How long will it take a vehicle without oil/oil change to die?
Posted by whitneynations@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 205 comments
My boomer parents are doordashing right now in a 15 year old SUV with well over 150k miles. Sounds like they are easily getting 100 miles a day on it. Let's just say 100 miles. I've known from things they've said in the past that they don't change their oil. They're also talking about how broke they are (why the doordashing) and I warned them their car will die any day now if they don't take care of their car.
About how long could an SUV in theory go without an oil change or oil before the engine ends itself?
Thanks
NeedsPaint@reddit
Just check the oil
Slow_Description_773@reddit
It depends. If it’s a Toyota it will run just fine even with chewing gum instead of oil, a Subaru will explode one mile past the due service mark.
smthngeneric@reddit
The Toyota dick riding on reddit has to stop. Not changing your oil is a gamble on any vehicle. I've seen a Saturn go 300k with no oil change for atleast half that and I've seen a sienna barely make it past 100k before spinning a bearing from a lack of oil changes. It's all a gamble.
TurkishSwag@reddit
It’s true, but the percentage of Toyotas that last with delayed oil changes are definitely higher than other makes. That being said, I have a customer who had a 2011 Versa that was quite literally falling apart while he was using it for DoorDash, doing maybe 300 miles a day with the car running nonstop. He constantly came late for oil changes, at 7k-10k miles, his car burned and leaked oil so only about a quart of what looked like tar came out every time. Drivetrain never gave out, had a little under 300k on it when he got rid of it only due to an accident. Every day I expected the call saying his engine seized on the side of the road but it never happened.
wickedcold@reddit
People say things like this as if there’s some database tracking it, when it’s completely reliant on anecdotal evidence and personal experiences.
TurkishSwag@reddit
Correct, and I work on all makes and models every day at my job. I’d say that what I’ve seen is a very solid sample size.
ilovechoralmusic@reddit
Survivorship bias. You only see the stuff that survives and rolls into the shop. The unreliable Toyotas quietly disappeared, and only the survivors remain to tell the story. There are more Toyotas on the road in the US than BMWs or Mecedes which makes the samplesize bigger and therefore leads to the bias described.
FutureHendrixBetter@reddit
You must have beef with Toyota, calm down 🤣
Own-Ad-503@reddit
He did'nt sound excited to me. There are to many posts here that lead people to belive that Toyota's are infallible. People come here who know nothing about cars so that they can educate themselves and its misleading for people to think Toyota's are different from any car. They all need to be maintained. Yes, Toyota has had some bullit proof models and engines, but so had Ford, Chevy, Nissan, Honda, etc..... and they all ( including Toyota) have had their crap.
wrxninja@reddit
Yep. Every 5,000 miles. Not doing oil change is just a ticking time bomb.
ScorpioVlll@reddit
Only sensible comment on this post.
floydbomb@reddit
Dude, it's clearly a joke. Relax
ContributionBorn9105@reddit
He doesn't like toyotas
cromulent-potato@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole
ilovechoralmusic@reddit
Every time I see someone glaze over Toyota, I know they know nothing about cars and just repeat memes. It’s not some magic factory that produces cars that can be abused. They made some pretty awful cars like the bz4X, Yaris cross, Avensis 2.2, Verso 2.0, C-HR, Aygo 2006 with lots of problems Reddit people associate with BMWs like electronics, burning Oil like crazy, AdBlue system failures etc.
Equivalent-Rate-6218@reddit
And this is why I ask the same question... Over.. and over.... Who the fuck is stupid enough to buy a Subaru then? They look like shit, they are not fast, and they don't last as long as Honda/Toyota. Why not just get a sport bike and a sedan and showcase an actual set of balls?
Altruistic_Box4462@reddit
I'll bite. I like Subaru crosstrek. Love the look, good mpg, 4wd, sporty. Theyre great cars for the price.
Slow_Description_773@reddit
that’s what I’m driving.
Equivalent-Rate-6218@reddit
No biting allowed. Now apologize
RedditBeginAgain@reddit
Because most people dont make car buying decisions based on "facts" one rando on the internet spouted.
Equivalent-Rate-6218@reddit
Do they just accept that they are gay then when they buy a Subaru?
Slow_Description_773@reddit
I’m stupid enough unfortunately.
Equivalent-Rate-6218@reddit
I'm sorry 😞
ssrowavay@reddit
My excuse was that I wanted a cheap beater AWD car (not SUV) for going to the mountains in winter. Paid $3000, spent $5000 keeping it going for two years, sold for $500 barely running. Would have been cheaper (net) to lease a new car. Learning experience.
Beef_Candy@reddit
Common misconception. A modern Toyota, probably within the past 5 years or so, would shit itself just as fast as anything else would. They're not what they used to be, in fact I'd almost argue they're bordering on hot garbage.
But the older ones? Yup you're right. They're gutless, soulless, plasticky automobiles, but you could fill the sump with used peanut oil from behind the local chicken fila and they'd run a half million miles on it between 5 oil changes.
Altruistic_Box4462@reddit
I drove my Toyota 60 miles with no alternator, watching the engine meter go all the way red, having to turn the car off at any stop and making sure to speed keep up airflow.
