[Marko]

I don’t drive my 18 Camaro SS much. But I Love the car. I’m very happy with it. In just one year I put only 1000 miles on it and the oil still looks brand new. Should I wait another 6 months to a year to change the oil? I use Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W30.

I also drive a 19 Scat Pack Charger that I drive more often. The Camaro is a garage queen, weekend toy.

[Glen e]

You can probably keep the same oil for two years and have no problems. However oil manufacturers and vehicle manufacturers will tell you that they want the oil changed every year, because condensation can add contaminants to the oil.

[foshjowler]

There are some people here that are very OCD about their oil, I'm not one of those people. It's important, but you're car isn't going to go boom because you stretched the life a little. I'd go off the oil life monitor, it's a fairly reliable tool to know when it's time to change.

[kropscamaro16]

i dont drive my car much either but i change it about twice a year full synthetic torco sr1 5w40

[SSDan]

Originally Posted by foshjowler

I'd go off the oil life monitor, it's a fairly reliable tool to know when it's time to change.

The oil monitor keeps track of the time as well as the mileage. So, your oil monitor will count down to zero by the end of one year since the last change even if you don't drive the car.

I'd go with annual changes. That seems prudent and a reasonably cheap measure to protect a low mileage vehicle.

Now go park that scat pack and drive your Camaro!

[enzia35]

At least once a year.

[Mark114]

Originally Posted by SSDan

The oil monitor keeps track of the time as well as the mileage. So, your oil monitor will count down to zero by the end of one year since the last change even if you don't drive the car.

I'd go with annual changes. That seems prudent and a reasonably cheap measure to protect a low mileage vehicle.

This is good advice. You wouldn’t want GM to deny an engine warranty claim because you didn’t follow the maintenance schedule.

[2SS Capt]

Oil is cheap, engines aren't, just change it, it isn't that expensive...

[RWT]

Here's a quote from my owners manual:

"The engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year and the oil life system must be reset." (emphasis added)

So the question, should you wait another 6 months, the answer is no. Would it harm your car, the answer is also no. Could it give you a warranty issue, the answer is yes. Can I think of a valid reason not to change your oil ASAP, no.

JMHO
No expertise implied or expressed

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by RWT

Here's a quote from my owners manual:

"The engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year and the oil life system must be reset." (emphasis added)

So the question, should you wait another 6 months, the answer is no. Would it harm your car, the answer is also no. Could it give you a warranty issue, the answer is yes. Can I think of a valid reason not to change your oil ASAP, no.

JMHO
No expertise implied or expressed

That's what the Owner's Manual says. I'd just follow it. Pretty much all there is to it.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by Marko

I don’t drive my 18 Camaro SS much. But I Love the car. I’m very happy with it. In just one year I put only 1000 miles on it and the oil still looks brand new. Should I wait another 6 months to a year to change the oil? I use Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W30.

I also drive a 19 Scat Pack Charger that I drive more often. The Camaro is a garage queen, weekend toy.

Change the oil, don't overthink this. $100 and your queen's belly is kept pristine for another year.

[Marko]

Thanks guys! I’ll definitely change it once a year.

[az4783054]

When this was asked often on the corvette forum, my suggestion was to send off a sample of your two year old to BLACKSTONE LABS. It never made sense to me to spend $100 for oil/filter in the fall, zero the oil life monitor, have my car sit on the lift for 5-6 months of winter, then change the oil/filter again in the spring because the oil life monitor was '0'.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com


Personally, I think the 1 year requirement is because if owners let it go beyond 1 year, chances are they'll forget to change oil/filter, period. Maybe if there was an annoying chime...

[wjones14]

Tomorrow will be exactly one year since I changed mine - 29-Aug-2019. 2081 miles ago.

The oil is Valvoline 5W-40 MST SYNPOWER full synthetic, which at the time was certified dexos2.

I already have 12 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-40 ESP dexos2 (from Speedway Motors) ready to go. I'd prefer to wait until November to change the oil, just before I store the car for winter, so it has clean oil in it.

But big brother knows everything. My oil minder is down to 1% today. I assume it will be 0% tomorrow. I have gotten 4 emails from the local Chevy dealer since June saying the manufacturer notified them that the car was due for maintenance. And my most recent OnStar email from Aug 17 said this:

"The oil life on your 2018 Chevrolet Camaro is at 4%. Please change your oil soon."

No doubt the oil is still perfectly fine and would be fine until November. But, could GM claim I breached the warranty conditions by not adhering to the maintenance schedule? (Obviously, I could just reset the oil minder...) And talk about annoying - the Change Engine Oil Soon message has been displaying each time I start the car for about the last month, and doesn't go away until I dismiss it.