How long can I drive needing an oil change/
July 24, 2022 6:38 PM Subscribe
So I've had a car for a little over a year. It has just over 8K kilometers on it. I've never done an oil change, but yesterday the car started asking for one. The thing is, I just can't work it in right now, maybe not til the weekend. I need to drive my son to camp about 13km each way and then home each day. Because it's so far, I won't be coming home in between but will stay and work nearby during the day. I need to make another trip that is 12km each way. Am I risking...something...if I wait until the weekend?
Lots of lights on the dashboard are based on something breaking or being very, very near broken. The oil change light is not one of those. It goes off because you've gone X km since the last time someone reset it. If nothing else is going wrong, then you're fine for another couple hundred kilometers.
posted by Etrigan at 6:50 PM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 6:50 PM on July 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
You should check your owner’s manual to confirm, but if that light is just a distance-based reminder (instead of “Emergency! Oil pressure has fallen below accepted tolerances!”) you’re perfectly fine to the weekend and well beyond.
posted by mumkin at 6:50 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by mumkin at 6:50 PM on July 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Oh my goodness, I have gone waaaaay further than that past when the reminder light illuminates. You are fine. Get the oil changed when you can. Sometime within the next month or so, okay? (And for the future, since you drive so little, you may want to consider time as well as mileage in planning an oil change. I have a 25+ year old car that gets about 2000 miles a year, and I get the oil changed about once a year.)
posted by DrGail at 6:54 PM on July 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by DrGail at 6:54 PM on July 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
You have quite a margin.
If one were cynical one might think that the notification light goes off far too soon in order to drum up business for the dealer.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:10 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
If one were cynical one might think that the notification light goes off far too soon in order to drum up business for the dealer.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:10 PM on July 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Yes, you're fine, though keep in mind some warranties require that you get the change done within certain margins. But I'd imagine you'll be fine even there.
posted by coffeecat at 7:11 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by coffeecat at 7:11 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yes, the warning is automatic based on mileage, which may not actually bear much relation to the oil. Some synthetic oils claim lives of up to 10,000 miles (~16k km), but the light usually comes on around 5,000 miles since the last oil change. Depending on your oil, you might be fine even for thousands more kilometers. I wouldn’t suggest driving thousands more, but like, some people never change their oil, so… yeah, long story short, you’ll be fine.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:24 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by kevinbelt at 7:24 PM on July 24, 2022
Yes, came here to say that the answer depends in part on the type of oil in your car. Synthetic lasts significantly longer than "regular."
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:28 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by Dr. Wu at 7:28 PM on July 24, 2022
You're totally fine to wait until the weekend.
posted by potrzebie at 7:43 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by potrzebie at 7:43 PM on July 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just go ahead and check the oil level with the dipstick on flat ground when the engine is cold. Make sure that it's not actually lit up because you've somehow lost oil volume (potential engine damage). If it's still full, then yes, your car is just responding to the mileage triggering the light.
posted by Knowyournuts at 8:09 PM on July 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by Knowyournuts at 8:09 PM on July 24, 2022 [12 favorites]
If it hasn't given you any warning and it just started asking, it's more of a 5% remains warning, like the light on your gas gauge when you have 100k or so of range left. For the purpose of your warranty you should get it done within 500km/2 weeks. For the purpose of your car's long term reliability 1000km/1 month. To avoid anything breaking immediately, you could go twice as far with no risk, as long as you have enough oil (checked regularly), but don't do this- averaging 9000km /1 year is about the limit for long term reliability.
posted by wotsac at 8:32 PM on July 24, 2022
posted by wotsac at 8:32 PM on July 24, 2022
Distance and time to an oil change vary a bit by vehicle and oil quality, so the light is a fairly good indicator if you're use oil of the same grade as the manufacturer (it's often wise to both time and distance, but that is model dependent).
And I agree with everyone else - no-one stops driving for a week until they can get it in for a change, there's some leeway here.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:37 PM on July 24, 2022
And I agree with everyone else - no-one stops driving for a week until they can get it in for a change, there's some leeway here.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:37 PM on July 24, 2022
A timely oil change is one of the most cost effective car maintenance practices, moreso with high mileage cars.
posted by fairmettle at 1:16 AM on July 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by fairmettle at 1:16 AM on July 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
The older your car is, the more it matters, but my 96,000 mile, 10 yr old Honda was 300 miles “overdue” for its (synthetic) oil change (based on the blinking light on the dashboard), and my mechanic said it was no big deal, my car was in perfect health.