2 years later and 60k miles later (I doordash) shes still going strong lol
NoPatience7817@reddit
I don’t bother changing my Toyota oil. I just top it off with the used oil from my other car.
/sarcasm
Far-Plastic-4171@reddit
I knew a hoarder who did that.
dumpitdog@reddit
Can we all agree that no matter what car you drive we should all have our oil changed at least once in a century?
burndata@reddit
Had a buddy with an old late 90s Celica who was ready to get rid of it but wanted to wait until it died. It had a pretty good oil leak so he just stopped changing the oil and just kept topping it off and figured it would kick the bucket soon. It took 6 years before it finally stopped running. He sold it to a friend of ours who drained the oil, flushed the motor to get the gunk out, did some other basic maintenance and then proceeded to drive that thing for another couple of years before selling it to someone else. I think the thing had 250k+ on it.
smiles34@reddit
Two grown ups who can't grasp the importance of vehicle maintenance. Really clues you in why they are probably working this job.
Chazzer74@reddit
Yes and particularly because they are not just 25 year old “grown ups” but presumably at least 45. That puts them of the age where they should remember older, lower quality cars that needed much more regular maintenance.
the_Q_spice@reddit
VW is a coin flip.
Some engines; look at it wrong and it’ll throw a bearing.
Other engines (from experience), forget that you haven’t gotten a change in 2 years, and the lube tech questions why you’re changing oil that looks so good.
Flabby_Thor@reddit
My SO, when she was much younger, didn’t know you had to change the oil. She went 3 years without changing the oil in her Camry. She probably put 25-30k miles on it until a coworker found out and he begged her to let him change it. Car ran perfectly for many years after (and she changed the oil regularly afterwards). She ended up selling it to a mechanic who was buying it for his daughter. He remarked at how well maintained it was. That Camry was a beast with some good zip. I bet it’s still running strong.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
It's a Ford.
And yes. It is
caution_turbulence@reddit
Sometimes I worry my Subaru is going to spontaneously combust WHILE getting the oil changed.
Adolin_Kohlin@reddit
No oil. A minute or two. Not changing the oil. Thousands of miles. It's all up to the bearing gods.
DBDude@reddit
We had an event where they drained the oil from an old car and put a brick on the gas. Whoever guessed closest to the boom time won a prize. Surprisingly, it lasted several minutes.
c_macattack@reddit
That is deliciously redneck. I love it.
Autobacs-NSX@reddit
In neutral though? Way different than loading the engine w/ the weight of the car
Curious_Hawk_8369@reddit
You should look on YouTube for the videos of cars getting their engines blown up on purpose, back when cash for clunkers was a thing. They’d drain the oil, add some shit designed to help seize the engine, and the old like 80’s, early 90’s ford trucks in particular would sit at redline for like 8-10 minutes.
It was sad, and incredible all in one video.
Downtown_Reward_6339@reddit
It was a sad, incredibly stupid public policy.
A Fuel Injected F150 with 4.9 Liter would still be on the road, given good service all these years later —and burning reasonably clean.
Instead they were villainized and destroyed so the oil companies could continue to pollute for another generation.
It still makes me sick.
Josey_whalez@reddit
I agree about it being incredibly stupid and wasteful but it wasn’t about big oil, it was a backdoor auto maker bailout. Incentivizing people to buy new cars with money from uncle scam because the big 3, GM especially, desperately needed to move brand new vehicles. So they spent taxpayer dollars destroying perfectly functional used cars, because the cash for clunkers paid more than the cars would be worth at trade in, with the caveat they had to be destroyed because they were old, got bad gas mileage, and were causing global warming, etc. The end result was GM et al sold a bunch more cars than they would have, and a bunch of cheap used cars of the type that millions of Americans rely on to get around were prematurely removed from service due to artificial market manipulation by this program. It had the (entirely predictable) side effect of making it much harder for low income Americans to find decent and cheap transportation.
TheWhogg@reddit
Once of the worst policy blunders since the previous time Big Govt tried helping us. Like all of the stupidest ideas on the planet, 🇦🇺 copied it too.
ZucchiniAlert2582@reddit
I don’t see how it benefited big oil. It certainly benefited auto manufacturers.
D-Laz@reddit
You still need to manufacture and transport the parts/vehicles. That's a lot of black gold there.
Josey_whalez@reddit
Those old jeep 4.0s would do the same, just run and run even with that stuff poured in there to destroy them. Stupid fucking waste.
Spirited-Mortgage-86@reddit
Yup my Toyota lost oil pressure - light came on full of oil. Stopped saw it was full and pressed on. Was 3 miles from home. Didn’t even make it one mile under light driving load/rpm.
jondes99@reddit
You need a lot more room to do it your way.
shoeinc@reddit
The one i attended it lasted about 5
Competitive-Reach287@reddit
We had one that lasted about 20. Very anticlimactic. No big kaboom. It just stopped.
nimbleseaurchin@reddit
Talk to old-timers and you'll hear a plethora of stories of motors running forever with little to no maintenance. I've heard of a Ford 300 with a split camshaft (maybe crankshaft, it's been a while) that drove into the shop with a light misfire, small block Chevy's going forever with little to no maintenance, GM 3800's with coolant leaks for a hundred thousand miles, iron dukes running with no oil for a long time, Subaru FJ motors running out of oil on the interstate and still turning over and driving. If the only problem is no oil and it hasn't sat a long time so there's still something between the bearings, it'll go a long time.
