Change out the oil or not?

[Mr. Detail]

Here might be a stupid question, so forgive me if so. Since this darn pandemic began back in March of this year, my V70 has not gotten the driving miles (2k) over the last 7 months it normally would. A lot us have been working from home. I had changed the oil back in February but I wanted to know if it is necessary to change the oil again since it has just been sitting there in the engine for most of the time?

[StickyPocket]

I'd say you can wait 12 months if the car doesn't get the mileage usually necessary for an oil change. The oil does get old and degrade even if not driven.

[abscate]

Get it out on the highway for a hot run at 55mph, for at least 30 minutes. 15 out, 15 back

If you can do that once a month, then change it at 5000 miles for Dino, 7500 for synthetic

[Georgeandkira]

I agree with StickyPocket on the arbitrary 12 month, low mileage OCI with no reasoning except that I've read of people doing so.
If since February your car has done nothing but 2 mile trips to a store I'd consider doing an oil sump change then following abscate's advice.
Short trips obviously create repeated fuel and condensation contamination episodes without fully heating the engine.
The specter of 8 months of accumulated nastiness is freightening.

This is where oil analysis comes in. It helps to actually know your oil's condition but the cost of said analyses adds up.
You have to do your own math and decide.

[Mr. Detail]

Thank you all gentlemen!

[cn90]

This is now a common question in different forums (Honda, Volvo etc.) bc of the pandemic and ppl not driving much.

Let's say your norm is 12 months/5K miles using synthetic oil.

Let's say you now drive only 2K-2.5K a year.
Then keep the oil for 2 yrs/5K, many ppl do that (keeping the oil for 2 yrs) w/o problems as I learned from Bob
is the Oil Guy forum.
However, for the filter element: I must admit I don't know much about the life of the filter element, and most ppl
say you should replace the filter element once a yr just in case the filter element breaks apart, causing damage to the engine.

To summarize re low mileage (which is what I am doing now):
- Keep the oil for 2yrs/5K or so.
- Change the oil filter once a year (Mahle or Mann). In other words, at the 12-month/2K-2.5K mark, keep
the oil but change the oil filter.

PS: Agree with abscate re driving around ~ 30 min once a month to burn off contaminant residues.
However, I don't drive around just to burn gasoline bc it is not good for the environment.
Once a week or every 2 wks, I gather all the to-do tasks (Grocery, Post Office, Hardware store etc. etc.) and do
them all at the same time, this way the engine runs hot. Better than doing separate errands on diff days.

[oragex]

Perhaps more important is to keep the battery well charged. Good idea as someone said to take it for a ride at least once a month, 10 min should be fine also revving the engine a bit. I would not recommend letting the car at idle, especially not in the upcoming cold winter days. At the very least, check the battery every 1-2 weeks to make sure it stays charged - undo the positive, let sit 5-10 min and measure. Should be at least a 12.4v after 1-2 weeks sitting. Letting the battery drain can cause the pretty annoying immobilizer issue when the CEM software gets corrupted and forgets the codes for the keys

[cn90]

Yeah,

A good device is the trickle charger, about $10 at Harbor Freight.
If you have the coupon, it can go down to $5.

Inside the garage is easy, just plug it in.
Outdoor is a bit more challenging, make a habit of charging it let's say for the whole Saturday when you are at home, then unplug it.

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