[IndyRed128i]

Hey all

So with working from home, I have only put....wait for it, 2200 miles on my car during this whole year.

The question is, it says I still have plenty of mileage left on my oil, but that it is due to be changed 01/2021(this month) due to time. It was last changed January of 2020, so one year ago.

Question is, does it really need to be changed now since it’s been a year, or should I go based off the mileage?

[MarcoZandrini]

Yes, oil needs to be changed yearly if you don't rack up the miles.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by IndyRed128i

Hey all

So with working from home, I have only put....wait for it, 2200 miles on my car during this whole year.

The question is, it says I still have plenty of mileage left on my oil, but that it is due to be changed 01/2021(this month) due to time. It was last changed January of 2020, so one year ago.

Question is, does it really need to be changed now since it’s been a year, or should I go based off the mileage?

I put 1,469 miles on my car in 2020. I had the oil changed in October, 11 months after the previous oil change.

It's my understanding that the oil is to be changed annually, if not earlier due to mileage.

[albertw]

As one of the resident purveyors of unpopular viewpoints, I have to add my position on this issue.

I think this myth is the result of faulty logic: Short trips are bad. Long periods of sitting are bad. Therefore low miles per year must be bad.

Suppose you drove 50 miles twice a month. Would you need an oil change every year? Of course not. After 50 miles the engine has been hot enough long enough to evaporate all the water that condensed from the combustion gasses onto the cold engine interior immediately after startup, and all the water that condensed from the air that moves in and out of the engine during ambient pressure changes.

Without water, corrosion slows way down.

If the oil is stable enough to last 10,000 miles at 200 - 240 degrees, it certainly is stable enough to last more than one year at typical storage temperatures.

An oil change provides only a very temporary fix for many short trips or long periods of inactivity. The solution is regular, frequent long drives, not flushing out water by discarding perfectly good oil.

[XutvJet]

If the car is still under a free maintenance program, then go get it changed. Otherwise, wait until the oil gets around 4,000 to 5,000 miles on it. It wouldn't be a bad idea to drive the car maybe once a week for at least 20 minutes to get the oil fully warm to burn off any water and gasoline entrained in the oil.

[Jcoop901]

Absolutely no reason to change fully synthetic oil just because it's been in the car for a year. Antiquated thinking leftover from dino oil days.

[IndyRed128i]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

If the car is still under a free maintenance program, then go get it changed. Otherwise, wait until the oil gets around 4,000 to 5,000 miles on it. It wouldn't be a bad idea to drive the car maybe once a week for at least 20 minutes to get the oil fully warm to burn off any water and gasoline entrained in the oil.

Free maintenance plan is over for me unfortunately. Just not wanting to cause any damage, and was unsure, as in all my years of driving, I’ve never hit the one year mark without hitting multiple oil change mileage intervals.

[Unicorn123]

My two cents worth...

My inclination is to go with drader and the others who would encourage you to change the oil on a time basis. Logic:

1. Synthetic lubricants are known to be more resistant to retaining moisture, which is a good thing.
2. Additives in oils (synthetic or otherwise) can react with moisture and generate acidic components that can be damaging to your engine.
3. As Mr. Albert points out, short trips are bad and can cause moisture to build up in your oil. If you do not drive the car long enough as Mr. Jet points out, the oil will not get hot enough to cause the retained moisture in the oil to evaporate.
4. My simple analysis...oil and a filter are cheap insurance. Do the oil change. This is especially true for turbocharged engines, like those in our cars.

I change the oil annually on my E36's and my wife's E53 as none of these get more than 3K per annum in mileage. My M235 gets driven 30-35K / annum (daily driver and now my new airplane since I am driving instead of flying, until I buy an airplane...someday), and it enjoys 5-6K oil changes since I do not believe in the BMW recommended change interval.

FWIW. Safe travels OP.

[dradernh]

Regarding periodic oil changes, below is Mike Miller's advice as seen in the current issue of Roundel in response to a subscriber's query.

I'm no lubrication engineer, but I'll probably continue with the annual / 5,000-mile oil change routine I've followed for many years now.

[leftoverture]

Originally Posted by Jcoop901

Absolutely no reason to change fully synthetic oil just because it's been in the car for a year. Antiquated thinking leftover from dino oil days.

Essentially this. But as others have pointed out, it's also a matter of how you are using the car. Frequent short trips then yes... you may wish to consider changing it. Fewer but longish trips, probably no need to change it. Also keep in mind, it also affects the environment, so don't change unless needed. But I'll just put this out there... why aren't you out there driving? So what if you work at home. You bought the ultimate driving machine. Get out there and have some fun with it on the weekends! Time is short and driving is fun.

[zipstic]

I'd look at it from a risk management standpoint.

You can get your oil changed at a dealership from $80-$100, which is around 8 bucks a month over the course of one year.

If you stretch to 18 months between an oil change you're saving $48. How much will $48 change your life?

I tend to agree with the others that have said you'd be fine not changing it, but does $48 give you peace of mind? When I was driving 3k miles per year for four years I still got mine changed annually.

[Maynard]

I agree with these points - change it yearly (or sooner). It isn't just water and gas that cause problems, it is also acidic agents that you are clearing out. And the 'just a few long trips will burn it all off' bit is not entirely accurate - you burn off more on a long trip, but there is still crud there (and as that nice hot engine cools, something will condense and then sit there for another few months). New car bearings are also not the old reliable lead/babbit, they are often tin and more susceptible to this type of corrosion. Find an indie and it may not even be $100.