D-Laz@reddit
You can look at the just rolled in or customer states videos that have cars coming in with 65-85k miles still has factory oil filter. It's a goopy mess but they drove in with it
OpinionofanAH@reddit
I’ve seen that with a freshly rebuilt 1600 cc vw engine. It was at “Bugtoberfest” or something like that 15+ years ago. It was a good 7-8 minutes before the damn thing died.
radioactivebeaver@reddit
Gotta remember things need to get hot before problems start, and no oil only means as much as they could drain. I would guess 5-7 minutes depending on engine and surrounding temp. By me they put a car on the ice, completely drained, and then take guesses on when it will fall through. Money goes to volunteer fire fighters and they use the car for rescue diver training, so it's got a few bonus purposes.
KeeganY_SR-UVB76@reddit
People do it competitively now?
My mom once told me a story about her family’s old piece of shit Ford Galaxie, back in the 80s it was on its last legs so they took it out to a frozen lake, put 12oz of fuel in it, and put a cinder block on the throttle. Wherever it ran out of gas was where it stayed.
radioactivebeaver@reddit
Yeah. Most places frown upon just sinking cars these days. My dad retired in July, but last winter he drive across the lake every day to work in northern Wisconsin. If you drive too fast or cause an accident it's 100% on you, but they create a road most years because it shaves about 20 minutes off commute time going around the lake. If you end up in the lake and unrecoverable the local tribe and the community hit you hard.
Horse-Hockey-54@reddit
Back in the day, my buddies and I did the same and I will tell you that a 1958 Ford station wagon with a brick on the pedal and no oil in the crank case can run for 22 minutes before it seizes up with a very satisfying KER-CHUNK finale. We need more data points on the subject involving other models.
SkeletorsAlt@reddit
I worked in like a little industrial park where there was a mechanic’s shop that did this from time to time. It was always amazing his long the cars would run with no oil.
ytl1@reddit
And this is why commas are so important.
Koolest_Kat@reddit
I tried to kill a Ford Tempo with never changing the oil, top offs only. 120,xxx miles later my wife took it for a change…..the guys showed her the oil filter that was as heavy as a lead weight……50,000 miles later I traded it in, running…….
AT-ST@reddit
I had a 92 Ford Tempo that refused to die too. It was already 10 years old when I bought it from my grandparents for $500. It had over 200k miles on when I purchased it.
It was a beast in the snow. It easily drove through a foot and a half of snow.
I worked a summer with a union carpenter crew (my grandpa was the foreman) and saved up enough money to buy a new car. So I decided to just beat the shit out of the Tempo. I took it off reading. I'd rip around old strip mines. I never changed the oil. It just refused to die.
I just gave up and traded it in. They gave me $600 for it. I bought a brand new Chevy Cavalier that refuses to die. After 9 years I gave that car to my cousin who just gave it to his 16 year old daughter last year. Original engine and original manual transmission.
KaiserSozes-brother@reddit
Wife killed a VW in about 30,000 miles by not changing the oil. It was like grease when I finally got it changed
Gromle81@reddit
A friend of mine had a old Toyota Corolla. The dipstick was dry, not a hint of oil on it. The car just kept on going. It refused to die.
Fight_those_bastards@reddit
That’s an old Corolla, though, kind of cheating if you think about it.
jfklingon@reddit
Had a dodge stratus do the same. Pulled the dipstick and smoke came out, completely dry stick. Didn't touch it beyond that so have no idea how much was actually in there, but it couldn't have been more than 2 quarts.
PyroFreak22@reddit
I had a 2001 Honda Civic that ran at least 100 miles bone dry. those engines don't know how to quit. However, I wouldn't count on that happening again even in the really Good Honda engines. Eventually I got a really bad engine knock and stalled a few minutes later and wouldn't start back up. I came back the next day to get it towed and it started right back up. It ran horribly and made it a good 5 miles before the engine seized.
Debaser626@reddit
My mom had an ‘01 Dodge Caravan that she never changed the oil on.
It had an oil consumption issue, so she’d wait until she heard the knocking, then she’d drive to an auto parts store to fill up 6 quarts. She figured she didn’t need to change the oil as “it changed itself” about every 3-5 months.
She drove it for damn near 10 years like this. When we finally sent it off on a flatbed to its grave, the engine was still going strong… the guy actually drove it right up onto the tow truck. (It was a slew of electrical issues that made her finally scrap it).
RicVic@reddit
I had a 4cyl 83 Toyota bought back in 84 and in 86 I misjudged when I had the oil changed. Turned out to be over a year!! Nearly 18,000 kms!!
The oil was black, gritty and the consistency of tar, but the motor still ran! We drained what could be drained, popped the valve cover off the top and flushed the crap out of the valve springs, etc. Then we filled it with the lightest weight oil in the shop, started it, ran it up to temp and did a hot oil change with the proper spec oil. She got a little smoky when she was cold, but otherwise ran fine for another year until I traded it off in '89
Don't recommend it, and my mechanic still says I got lucky.. but the next guy probably had issues from the get-go.
