Pandemic and Engine oil change?

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mazda
I changed engine oil a yr ago with Mobil Extended performance.
  • I drive once a month just to maintain it, so I drove 300-600 miles only in the last 12 months
  • I did not check engine oil color but will do so - I bet it looks brand new oil.
Assuming engine oil color is not an issue, can I extend it to 2 yrs or 3-5k mileage whichever comes first?

This car is typically driven on freeway - with pandemic, its at home resting! It should be back on duty in Sept 2021. If there is no reason to change good looking oil, I rather not!

I do not know Mazda's recommendations - believe they recommended Synthetic 0w-20. Now we have Extended Performance.

Update:
Owners manual asks to use Castrol. No mention of Synthetic.
With Full Syn, I hope it can do more than a yr. People have been changing once a yr, assuming they drive less than 5k/yr.
 
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The recommended oil and filter change interval as stated in your owner's manual is every 6 months or 7.5k miles, whichever comes first. With that said, generally I'd follow this schedule to ensure that if something were to go wrong with the car while the factory warranty was intact, the dealer (or Mazda) wouldn't be able to blame the issue on improper maintenance. Since your car is likely out of warranty, you can do whatever you want. Personally I'd change it at least once a year, even if it isn't driven much. If the car isn't driven much, or is only taken out on short drives, the oil doesn't get hot enough to vaporize the moisture that can build up in the engine, leading to oil dilution over time.

IMO the expense is so small that it's worth doing annually just for peace of mind.
 
The recommended oil and filter change interval as stated in your owner's manual is every 6 months or 7.5k miles, whichever comes first. With that said, generally I'd follow this schedule to ensure that if something were to go wrong with the car while the factory warranty was intact, the dealer (or Mazda) wouldn't be able to blame the issue on improper maintenance. Since your car is likely out of warranty, you can do whatever you want. Personally I'd change it at least once a year, even if it isn't driven much. If the car isn't driven much, or is only taken out on short drives, the oil doesn't get hot enough to vaporize the moisture that can build up in the engine, leading to oil dilution over time.

IMO the expense is so small that it's worth doing annually just for peace of mind.
Recommended oil change interval and even the grade of oil seems to be different, depending on where you live.
I'm in Canada too, and the dealership tells me to change it every six months, even though I'm in the same situation as the OP. I'm barely hitting 1,000 kms a year right now.
I'm doing it yearly at the moment. Seems like a waste of money, plus it's more used oil going who knows where every six months.
 
Recommended oil change interval and even the grade of oil seems to be different, depending on where you live.
I'm in Canada too, and the dealership tells me to change it every six months, even though I'm in the same situation as the OP. I'm barely hitting 1,000 kms a year right now.
I'm doing it yearly at the moment. Seems like a waste of money, plus it's more used oil going who knows where every six months.
I live in California
So can I reuse the oil filter if I were changing the oil? It prob has 300-600 miles on it.
 
In my opinion, you are probably ok with a 2 year change assuming your climate is dry (are you in Southern or Northern CAL?) and you get your car up to full operating temp when you run it. Otherwise the moisture that builds up in your oil can cause corrosion if not burned off. The filter should be fine. The one thing I would not put off because you haven't driven the car much is changing your brake fluid every 3 years or so. It still will get moisture buildup even if it is not being driven. I did find this: https://nitifilter.com/en/oil-chang..., as a general,years if used less frequently.
 
In my opinion, you are probably ok with a 2 year change assuming your climate is dry (are you in Southern or Northern CAL?) and you get your car up to full operating temp when you run it. Otherwise the moisture that builds up in your oil can cause corrosion if not burned off. The filter should be fine. The one thing I would not put off because you haven't driven the car much is changing your brake fluid every 3 years or so. It still will get moisture buildup even if it is not being driven. I did find this: https://nitifilter.com/en/oil-change-when-should-you-change-the-oil/#:~:text=Simply put, as a general,years if used less frequently.
NorCal - San Fran
You are recommending warm up the car before driving off? No prob.
I have been driving monthly just for the sake of warming it. It makes no sense to drain the oil - in Sept 21, I will be on freeway driving 300-400 miles and back - almost a 1k miles. I want to get some use out of oil. Shop change the oil for me.

Brake Fluid: I am good with changing on time. M5, I only had it 2yrs - assuming previous owner did not change, I changed it already. So every 3yrs? Dealer might have told me every 5yrs?

My Acura manual tells me to change every 3 yrs - so I have been doing it. Sears is out of biz now. They used to flush it - also take pads out, measure, and put it back - I like that. The new shop said I don't need it and wanted more $ for it. He says he can see damaged pads without taking out - but pads might have hairline cracks and/or not well seated. I might have to do more talking with the shop.
 
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NorCal - San Fran
You are recommending warm up the car before driving off? No prob.
They say you just need to bring up the engine to operating temp when you drive, so the moisture produced in the combustion is burnt off. If you only take short trips, the engine never gets up to full temp.
 
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