Oil change frequency

[Royal Tiger]

I use Amzoil and change it every 1000 miles and the start of every season after she hibernates all winter in a heated garage. Sometimes it gets done less than 1000 miles if I don’t drive it much and I just do it for piece of mind. To me it’s cheap insurance.

[ElderJ]

I've seen this question get kicked around in many a forum, and just about every reputable mechanic I know says to change your oil at least once per year (at MOST once every 18 months). I'm told it's due to water and other contaminants getting into the oil over the course of the year (changing seasons and what not) rather than the oil breaking down due to mileage.



I'm no expert; just parroting what I've been told multiple times.


On a side note, I did get banned in a Honda/Toyota forum by the supermoderator on this topic. He took offense to my stating that many a mechanic advises changes the oil at least once per year, rebutting that unnecessary oil changes are bad for the environment and place unnecessary expenses on maintenance. He called me some unflowery names, which I unfortunately returned in kind, and voila...permaban.

[Gstick]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

If your miles are low enough for just an annual oil change, do it right before, not right after winter storage.

What is the reasoning behind changing it before winter versus after sitting all winter,(in a heated garage) then changing it right before "driving season" ?

Just curious, Thanks.

[lbls1]

Its good to change the oil at least yearly if you do not put a lot of mileage on it. This is what I do.

The existing oil probably is not doing damage to the engine; However I would not do long distance driving or put hard tasks to the car without changing the oil.

[14Black1LESS]

Originally Posted by ElderJ

I've seen this question get kicked around in many a forum, and just about every reputable mechanic I know says to change your oil at least once per year (at MOST once every 18 months). I'm told it's due to water and other contaminants getting into the oil over the course of the year (changing seasons and what not) rather than the oil breaking down due to mileage.



I'm no expert; just parroting what I've been told multiple times.


On a side note, I did get banned in a Honda/Toyota forum by the supermoderator on this topic. He took offense to my stating that many a mechanic advises changes the oil at least once per year, rebutting that unnecessary oil changes are bad for the environment and place unnecessary expenses on maintenance. He called me some unflowery names, which I unfortunately returned in kind, and voila...permaban.

If you are getting water in the oil then I'd say you have bigger problems than oil just sitting in the car over a long period of time.

If GM put an algorithm in the car to tell you to change the oil even if it hasn't reached the designated mileage, then they forgot to put it in mine. I have gone over three years without changing the oil and never got a notification and I'm almost at 2 year now since the last oil change with no notification. My car hardly ever gets driven but I do start the car about every two weeks and it's driven about once or twice every two months. I've never had any issues with the oil sitting in the car for longer than a year. That's just my experience though.

[ElderJ]

Originally Posted by 14Black1LESS

If GM put an algorithm in the car to tell you to change the oil even if it hasn't reached the designated mileage, then they forgot to put it in mine.

The Maintenance Schedule actually specifies it. I'm also not aware of any vehicle monitoring system alerting the owner of an oil change based on time rather than miles.

[silversleeper]

Originally Posted by ElderJ

I've seen this question get kicked around in many a forum, and just about every reputable mechanic I know says to change your oil at least once per year (at MOST once every 18 months). I'm told it's due to water and other contaminants getting into the oil over the course of the year (changing seasons and what not) rather than the oil breaking down due to mileage.
I'm no expert; just parroting what I've been told multiple times.
On a side note, I did get banned in a Honda/Toyota forum by the supermoderator on this topic. He took offense to my stating that many a mechanic advises changes the oil at least once per year, rebutting that unnecessary oil changes are bad for the environment and place unnecessary expenses on maintenance. He called me some unflowery names, which I unfortunately returned in kind, and voila...permaban.

I was thinking the same thing. I don't like to do un necessary things for time money and environment, not to mention chances of stripped drainplug and other things.
One thing you can do is leave it halfway on dipstick e.g. half quart low and boost it with half a quart like 6mo into your oil change.
We hope to boil out the water but oil might not get hot enough and a combustion by-product is H20 and it bypasses rings into the oil along with some small amount of condensation depending on the environment and heat cycles.
When you said my mechanic said, I cringed, thinking here we go with another 3,000 miles opinion as if we are in the 1970s still.
This topic brought out so many people insistant on 3,000 mi changes a few years ago. Maybe a few watched e.g. the mobil 1 video and teardown of a 500,000 mi engine that had long oil changes and no wear or sludge? Nah some people never learn. They probably feel outnumbered and just aren't saying anything now.

[xstuntman]

Originally Posted by ElderJ

.... unnecessary oil changes are bad for the environment and place unnecessary expenses on maintenance. He called me some unflowery names, which I unfortunately returned in kind, and voila...permaban.

I'd give him a stroke since I pour the old motor oil on the bottom of my fence line to keep away termites and kill weeds.
Twofer!

Edit: Threefer since it's kills pear cactus too and not much will.