K
shitboxmiatana@reddit
Seen a few older bmws go 100k+ miles on the first oil.
Literally nothing came out when they did the change. Complete sludge.
Novogobo@reddit
At various times in the history of engineering people have tried to make an engine run reliably without oil even if only in a limp mode. It's never been successful.
Commies-Fan@reddit
My buddy and I shared a Kia little 20 years ago. We drove it 23,000 miles without an oil change. When we did get it changed they made us sign a waiver they werent responsible if anything happens after because the sludge could be holding a lot together. Good times.
yottyboy@reddit
If it has synthetic oil, it can go almost indefinitely without changing. Just needs topping up. Regular oil relies on additives that help the molecules form long chains which keep the viscosity stable. Those additives break down and the oil loses its ability to maintain that hydrodynamic wedge that keeps parts from rubbing. It still lubricates, but not as effectively. So short answer, bad oil is better than no oil. It also allows build up of that brown stain (sludge) on parts. Your argument is that changing the oil is cheap insurance against major engine failure.
i_hate_budget_tyres@reddit
No this is wrong. It’s been tested, fully synthetic starts breaking down almost immediately but performs within spec upto about 23k miles.
yottyboy@reddit
I wrote almost indefinitely. Even well past 23k it would still be ok.
i_hate_budget_tyres@reddit
No, watch the tests on youtube.
yottyboy@reddit
Like YouTube is the most reliable information.
i_hate_budget_tyres@reddit
Well, its multiple sources on youtube. The oil is sent for lab testing. Plus the manufacturers themselves. It’s pretty solid evidence.
ufozhou@reddit
how about check the oil first and then take the guess
Familiar-Seat-1690@reddit
Ford suv. EcoBoost or regular engine? EcoBoost will do worse of the two. They are rated for up to 10,000 miles but that will gradually cause sludge. Extending a bit is one thing for short term saving but it’s likely to cost more not changing it.. ive seen a couple thousand miles of driving with bad oil (stuck open injector got gas in oil) destroy an engine, I’ve seen running a engine low on oil quickly destroy engine, but I’ve also seen a car get 30,000 miles get a change and be mostly ok
wish your parents luck
Andy15291@reddit
I had an EcoBoost and did 5-8k, got it to over 200k miles.
savixr@reddit
I put 45k miles on an 08 Mazda 6 in my youth with no oil change and it only died after I changed it. Probably could’ve went another 100k. I miss that car.
TheWhogg@reddit
Realistically 30k mi would probably kill it. Modern synthetic oil is often rated for 18k mi.
Unless they’re burning oil and not checking the dipstick. Then a minute or two.
mxracer888@reddit
No oil, not long.
No change, could be 50,000+ miles easily. Hard to say.
If you wanna have fun and have access to their vehicle you can always do some sampling. Pull a sample every couple months and send it off. Blackstone labs is a big name. Many CAT dealers also have oil labs. My local CAT dealer has a lab and it's like $10/sample I think.
You can just use it to learn for yourself, no need to sit there and put the data in their face or anything
Curious-Heron-7377@reddit
Even using cheap super tech and super tech filters is still way better than not changing it at all
Snoo_86313@reddit
Ive seen engines do some amazing things thru neglected maintenence. I remember a camry that came in driving for an oil change with a hole in the oil pan and nothing in it. Owner thought maybe they had hit a rock a week before and done 150 miles since. A hyundai sonata was "making noise" and we opened it to find black silly outty sludge everywhere. It was a lease and had gone 35,000 miles no oil change cus the owner misunderstood the salesguy at signing. Realistically its up to the engine with no real answer in my opinion. You can tell they are getting sick when they get noisy tho. Start to hear taps ticks and rattles.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
The suv made noise a year ago when I last saw them. Rode terribly. This must be the most reliable vehicle ever made lol
Snoo_86313@reddit
Sometimes they surprise you. The neon was like the most reliable unreliable car ever. They broke all the time but would never die if you just ran em broke. My buddy had a blown head gasket in hers and just.... just ran it without coolant. Did near 60k miles like that before she got a new whip.
PlaceboASPD@reddit
Depends if it burns oil, if it burns it all and runs out ~5 minutes otherwise around 20-40k seems to be when they end up in the shops but it could be significantly less if there’s any think not right with the engine.
They should be changing the oil every 3000- 5000 miles.
Living_Implement_169@reddit
Making money on DoorDash is debatable when you consider advancing wear and tear on your vehicle.
SummertimeThrowaway2@reddit
Even more wear and tear when you don’t change your oil too
-t-h-e---g-@reddit
And if they’re using an suv, it makes more sense with a moped or econobox
TheTruth115@reddit
Yup i doordashed in an SUV for a little bit and was making barely any money so I stopped pretty quick and bought a little 4 cylinder car and was making way more profit
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
I've tried explaining that to them. They can't afford a new vehicle or anything to fix the vehicle but think the $50 they make that day is worth it. From my deductions they spend half that in gas to do the job anyway.
beantownchamps@reddit
Tell them wait til they get their 1099!
