what is logic for changing oil every year? (Even if driven 0 miles)

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Kind of at a cross roads here with my Lucerne, I'm 10.5 months into the OC and my OLM says 48% but the manual says to change it at a year if the OLM doesn't tell me to sooner, so I wonder also what is magical about oil and time. Every thing I've read says the GM OLM in 2008 can be trusted so why can't I go past a year if the OLM is so smart?

Change it; perhaps leave the filter on until next time.
I just went through this today on our trusty Tundra. 18 months, 3.300 miles.
I hated to dump 6.5 quarts of Mobil 1, but figured I'd just get 'er done.

 

[40w8]

If one has a sludge monster type car like some VW's or other hot running cars, i'd never try that 7 years.

Diesel trucks can run 50, 000 miles and they say drain that in 6 months.

I think many of those could go several years and 25,000 miles.

I've sold lots of oil, and the few times someone ruined the oil, they over heated it and got lots of dirt in it.

Those hot running German cars can run oil at 300 deg f while if you get a Wankel engine like RX8 up to even 250 deg f it'll burn the silicone sealer on the side water jackets.

I had some slow selling weights of engine oil sitting in warehouse for years and no trouble when used.

However, occasionally the additives will settle some, and driving car every 3 months for a few hundred miles won't allow that.

It's just not anything near like stop and go driving.

My RX8 still working fine.......I ain't scared.

 

[anndel]

In my 1993 Toyota pickup that get's maybe 500-1000 miles per year, after about 2 years I sent a sample to Blackstone Labs for UOA and it came back like new. They told me it could go to 8000 miles though it was only about 1100 miles on the Mobil 1 HM and I used a Toyota OEM filter which I changed once a year. I ran it up to 5 years and sent another UOA and it came back it could go to 12,000 miles. I changed the oil and filter at 5 years and used Amsoil SS 10W-30 with an Amsoil filter.

 

[OilUzer]

Originally Posted by anndel
In my 1993 Toyota pickup that get's maybe 500-1000 miles per year, after about 2 years I sent a sample to Blackstone Labs for UOA and it came back like new. They told me it could go to 8000 miles though it was only about 1100 miles on the Mobil 1 HM and I used a Toyota OEM filter which I changed once a year. I ran it up to 5 years and sent another UOA and it came back it could go to 12,000 miles. I changed the oil and filter at 5 years and used Amsoil SS 10W-30 with an Amsoil filter.


Nice. Thanks for posting. That's what I thought.
I never cared or paid attention to the 1 year change interval regardless of the mileage ...
It never sounded very logical to me. But I am just an oil uzer and not an expert

If it was milk maybe

 

[wowthisexists]

What is the consensus? If I have a car that I change the oil, and park it for a year, do I need to change the oil with 0 miles and 1 year old?

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

What is the consensus? If I have a car that I change the oil, and park it for a year, do I need to change the oil with 0 miles and 1 year old?

Probably not but advisably probably so

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted by wowthisexists
Say a car does not get driven all year
brand new oil
why change it after a year?
what is the science from voodoo ?


There are several (North American, I believe) UOA's on Bitog with a thousand miles or two over 2 - 4 years duration in between oil change demonstrates no excessive metal wear .

I'm yet to come across a SINGLE UOA of say, < 5 years oil usage with low mileage that demonstrates lab wear metal limits has been exceeded .

I love to be linked to one, if any .

Hence,IMHO it's a science in recommendation but a voodoo in practice .

I believe their is a 4.5 year Porsche UOA with between 10,000 - 15,000 mi posted by Patman and if I remember correctly the only real criticism based on UOA you could make was, "Why did you change it?".

 

[Ihatetochangeoil]

What is the consensus? If I have a car that I change the oil, and park it for a year, do I need to change the oil with 0 miles and 1 year old?

The answer is: There is no consensus. Do whatever lets you sleep at night. There was a fellow on here awhile back that posted a UOA on oil that was 5 years old and had ~1700 miles on a rarely used pickup truck. The UOA was so normal it was boring.