This in contrast to years of driving cars that were old enough to drive themselves, which needed me to check/top off oil every 1000 miles.
posted by itesser at 5:23 AM on July 25, 2022
This in contrast to years of driving cars that were old enough to drive themselves, which needed me to check/top off oil every 1000 miles.
posted by itesser at 5:23 AM on July 25, 2022
Are you sure it’s asking for an oil change and not saying it’s low on oil? If it’s the latter, I’d get a quart and fill it up. If it really is an oil change, it can wait until the weekend.
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:48 AM on July 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by tchemgrrl at 6:48 AM on July 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Are you sure it’s asking for an oil change and not saying it’s low on oil? If it’s the latter, I’d get a quart and fill it up. If it really is an oil change, it can wait until the weekend.
Came in to say this. You're very probably good to wait until the weekend to change your oil, but pull the dipstick and see if there's room in the crankcase for another quart. If so, the $5 or so you'll spend topping up is well worth the peace of mind alone, and significantly reduces the possibility of catastrophic failure by adding a significant % of new oil in to the old and raising the oil level as well.
posted by gauche at 7:58 AM on July 25, 2022
Came in to say this. You're very probably good to wait until the weekend to change your oil, but pull the dipstick and see if there's room in the crankcase for another quart. If so, the $5 or so you'll spend topping up is well worth the peace of mind alone, and significantly reduces the possibility of catastrophic failure by adding a significant % of new oil in to the old and raising the oil level as well.
posted by gauche at 7:58 AM on July 25, 2022
Be aware that the oil change reminder is not just based on mileage but also on your driving pattern. If you take a lot of short trips in cold weather the oil never completely warms up and needs to be changed more frequently. If you have a long commute at steady highway speed your oil will last longer. The engine computer will account for various factors when signalling for an oil change. In any case, a day or two of driving will not make any difference.
posted by leaper at 10:18 AM on July 25, 2022
posted by leaper at 10:18 AM on July 25, 2022
You're fine. Given the following:
I am assuming that you are doing basic checks on your car - weekly oil level checks (or monthly if you don't drive much). But you pretty much knew the oil level was fine when that warning came up. If you didn't, change your habits.
If it hasn't given you any warning and it just started asking, it's more of a 5% remains warning, like the light on your gas gauge when you have 100k or so of range left.
This is the right answer. Think of it like a fuel light. You have likely got 1000km before you actually see any oil degradation from wear, but given Canada being an aggressive environment anyway (temp extremes) you should look at minimum yearly oil changes anyway. Always use synthetic oil. Never go cheap on oil
posted by Brockles at 4:45 AM on July 26, 2022
I am assuming that you are doing basic checks on your car - weekly oil level checks (or monthly if you don't drive much). But you pretty much knew the oil level was fine when that warning came up. If you didn't, change your habits.
If it hasn't given you any warning and it just started asking, it's more of a 5% remains warning, like the light on your gas gauge when you have 100k or so of range left.
This is the right answer. Think of it like a fuel light. You have likely got 1000km before you actually see any oil degradation from wear, but given Canada being an aggressive environment anyway (temp extremes) you should look at minimum yearly oil changes anyway. Always use synthetic oil. Never go cheap on oil
posted by Brockles at 4:45 AM on July 26, 2022
Response by poster: I am assuming that you are doing basic checks on your car - weekly oil level checks (or monthly if you don't drive much).
Assume instead that twice I have accidentally popped the hood when meaning to open the trunk and that both times I had no idea how to fully open the hood for the purpose of slamming it shut and that I had to drive around like that until I found someone to help me.
I'm not a car person. I'm a car-free person living in a pandemic.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:14 AM on July 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Assume instead that twice I have accidentally popped the hood when meaning to open the trunk and that both times I had no idea how to fully open the hood for the purpose of slamming it shut and that I had to drive around like that until I found someone to help me.
I'm not a car person. I'm a car-free person living in a pandemic.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:14 AM on July 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Check your mefi-mail. I may have someone local that can demistify it for you.
posted by Brockles at 5:21 AM on July 27, 2022
posted by Brockles at 5:21 AM on July 27, 2022
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