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
There is no tax on tips now and they are on social security from being over 65 they said they don't have to pay into social security anymore. So they probably won't owe anything back. But I did warn them of that too
Living_Implement_169@reddit
They are incorrect. They still get taxed https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-01921.html
Living_Implement_169@reddit
You still get taxed on income outside SS
Living_Implement_169@reddit
And that mindset is a big reason they’re broke.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
Lol I know. I am very grateful I learned from my parents horrible financial screw ups lol
ContributionBorn9105@reddit
Yo i grew up with a similar situation in many regards, keep that mindset of doing better than them you dont need anyone lecturing you on something your more aware of than anyone
Chazzer74@reddit
No idea what your relationship with them is like, or your financial situation, but maybe consider doing a good deed and treating them to an oil change?
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
If I offered they would not accept it. It's a pride thing and a "I'm an adult and know better than a kid" thing. Tried before unfortunately to help them. It ain't happening. I just keep reminding them of things like this. Which is why I asked the question. I feel I need to be prepared for when I get the call they're stuck somewhere and I'll need to pay for a ride to where they are staying
Chazzer74@reddit
I hear you. Not exactly the same sitch, but I have in laws that are also completely illogical/in denial over certain things.
Baboos92@reddit
Dude.
Tell them an oil change costs between $15-$80 depending on what you need and whether or not you can follow a YouTube video’s instructions.
They are making $50 a day to destroy a $4k vehicle that they can’t afford to replace and require to make money.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
Basic math is not their strong suit 🤣
Baboos92@reddit
Maybe try to get them into a habit of just topping it off?
Back when I was broke I was in a sad loop of having to do this as my car was effectively totaled yet functional due to a slow oil leak. I’d literally just pour some oil in like every other time I drove it.
Fortunately I was just broke because I was in grad school so I had a pretty well defined 1.5 years that I needed the old girl to linger on for, and the top offs were enough.
This isn’t ideal car maintenance, but it beats the hell out of waiting for the inevitable.
alexlikespizza@reddit
If they go to a shop that reports maintenance, you can get the vin and check the carfax care app and see then they last got an oil change.
Traditional_Youth648@reddit
As someone who doordashes, WHY, I do it in an EV and sometimes struggle to get over 16 an hour (vastly depends on area and timing), it cannot be worth it in a 15 year old suv
Veroxzes@reddit
Carwow has a couple videos on it. Here’s one of them.
ralphiooo0@reddit
When I was young and poor I had a crappy old ford laser. Went a few years with zero maintenance.
One day u could hear a louder than usual tapping coming from the motor. Had next to no oil left in it.
So just filled it up and drove it a few more years.
Justanotherhitman@reddit
My worker is like your parents. I tell him and tell him to change oil. Checked it for him the other day. About bone dry, the tiny barely noticeable amount in the bottom had chunks. I filled it up for him his engine takes 4.5 quarts with filter change, it took 4 quarts till full. He was complaining about overheating a few weeks ago, i am very suprised 2 weeks later still driving its only a matter of time though.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
I guess I've noticed something. If people keep trying to help they keep getting their way of not learning from their mistakes. Maybe it's time to let the car die (again) remind them I was right (again) and hopefully they finally see "wait a minute. I should learn from this mistake" like your coworker. How some people make it so far is beyond me.
Justanotherhitman@reddit
I agree 100%
Caaznmnv@reddit
Thought boomers had it all made 😅. Door dashing sounds pretty strapped.
OpinionofanAH@reddit
I remember when I was young my mom had a friend that had a fairly new car. It was a Honda or Toyota econo car. The engine seized at 75k miles and when the mechanic asked her the last time she changed the oil her response was “well it came with oil when I bought it new.”
shorerider16@reddit
My wife, girlfriend at the time, did a few 30-40k km changes on her old 22re 4runner before I realized and started doing changes. Thing was tired when she bought it but she put at least 100k more on it before selling it.
Having said that, don't do that. Lol.
Boilerguy82013@reddit
You ever seen the video where a guy takes the oil pan off a toyota camry and drives it to his mechanic. It took the Toyota a long time, I wouldn't do it with a ford.
Ok-Maintenance-9538@reddit
No oil, not very long. Old oil anyones guess, I've seen 20k miles on an oil change and even though the oil looked like tar and took an hour to drain the car didn't have any issues before or after. But you're inviting damage by not doing it and most likely shortening its life substantially if you go more than say 5000 miles or so, and probably less if its all short trip city driving. What I think saved the 20k mile was it never went less than 60 miles in a trip so it was always brought up to and kept at operating temp.
i_hate_budget_tyres@reddit
Na. This is old advice. Fully synthetic oils can last over 20k. In Europe long life service intervals of 17k to 20k miles is very common. I think Porsche is 20k miles.
ktappe@reddit
There were videos from the era when the government was paying cash for clunkers to get gas guzzlers off the road. People would run them and see how long it took the engine to seize. It usually took more than a couple minutes. Car engines are stronger than people give them credit for.
No_Educator_6376@reddit
There should be a sticker on the upper left corner of the car saying when the next oil change is due compare it to the present mileage
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
Should be lol
GordonLivingstone@reddit
Any car that I have had in the last thirty years has had a specified oil change interval of at least 10,000 miles or one year - whichever comes first. Current car is 17,000 miles or one year. That does assume you use the correct oil.