[XutvJet]

There is technical paper that explored this very question of time vs mileage on oil. It's called SAE Paper #981444 "Advanced Synthetic Passenger Vehicle Engine Oils for Extended Oil Drain Performance". The 1998 test basically evaluated the stress of 1.5 mile and 3 mile daily drives on the same oil over the course of 60 months (5 years). This amounted to about 1,600 miles of driving per year on oil that never got up to operating temp. The testing was done in warm and cold conditions to represent seasons. The oil showed fairly high fuel dilution which would be expected under such harsh conditions, but the oil itself was still protective. And keep in mind, this is synthetic oil from 1998 and there have been advances in synthetic oils over the past 20 years.

I wouldn't recommend going 5 years if you're only driving 1,500-2,000 miles a year, but going two years or waiting from 5K miles should be fine. Fuel dilution would be my biggest concern and just a few longer drives per month would address that.

With so little driving, you should seriously consider a battery tender as well, if you don't have one. These car's are hard on batteries even when they are off. Using a battery tender when you're not driving much or only short distances will greatly extend the life of you BMW's expensive AGM battery.

[albertw]

[QUOTE=Maynard;27097791]It isn't just water and gas that cause problems, it is also acidic agents that you are clearing out.QUOTE]

Acidic compounds are produced in proportion to miles driven. Oil contains additives to neutralize acids, which are used up in proportion to miles driven.

This is not an argument to change oil based on time.

[IndyRed128i]

Originally Posted by Maynard

I agree with these points - change it yearly (or sooner). It isn't just water and gas that cause problems, it is also acidic agents that you are clearing out. And the 'just a few long trips will burn it all off' bit is not entirely accurate - you burn off more on a long trip, but there is still crud there (and as that nice hot engine cools, something will condense and then sit there for another few months). New car bearings are also not the old reliable lead/babbit, they are often tin and more susceptible to this type of corrosion. Find an indie and it may not even be $100.

Local BMW dealer will do it for $69.99

[IndyRed128i]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

There is technical paper that explored this very question of time vs mileage on oil. It's called SAE Paper #981444 "Advanced Synthetic Passenger Vehicle Engine Oils for Extended Oil Drain Performance". The 1998 test basically evaluated the stress of 1.5 mile and 3 mile daily drives on the same oil over the course of 60 months (5 years). This amounted to about 1,600 miles of driving per year on oil that never got up to operating temp. The testing was done in warm and cold conditions to represent seasons. The oil showed fairly high fuel dilution which would be expected under such harsh conditions, but the oil itself was still protective. And keep in mind, this is synthetic oil from 1998 and there have been advances in synthetic oils over the past 20 years.

I wouldn't recommend going 5 years if you're only driving 1,500-2,000 miles a year, but going two years or waiting from 5K miles should be fine. Fuel dilution would be my biggest concern and just a few longer drives per month would address that.

With so little driving, you should seriously consider a battery tender as well, if you don't have one. These car's are hard on batteries even when they are off. Using a battery tender when you're not driving much or only short distances will greatly extend the life of you BMW's expensive AGM battery.

All interesting points!
On the battery piece, my car has 34k miles, and it’s the original battery from 2016. What’s everyone’s experience been with battery lifespan?

[John in VA]

Originally Posted by IndyRed128i

On the battery piece, my car has 34k miles, and it’s the original battery from 2016. What’s everyone’s experience been with battery lifespan?

5-8 years.

[delvec03]

highly recommend FCP Euro for oil change kits. they have lifetime replacement warranty on everything they sell. granted I do them myself, but the materials cost me $15 in return shipping for the spent oil.

makes it much easier to hit the shorter intervals without the cost!

[IndyRed128i]

Originally Posted by leftoverture

Essentially this. But as others have pointed out, it's also a matter of how you are using the car. Frequent short trips then yes... you may wish to consider changing it. Fewer but longish trips, probably no need to change it. Also keep in mind, it also affects the environment, so don't change unless needed. But I'll just put this out there... why aren't you out there driving? So what if you work at home. You bought the ultimate driving machine. Get out there and have some fun with it on the weekends! Time is short and driving is fun.

Very good point. Plan to get much more driving in this year, which I am already doing haha.

[RvR]

One of my friends worked for a German manufacturer (not BMW AG), and has owned an E46 330Ci from new. Since his wife mostly does town errands with it, I asked him, 'What's the minimum amount of driving a car should get?' Short trips around town are very hard on cars, as others have noted.

His answer, at least once a month, he takes it on a highway run for at least one continuous hour of driving at speed. He doesn't always use the Autobahn, sometimes it's a secondary road through mountains limited to 100 KM/H, and going through towns makes for some RPM variation.

He feels at least one full hour a month is necessary to ensure all fluids come up to operating temperature, moisture gets cooked off, seals & bearings move grease around, and parts don't take a "set." I asked if it should be more often, and he said, you can if you like, but once a month is enough.

I have followed this for years myself (save for when roads are salt-contaminated) and it works quite well.

RvR

[Sportstick]

...and cycle the windows and sunroof at that time.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

...and cycle the windows...at that time.

What does doing this affect?