 

[ARB1977]

My mother in law has a 95 bemmer 540. 17,000 miles. Last oil change was 5 years ago.

 

[330indy]

If one has a sludge monster type car like some VW's or other hot running cars, i'd never try that 7 years.

Diesel trucks can run 50, 000 miles and they say drain that in 6 months.

I think many of those could go several years and 25,000 miles.

I've sold lots of oil, and the few times someone ruined the oil, they over heated it and got lots of dirt in it.

Those hot running German cars can run oil at 300 deg f while if you get a Wankel engine like RX8 up to even 250 deg f it'll burn the silicone sealer on the side water jackets.

I had some slow selling weights of engine oil sitting in warehouse for years and no trouble when used.

However, occasionally the additives will settle some, and driving car every 3 months for a few hundred miles won't allow that.

It's just not anything near like stop and go driving.

My RX8 still working fine.......I ain't scared.

Additives in oil settle? Like in the oil pan??

 

[40w8]

I meant that in some stored motor oils after 7 years you'll see some minor settling of additives, and even that's not harmful. In the used motor oils they have detergents or soap that keep everything emulsified. If one had lots of dirt getting into engine it could settle out, but the silicon number would show high. My sample showed half dirt limit since Mobil 1 starts with 7 silicon as silicone.

 

[Zee09]

Originally Posted by Duffyjr
Kind of at a cross roads here with my Lucerne, I'm 10.5 months into the OC and my OLM says 48% but the manual says to change it at a year if the OLM doesn't tell me to sooner, so I wonder also what is magical about oil and time. Every thing I've read says the GM OLM in 2008 can be trusted so why can't I go past a year if the OLM is so smart?

Change it; perhaps leave the filter on until next time.
I just went through this today on our trusty Tundra. 18 months, 3.300 miles.
I hated to dump 6.5 quarts of Mobil 1, but figured I'd just get 'er done.

Too bad if it wasn't 0w20 you could have used in ope or something else.

 

[spasm3]

The only thing i would worry about, is condensation.

Depending on where you are and the humidity and conditions, i would not want condensation forming on the sides of the oil pan/engine internals and building up in a seldom driven vehicle. I'd change once a year.

 

[UncleDave]

In Arizona where trees chase dogs, I never time out on oil, only mile out.

In Chicago where my nips can cut glass in the winter Id change yearly.

 

[demarpaint]

I go by miles, not time. I was going by time, 6 months in one vehicle, and a year in the other to keep the warranty people happy. I quickly learned I was wasting oil, in the vehicle with the one year limit. So I implemented the virtual oil change. I save money, time, and resources. UOA data at 5K miles and 18-24 months showed the oil was fine, and had a little life remaining, so that is my OCI in that vehicle.

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Back in my dealership days we had a guy with a C5 Corvette which was late model at the time, he would bring it in around October for an oil change before winter storage. In spring he would bring it back, have us check everything and insisted on changing the oil again. So that "old" Mobil1 I drained went into an empty washer fluid jug and into my car which was no prize.

 

[admzn]

Back in my dealership days we had a guy with a C5 Corvette which was late model at the time, he would bring it in around October for an oil change before winter storage. In spring he would bring it back, have us check everything and insisted on changing the oil again. So that "old" Mobil1 I drained went into an empty washer fluid jug and into my car which was no prize.

I had a truck that used a ton of oil and I would do the same, my friend had a vette that he changed the oil on every spring, and he gave it too me. Dumped it in that old truck and it never knew the difference lol.

 

[mahanddeem]

Who says there is?

 

[Gebo]

If you've had a car a year and haven't driven it and it isn't a classic worth a bunch of money its time to sell it.

Well, try telling that to my Mom in a Nursing Home. My brother and I have tried to persuade her to agree to sell the '97 Lesabre but she refuses to sell it.

 

[Jimmy_Russels]

People like to change oil, it's good to have "new" oil in there, not "old" oil. It's just terrible to use old oil.

hy•gro•scop•ic is usually the reason, although running the engine to get it hot will cause the water to vapor out.

Leave a jug of oil open for 1yr, it will get heavier as the oil sucks in water.