Never caused me any problems. Last one got to 220k miles without burning oil or getting sludged.
So, unless they never get the oil and filter changed, it is unlikely that the car will come to any harm very quickly.
Of course if it is burning oil then you need to check the dipstick and top up before the oil gets too low. Failing to do that will ruin the engine
El_Pozzinator@reddit
I had a 94 S-10 2wd with the 4.3 vortec and a manual. Bought it with 100k, sold it with 190k. Zero oil changes. Zero oil consumption. Only maintenance done was a new sending unit and fuel filter. Buddies and I had access to a machine shop so I wanted to see how long it’d go before it blew up and we’d rebuild the engine. I sold the truck only cuz the brake lines rotted out and I didn’t feel like fixing it at the time. Wish I still had that truck. It was a tank.
The_one_who_SAABs@reddit
I think I saw a youtube video where an engine with no oil lasted 22 minutes or something crazy long like that
Anxious-Pair-52@reddit
Newer Ford SUV diesel, my oil change is 9k miles.
Stuys@reddit
Old Fords and old Toyotas I have seen run forever with little or no oil
zuck_my_butt@reddit
Just change their oil for them if you're worried about it.
Realistic-Regret-171@reddit
Cars nowadays alert for an oil change. Theirs may not, but my point is my 03 Vette wanted one at 13k miles, my ‘16 F150 at 10k, and my 03 500sl wants one at least at 6 months. Synthetic oil lasts a while.
Far-Plastic-4171@reddit
Cheapest man I ever knew drove an Audi A6. He would change his synthetic oil every year or every 25K miles.
DingChingDonkey@reddit
Depends on the individual engine but the build up of sludge often blocks the journals and starves the engine of lubrication. Watch them take motors apart on YouTube you'd be amazed.
ScorpioVlll@reddit
I dunno, my Ford ranger had water and coolant in the engine for awhile.
1213Alpha@reddit
That depends, if you're actively trying to kill it, it'll run forever out of spite, if you're just being cheap it's a crapshoot
Holiday-Poet-406@reddit
30k without an oil changr isn't unknown. No oil could be a mile could be a hundred miles.
AlchemistEngr@reddit
Assuming you can afford it, you could arrange to borrow their car and you go have the oil change and a tune up. Depending on mileage you could even change belts and hoses, do a rad flush, plugs, air filter, etc. If you are handy you could do some/all of this yourself.
Separate comment: There is a company that is basically Uber for pickups and SUVs. It operates like uber but you haul stuff for people. For example appliances or building materials too big to fit in the person's car. Could also be small moving jobs that do not rise to the level of a Uhaul truck or pro movers. Like Uber they can accept jobs that come up on the app or pass on them. The obvious catch is the job requires some lifting. And obviously pickups are better suited than SUVs. But they also do courier work (like documents or small parts) so even a normal car can be used. The customer can select the type of vehicle needed when they book the ride. I've never done it myself (I have a truck) but I did seriously consider it a few years ago. Just a thought.
Infamous_Volume_4802@reddit
My uncle bought a 1998 ford ranger new and always insisted he only changed the oil every 12-15k miles. When he died the odometer was a little over 735,000 miles on the original engine.
no_man_is_hurting_me@reddit
My uncle had a friend (40 years ago) that never changed his oil.
He would change the filter every 3,000 miles and add a quart of oil. Car lasted just as long as every other car of that era.
Ford 302, Fram PH8A
geopimp1@reddit
I e seen cars go 50k without an oil change. I’ve also seen them clog up at 7k. There’s too many variables.
PugDriver@reddit
Several years back, had an old van with 70,000+ miles and solidified oil in filter. Ran ok.
notwhoiwas43@reddit
The manufacturer recommendation on a lot of modern engines with full synthetic oil is 10,000 mi and some are as high as 15,000 MI. So if they are being honest about it, they're really not too far outside of that.
Having said that, it is my opinion that no matter what the engine and what the oil, 15,000 mi is too long.
Trees_are_cool_@reddit
I had a mid 90's Lincoln come into my shop for it's first oil change at about 40K miles. The oil drained out in chunks and I had to poke a screwdriver into the drain hole to unclog it. Don't know how long that engine lasted, but probably not very long.
don_chuwish@reddit
They'll need to DIY a lot of stuff to keep costs down, but it must be done.
SoundMedal@reddit
Just wait till it starts smoking, and then 2 years after that
Huge-Purpose-3336@reddit
I’m pretty bad about stretching my oil changes out. Mostly cause out of sight out of mind. I got 300k on my car and 240k on my Tahoe. No issues and when I pulled my car down for an unrelated issue no sludge or even really any build up. I do run full synthetic in both. Now if it’s a Nissan they’ll sludge up changing the oil mostly right. So it’s a gamble
sweetrobna@reddit
My aunt had a pontiac g6 and a psycho ex that was gaslighting her and faking oil changes and maintenance. It had one oil change the first year and lasted to at least 80k miles before she found out. I'm sure there was premature wear but it didn't fail unexpectedly.
Redsoulsters@reddit
9-13k miles is not the worst,… a lot of engines have longer oil change intervals these days. Even with an older engine, a 10k interval is likely enough to keep it going.