[ElderJ]

Originally Posted by silversleeper

When you said my mechanic said, I cringed, thinking here we go with another 3,000 miles opinion as if we are in the 1970s still.

My Chilton Repair Manual lists 3k miles or 3 months as the scheduled oil change, but I've never had any reputable mechanic ever list an oil change at that low a mileage/date range. Most of them put me at the 5k-7k range unless I do a lot of highway driving, in which case they bump it higher.

[ZED SLED]

Originally Posted by ElderJ

The Maintenance Schedule actually specifies it. I'm also not aware of any vehicle monitoring system alerting the owner of an oil change based on time rather than miles.

Mine comes on at 9% at approx 49 weeks since last change. Only put 300 miles on it since then. Pretty much the same every year. Most of my 9800 total miles were in the the first 2 years. Might be something with 6th gen though. Don't recall my 5th gens doing that. 2016 Silverado doesn't either and only a few hundred are put on it every year. So might be something they recently started doing.

[jokrz187]

i have a 2015 camaro 1 SS and i have a cam and plan to super charge it later this year. It is not my daily driver, i drive it on the weekends if i can. i like to drive it hard and plan to run it on track. i don't put 2k on it in a year. i have a heated garage and put her on a trickle charger during the winter. I still change my oil once a year, it cost me under $60 bucks. For me its a peace of mind and i know the oil is good but i do drive my car rough like it should be IMO. And it justifies my quickjack lift that i have. lol

[NOT A 45]

Originally Posted by 14Black1LESS

If you are getting water in the oil then I'd say you have bigger problems than oil just sitting in the car over a long period of time.

If GM put an algorithm in the car to tell you to change the oil even if it hasn't reached the designated mileage, then they forgot to put it in mine. I have gone over three years without changing the oil and never got a notification and I'm almost at 2 year now since the last oil change with no notification. My car hardly ever gets driven but I do start the car about every two weeks and it's driven about once or twice every two months. I've never had any issues with the oil sitting in the car for longer than a year. That's just my experience though.

Apparently you have the only car that doesn't work this way........every single vehicle we sell work like this. This is published through GM not me.

Oil Life Monitor Calculation Pathways:

Engine revolutions – Oil life starts with a fixed number of revolutions and will decrease with each revolution. Cold / hot coolant temperature readings have multipliers that reduce engine revolutions pathway quicker depending on how far from the normal oil temperature the vehicle is operating.
Note: If the engine coolant temperature gets above 260°F (126°C), engine overheat condition, the oil life will go to 0%.

Mileage from last reset – Starting with MY 2013, the OLM is capped at 7,500 miles (12,070 km) for all GM powertrains except the Volt. In perfect conditions, a vehicle would reach 7500 miles (12,070 km) from the last reset and the oil life left would be 0%.
Note: For the 2016-2018 MY Camaro, 2014-2018 MY CTS and 2015-2018 MY ATS equipped with the 2.0L LTG sold in Europe, the OLM is capped at 30,000 km / 1 year.

Time – This pathway is a liner function, a fixed decrease in oil life for a given time after the oil life is reset. The oil life will drop to 0% after 1 year regardless of the amount of engine revolutions or how many miles since the reset.

[Tony-8]

There are a lot of things in life that may not be "necessary," but we do them anyway, because we are all different and do our own individual risk-benefit-cost analysis.

I daily drive the car in good weather, about 10K miles a year, and store her all winter. I change the oil (Mobil 1) at about 50% oil life during the driving season, and not too long before and after I store it. I also try not to run the engine above 2000 RPMs until the oil temp reaches 180-degrees. Are any of these things necessary? Probably not. I may be crazy, but it's not that much money to spend on my favorite ride ever, and one I intend to pass down someday. :-)

[14Black1LESS]

Originally Posted by NOT A 45

Apparently you have the only car that doesn't work this way........every single vehicle we sell work like this. This is published through GM not me.

Oil Life Monitor Calculation Pathways:

Engine revolutions – Oil life starts with a fixed number of revolutions and will decrease with each revolution. Cold / hot coolant temperature readings have multipliers that reduce engine revolutions pathway quicker depending on how far from the normal oil temperature the vehicle is operating.
Note: If the engine coolant temperature gets above 260°F (126°C), engine overheat condition, the oil life will go to 0%.

Mileage from last reset – Starting with MY 2013, the OLM is capped at 7,500 miles (12,070 km) for all GM powertrains except the Volt. In perfect conditions, a vehicle would reach 7500 miles (12,070 km) from the last reset and the oil life left would be 0%.
Note: For the 2016-2018 MY Camaro, 2014-2018 MY CTS and 2015-2018 MY ATS equipped with the 2.0L LTG sold in Europe, the OLM is capped at 30,000 km / 1 year.

Time – This pathway is a liner function, a fixed decrease in oil life for a given time after the oil life is reset. The oil life will drop to 0% after 1 year regardless of the amount of engine revolutions or how many miles since the reset.

Apparently so. I'm not doubting what you are saying, I'm just stating that mine has never done that.