Does my car really need a service?

BOWFER

Tokmon said:

. A yearly oil change minimum is a must for all driving styles if someone wants to look after their car.

I'll be sure to ignore BMW/Land Rover/anyone else who think it's fine to leave the same oil in for 2 years/20K miles then.
Thanks....(sigh)

Tokmon

BOWFER said:

Tokmon said:

. A yearly oil change minimum is a must for all driving styles if someone wants to look after their car.

I'll be sure to ignore BMW/Land Rover/anyone else who think it's fine to leave the same oil in for 2 years/20K miles then.
Thanks....(sigh)

Yes it's "fine" if you just want to do the minimum serving and then sell the car after 5 - 10 years if buying it from new.

But if you want the car to continue to perform at it's best and last longer than that or you have a car older than 10 years and want it to continue functioning well for longer then 1 year oil changes are the way to go.

BOWFER

Tokmon said:

But if you want the car to continue to perform at it's best and last longer than that or you have a car older than 10 years and want it to continue functioning well for longer then 1 year oil changes are the way to go.

Where is the proof of this?
Why should we ignore the manufacturing saying it's fine to leave oil changes longer?
In a world where we're trying to cut oil use and waste, why on earth would you go against the manufacturer?

Ectophile

BOWFER said:

Tokmon said:

But if you want the car to continue to perform at it's best and last longer than that or you have a car older than 10 years and want it to continue functioning well for longer then 1 year oil changes are the way to go.

Where is the proof of this?
Why should we ignore the manufacturing saying it's fine to leave oil changes longer?
In a world where we're trying to cut oil use and waste, why on earth would you go against the manufacturer?

Leasing companies don't care what happens to a car once they have sold it on after 2 to 3 years.  Manufacturers only care about making the car last as long as the warranty, and want to keep costs down for the leasing companies.

As a result, the servicing intervals for cars has become longer and longer.  Even if the oil is only changed every couple of years, it will last until the warranty runs out.

Tokmon

BOWFER said:

Tokmon said:

But if you want the car to continue to perform at it's best and last longer than that or you have a car older than 10 years and want it to continue functioning well for longer then 1 year oil changes are the way to go.

Where is the proof of this?
Why should we ignore the manufacturing saying it's fine to leave oil changes longer?
In a world where we're trying to cut oil use and waste, why on earth would you go against the manufacturer?

Just a quick search of Castrol and Mobil who are major players in engine oil manufacturing and they both only offer a 1 year warranty on their oil after it has been put in a car:

https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home/car-engine-oil-and-fluids/castrol-engine-warranty.html

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/mobil-limited-warranties/mobil-1-extended-performance-limited-warranty


Oil deteriorates and gets contaminated over time in an engine due to the constant temperature cycling from cold to very hot and back again each time it is driven. Some manufacturers might say actually it's alright to leave it for two years because they know they won't have to deal with it after the warranty runs out and the engine is still going to last a long time.

But changing it every year instead will mean less contamination and the oil will be more effective this leads to lower fuel consumption (so a decrease in oil use and emissions; a small increase in fuel consumption will have a far bigger effect than a few liters of oil each year) and also makes cars last longer. It's much better for the environment if cars are used for longer and maintained instead of being scrapped earlier and new one's made instead.

ontheroad1970

BOWFER said:

Tokmon said:

. A yearly oil change minimum is a must for all driving styles if someone wants to look after their car.

I'll be sure to ignore BMW/Land Rover/anyone else who think it's fine to leave the same oil in for 2 years/20K miles then.
Thanks....(sigh)

Mercedes, Mazda and many other marques haven't gone to so called dynamic servicing.  So they must all be wrong then in stating 12 month or xx miles...

BOWFER

ontheroad1970 said:

BOWFER said:

Tokmon said:

. A yearly oil change minimum is a must for all driving styles if someone wants to look after their car.

I'll be sure to ignore BMW/Land Rover/anyone else who think it's fine to leave the same oil in for 2 years/20K miles then.
Thanks....(sigh)

Mercedes, Mazda and many other marques haven't gone to so called dynamic servicing.  So they must all be wrong then in stating 12 month or xx miles...

There's no "wrong" here, there's simply following the manufacturer's guidelines.
If BMW / Audi / Land Rover are stating 2 years or 20000 miles for a service, why on earth would anyone go for sooner than that?
I don't know why Merc / Mazda are still every year, maybe they don't use the same long life oil as Audi / BMW / LR.
Common sense sais they evidently don't, as it's clearly not long life....

BOWFER

Tokmon said:

BOWFER said:

Tokmon said:

But if you want the car to continue to perform at it's best and last longer than that or you have a car older than 10 years and want it to continue functioning well for longer then 1 year oil changes are the way to go.

Where is the proof of this?
Why should we ignore the manufacturing saying it's fine to leave oil changes longer?
In a world where we're trying to cut oil use and waste, why on earth would you go against the manufacturer?

Just a quick search of Castrol and Mobil who are major players in engine oil manufacturing and they both only offer a 1 year warranty on their oil after it has been put in a car:

https://www.castrol.com/en_gb/united-kingdom/home/car-engine-oil-and-fluids/castrol-engine-warranty.html

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/mobil-limited-warranties/mobil-1-extended-performance-limited-warranty


Oil deteriorates and gets contaminated over time in an engine due to the constant temperature cycling from cold to very hot and back again each time it is driven. Some manufacturers might say actually it's alright to leave it for two years because they know they won't have to deal with it after the warranty runs out and the engine is still going to last a long time.

But changing it every year instead will mean less contamination and the oil will be more effective this leads to lower fuel consumption (so a decrease in oil use and emissions; a small increase in fuel consumption will have a far bigger effect than a few liters of oil each year) and also makes cars last longer. It's much better for the environment if cars are used for longer and maintained instead of being scrapped earlier and new one's made instead.

What's the relevance of a warranty an oil company gives?
Who even knows they offer these and would go after them?
No-one, any engine failure would be against the car manufacturer and as long as you've complied with their servicing requirements, that's the end of it.
Hey, it's your money though, nothing stopping you changing more frequently if it makes you feel better.

Ibrahim5

I have never heard anyone say more frequent changes are detrimental except to the environment. Premature engine failure isn't  good for the environment though. For £30 it's better to do more frequent changes.

BOWFER

Ibrahim5 said:

I have never heard anyone say more frequent changes are detrimental except to the environment. Premature engine failure isn't  good for the environment though. For £30 it's better to do more frequent changes.

Isn't unnecessary purchasing of new oil and disposal of old oil enough these days...?!?
Of course there's no mechanical harm going to come from changing the oil more frequently than the car manufacturer recommends, but there's no advantage either.