Minute_Split_736@reddit
There is a Volkswagen car show in Arizona called the Bugorama. They do an engine blow contest. Participants guess how long it will take to blow up. Its usually around 5-10 minutes. The show is at Firebird raceway. They wheel the engine out onto the drag strip and let her go at full throttle. It’s inside of a cage. I have never seen one blow up. They usually start loosing power then just stop.
dlloyd847@reddit
A lot longer than you would think
redditforwhenIwasbad@reddit
I drove a hyundai sonata with an oil leak for so long that when i brought it for an oil change they said it was bone dry when i got there. They couldn’t believe i drove it there.
JungleCakes@reddit
Depends what kind of oil. In my old Kia I’d go 10-15k between oil changes.
They should be keeping an eye on it though
AlaskaGreenTDI@reddit
As long as there is oil in it, a lack of just a change is going to take thousands if not tens of thousand to actually kill it.
1acedude@reddit
I’ll report back on this, I’m currently testing it on my beater. Everything but the engine and transmission has fallen apart on my Mazdaspeed3. I haven’t been able to lock the doors in 4 years lol.
I’m waiting for it to detonate to buy a new car and decided I’ll expedite it by just not doing any maintenance. Last maintenance was at 100k. 40k in, without oil change! Hoping to make it to 200k!
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
Interesting. I know it's been a while since they did an oil change on this vehicle if they've ever had one. But I have no car knowledge other than a very elementary education metaphorically. Thanks for the answer
AlaskaGreenTDI@reddit
Check the level, at least top off if low.
cowpoopcowsmoop@reddit
I changed the oil in my Honda Civic 2 years ago (5k miles) so I guess I'm due for another oil change.
GlobalTapeHead@reddit
It’s a very gradual process and it depends on so many factors. It could be many thousands of miles while high tolerance engine components wear down creating a loss of power, bad gas mileage, loss of compression, harder starting and running, tailpipe smoke. This could go on for years and years. Or the engine could just seize up one day. So I don’t think we can give you an exact answer.
LameBMX@reddit
modern? probably not even due for its next oil change. older? its probably closer to not enough oil now lol. all of my older Ford trucks/suv wanted a top up about half way to the oil change.
ozpinoy@reddit
my ex -- at least 1 year no oil change. still running .. for aussies - it's a commodore. V6 but has 8 whtie thingies or 8 needles forgot what you call it.. no .it' not a v8. officially it's v6 with 8 stringy ma things. SPARKS!!!
reedbetweenlines@reddit
A Ford pushing 150k miles with long interval oil changes, Well they don't call them EcoBooms for nothing.
jim2527@reddit
During the buybacks there were videos of cars that wouldn’t die.
DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit
I remember hearing stories about XJ 4.0s that would even resist the bottle of liquid death for a while during Cash for Clunkers. Absurdly tough engines.
lpg975@reddit
Yup. I've owned three of them. They JUST WON'T DIE.
No_South_9912@reddit
10k oil changes would be well worth it, better than nothing.
sschoe2@reddit
Depends on the conditions of the driving and how good the oil is. Howver after 15k miles you are really really on the road to a wrecked engine full of solid sludge.
RelationshipOne9466@reddit
Why would any adult with a driver's license not want or know how to change the oil in their car?
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
Dumb
cash8888@reddit
Every vehicle is different but will not last very long without oil.
jmardoxie@reddit
If you’re using a good synthetic oil it can go quite a long time as long as you change filters. I remember when Mobil 1 first came out there were crazy claims how long the oil would last.
PinkGreen666@reddit
If it’s all city driving they should be doing every 5000 miles. If it’s rural and it’s mostly highway, they could get away with every 7k-10k.
imprl59@reddit
Unanswerable question. It's building up sludge and and that's not good for it but impossible to know when that will kill it. At 15 years and 150k miles maybe the transmission will go and send it to the junkyard first.
I understand your concern that they're going to kill their vehicle and be in a worse spot than they are now. Maybe you could buy the oil and filter and change it for them?
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
I'm half a country away unfortunately and they are technically homeless so I can't mail things to them
shellevanczik@reddit
You can mail things to them using general delivery. Essentially, you mail the package to the closest post office to them. Write “General Delivery” and their name, and the address of the post office itself. They can then pick it up with ID.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
I didn't know that! Thank you!
shellevanczik@reddit
You’re welcome!! I’ve been on the road for over 10 years and I get my stuff like that.
molodjez@reddit
I'm from a Toyota family. My parents used to buy Toyotas just out of warranty and never did any maintenance on them. When an oil change interval was due my dad checked the oil levels and maybe topped it up a little if necessary - like once a year that is. There was never an engine problem. If the car was at the workshop for a routine fix like worn out clutch or water pump every 3-5 years I think he had an oil change done then. The cars always died from rust or crashes and had 300-500k kilometres in the end.
RileyCargo42@reddit
It depends on if you're trying to kill it or not (ik its a game but) in beamng.drive I've killed an engine in like 60 seconds from oil starvation other times I've been able to drive it 10ish minutes.
chilidogtampa@reddit
Using any vehicle as a part of a business, earning money with it, about the worst thing you could do is skip maintenance. Specifically oil changes. I'm sure that is the underlying point of your post.
