Oil Change in 3000 miles 3 months?? What if you don't drive much?

Question

My wife doesn't drive her car very often. She hardly drives 1500 miles in 5 months. The rest of the time her car sits in the garage. She only drives to the local shopping malls and stores - maybe 3 times a week. Since he never reaches 3000 miles in 3 months, does she still need to change her motor oil every three or four months? How long can she safely wait between each oil change?

Answer 1

Then change it at 6 - 8 months..
I would change it at least twice a year...

Answer 2

The "rule of thumb" is to change the oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months. This has been true even though oil quality has progressed significantly over the last 30 years.
A 3,000 mile oil change is seen as excessive by some people and your owners manual probably shows something like every 7,500 miles.
Primarily, three things break oil down - excessive heat, moisture, and impurities.
If the car does not overheat and is maintained properly, the first and the third are probably not an issue. However, when you do not drive the vehicle much, moisture has an opportunity to develop because the car may not always get to a good operating temperature.
If your car is is good shape and does not leak oil, I would do the following - Switch to a FULL SYNTHETIC motor oil and change the oil AND filter every six months or 6,000 miles.

Answer 3

For that amount of driving, 3 - 5 months is the guide, regardless of the mileage. Little or no driving is harder on a vehicle than most adverse conditions. The engine does not warm up much or often. My 1995 Ford Explorer has 260,000 miles on it and I change my oil every 5,000 miles. At that point, I am only down about 1/2 quart of oil.

If I put 300 miles a month on my car, I don't think it would have lasted. If you like this car, and want to keep it, I would suggest a one hour drive at 50 mph at least twice a month. This will let heat build up, and keep sludge from destroying the engine.

Answer 4

3000 miles of 3 months?
Who told you that?
Is that out of the owners manual?
Are you looking at the correct schedule?

Modern oils last for 7500 miles easy. Most cars recommend to change at around 5000 miles, some as much as 10,000 miles. Get it out of your owners manual.

If you live in an area that has major temperature changes over the year from hot to cold, change the oil every spring as a minimum. With the wee bit she drives a yearly oil change would suffice.

PS ensure you are looking at the correct maintenance schedule .
Honda, I know, can be misleading but if you look in the stampblocks it should say Severe schedule every other block.. That is for police cars, taxis etc... You only need to do the normal maintenance schedule

Don't do what jiffy lube or the shop says. The engineers who designed your car gets paid way more then them to protect the manufactures money by making a good car and maintenance schedule.

Drop me an Email by clicking on my name. Tell me the year, make and model and I will send you the correct maintenance schedule.

Answer 5

If the car is relatively new 2003 and up with less than 40,000 miles switch to a full synthetic engine oil and and change it twice a year. The oil costs twice as much as regular petroleum based but it has a superior detergent, anti wear, high pressure additive and many other qualities. Mobil 1 now has an extended drain interval product that's good for 15,000 miles with no time interval. Unfortunately that particular product costs $23.00 per gallon in discount and auto part stores. Please remember this. Short stop and go driving is the most harsh condition for any automotive engine. Water and moisture builds up quickly because the engine doesn't get hot enough to boil off the moisture. Too much water causes sludge and varnish build up. Rust and corrosion soon follow. If you want to use petroleum products change it at least twice per year using the oil weight (viscosity) that the hand book in your glove compartment suggests.

Answer 6

If you are planning on keeping the care for along time, you will want to change the oil every three months.
Chemical reactions still take place over time that may cause deposits or corrosive contaminates.
If the car is leased or has no long term future plans to be kept, don't bother changing until 5 month periods.
If you want maximum longevity, have the dealer or oil changer flush the old oil out and go with a synthetic oil. A little more money, but wont break down as quickly.

Answer 7

You still have some water in a engine that's just a by product of a engine so short hops are the worst as you may not blow all the water out in a trip. So there is a chance for that water to condensate while the car sits. In time it will works its way to the oil pan. So I would change oil at least 4 times a year.

Answer 8

Not sure where the 3 months is coming from. Oil changes are usually dictated by mileage. Change it every 3000 miles. If that takes 2 years to happen, then so be it.

Answer 9

Since she doesn't drive much and only makes short trips when she does, she should DEFINITELY change her oil every three months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first. The folks who can get away with longer periods between oil changes are those who drive their cars every day, mostly on the freeway, and are usually behind the wheel for at least 20 minutes at a time.

Answer 10

In europe most new cars have oil changes every 9000 - 12000 miles, so it amuses me that in America you need to change oil every 3000. That tell me that your oil either isn't up to the job or your engines spend too much time sitting in drive-thru's.

When I moved here i decided to run my car for 6000 miles between oil changes but I don't sit in drive thru's for hours waiting for food, prescriptions, dry cleaning or anything else, so if your wife actually drives when she uses the car and doesn't sit in lines waiting for things then try 6000 miles but keep any eye on the oil level between 3000 and 6000. you should be fine.

Answer 11

since she does more stop n go driving, she actually is breaking the oil down faster than someone who is driving down the freeway.

that is why the rule is there....3 months OR 3000 miles...whichever comes first.

a car that lives in town only and does short trips will break down more often and have more gum up and other issues than a car that travels long distance on a freeway. its why high mile cars that have been freeway cars are still good.

stop in go traffic is what causes all the damage on cars for the most part.

don't forget tires as well....and since she doesn't' drive it often...you will want to rotate them more often. and tires only have a life of about 5 years....even if they are not worn out, they still need replaced.