior engine protection and performance over any synthetic blend or conventional motor oil.
This might only be for the US market, but be aware of what fully synthetic means:
Most non-franchised garages scam the punter with the line "Oil flush treatment £NN.NNN" on the invoice, when in fact they have nothing whatsoever.
+1000
Oil contains a variety of anti-corrosive additives and modern engines rely on them. The days when a garage could buy 200 gallons of 20/50 and use it in every car are long gone. Visit any garage and you will see a collection of oil containers with maybe a litre or 1/2 a litre left over, and each will have a different specification for different vehicles.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.