What will happen is catastrophic failure, the question of when is actually a gamble, but its a gamble that you can get the advantage on for a relatively cheap investment on an oil change.
If money is an issue that is actually an argument for, not against, doing the oil changes.
Hope it works out. Unfortunately some people have to learn the hard way.
glwillia@reddit
i’ve never tried this, but from junkyard videos and from talking to people who were irresponsible with car care… around 40k miles seems to be the point where the engine dies without oil changes.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
That's a lot longer than I wouldve figured. Thanks!
glwillia@reddit
i mean, you’re doing major damage to your engine long before then, but that seems to be roughly the point where the car just won’t function any more.
Charles_Whitman@reddit
If the car has a 150K miles on it, it depends lot on whether, when you say they don’t change the oil, does that mean they also don’t check the oil. At 150K, it’s probably burning between a little and a lot of oil. If you change the oil, it’s likely that you may fill the oil back up before it gets too low but if you never change, never check, it’ll likely turn into no oil fairly soon and from there, the engine won’t last long as others have noted. If you check the oil and top it off as needed, it will last longer.
Optimal_Law_4254@reddit
Yeah, only a boomer would make that mistake /s
You’d be surprised how many people of every age group are clueless about cars.
taweret_352@reddit
learn to change the oil. you’ll save them money & keep the car in good shape
naka-you-out@reddit
I believe honda offered engine oil as an option from the factory
Chief220@reddit
No oil? Or just past due oil change?… big difference .. no oil it’ll die any second .. past due oil change you can let it slide wouldn’t make it a habit though … so basically all depends
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
From my understanding they have never taken it for an oil change. And my brother topped off their oil about 3 years ago. I'm not sure how the darn thing is currently running.
Chief220@reddit
Hope they are at least checking the oil
Ok-Communication1149@reddit
I've personally seen an Isuzu go 5 years without an oil change.
ConsiderationNearby7@reddit
They’re likely putting more wear and tear on the vehicle than they’re making. Not even including fuel. No way would I doordash in a 15 year old SUV with old oil.
whitneynations@reddit (OP)
That's exactly what I told them but even though I'm an adult and have been for a while I'm still the "dumb kid". They tried ubering back when the gig economy was new and complained it was too much wear and tear. I bring that up now and they say "it's different now" yah? Worse vehicle and less commission. Lol
Unable_Pepper_5924@reddit
Why not change the oil? 5qt jugs of synthetic are $20 and filters $5 at Walmart. Takes 15min tops
DIY-exerciseGuy@reddit
Be a good son. Check the oil and if it's low fill it up.
thesockmonkey86@reddit
What kind of car are we talking?
Sad-Celebration-7542@reddit
Speaking on the oil change interval: I let a 25 year old Camry go 3 years (probably only 5k miles though) without an oil change because I was going to sell/scrap it anyway. Ended up selling 2 years ago. Saw it on the highway the other day! Still kicking.
Don’t do what I did but also…it did end up working lol.
SmallHeath555@reddit
A Toyota? 300,000 miles
A Dodge/Hyundai? 200 miles
ThePurch@reddit
I had a 1995 Civic that rotted out from salty Canadian winter roads. In a back field of a friends farm, we put a brick on the gas pedal and let it bounce off the limiter for probably 30 minutes until we got bored of listening to it scream. Drained the fluids out of the engine, fired it up and let it continue to bounce off the limiter for nearly 15 minutes until it finally died.
Now, your parents suv? It would probably die in 2mins at idle without oil.
No_Caterpillar6536@reddit
Forever, the parent gods will protect that engine until the chassis wears out...they will be vindicated that "you think you know everything" and you will forever have that brought up at family gatherings. (p.s. sneak it out and jiffy lube that badboy next chance you get...it's your parents, don't even tell them...win-win)
tOSdude@reddit
Without oil it will start causing major damage within 30 seconds (less if you rev it higher than idle).
Time between oil changes can be harder to determine. If it’s consuming oil you’ll run into low oil problems sooner, but if it’s holding it or getting topped up regularly you could go anywhere from 6 months to 2 years before something catastrophic happens, you might get extra noise within 6 months or so.
Karmack_Zarrul@reddit
Adding however much oil is required to properly fill it once a week will dramatically increase its life. Cheap oil is cheap, and it’s insane to nit at least top it off
studlies1@reddit
My brother in law did this with a car he neglected, never changed the oil, just added when it showed low. The paraffin in the oil clogged the oil galleries and choked the engine. It seized up in maybe 20k miles.
mxguy762@reddit
The longer you wait the more likely it is to start burning oil. The rings get gummed up with carbon and start to stick and don’t scrape the oil like they should. Honestly not changing your oil ends up costing more in the long run. At least do it every 6 months.
woolash@reddit
I knew someone that drove a Porsche for 70k miles without an oil change. Car still ran OK but the person who bought it had to get the engine rebuilt soon after purchase. Porsches tend to have huge oil capacities so that would help. Your parents should at least add oil when needed.
VisualExcitement4402@reddit
They’re gonna have a blown head gasket soon if they don’t put some oil in there. Then the car will be unsalvageable unless they have 4k to take apart and rebuild the engine
Beautiful_Ad_4813@reddit
Too many variables but based on what you shared? Not long