narnia

I'm only putting about 8,000 miles a year on my car now. It's been about 6 months since my last oil change, but I still have 65% Oil Life on my MID. Is it ok to wait to change the oil?

PoochaKannInc

Narnia:

In my opinion, I would change the oil in the car at least twice a year if I have very low mileage (as is your case). So I would tell you to change the oil soon...but the oil gurus might have better input than me...

SouthernBoy

I agree with PoochaKannInc. While you may not be putting much mileage on your oil, it will contain acids and water from condensation. Cheap insurance for a not-so-cheap car. Go ahead and change it. Besides, it's only a 30-40 minute job at most and quite simple at that.

If you do it yourself, here's a little technique I got from from Road Rage. When you get to the point of removing the old filter, start it enough so that you can finish removing it be hand. Then wrap a 1-gallon ZipLock bag around it completely so that the top of the bag is above the fitting which receives the filter. Then finish removing the old filter. When it comes loose, it will drop into the bag along with some residual oil. Then simply seal up the bag and voila.. no muss, no fuss, no mess!

narnia

SouthernBoy I'm a Queen (see my sig) and we don't do oil changes. :wink: Thanks for the input though, I didn't think it was good to leave the oil sitting in there too long.

BTW, I see you're from Manassas. I once took a long trail ride through the battlefields. What a moving experience. That's beautiful country out there.

SouthernBoy

To narnia;

Oops.. sorry. But just because you're a lady doesn't mean you can't change your own oil.

Actually, I live about 6-7 miles from Manassas and grew up in Falls Church, Virginia. Yes, it is very nice country out here, but like a lot of places (especially in this part of Virginia), the housing and business boom is spreading like crazy. Still I'm VERY close to great country roads for a quick and nice drive in my TL anytime I get the feeling.

SodaLuvr

Really depends on how many miles are on the oil, what type of oil is used, and how long your trips typically are. In addition, the total miles on the car should be taken into consideration.

Michael

bluenose

The manual says change yearly if the MID has not yet reached the change point.

Legend2TL

That is a good tip from RR.

On most new V6 Honda/Acura's they position the oil filter just above the right lower control arm and lower strutural unibody so alot of used oil gets on the chassis and control arm so it's alot less mess to clean up using that technique.

SouthernBoy

To Legend2TL;

Yeah, I found that out with my first oil change. I hadn't expect that much oil to spill out onto the lower components. Luckly, I had a tarp down to protect my driveway (like normal), but that tarp was history after that. With Road Rage's idea, it's a no-brainer. After I remove and replace the filter, I pour the oil that made it into the ZipLock bag into my used oil container, then just seal up the bag with the filter in it and throw it in the trash.

While not the easiest car to change the oil (that one goes to my '88 Mustang LX 302CID and my 2002 Altima SE - they're tied), it ranks right behind those two. If it weren't for the ZipLock bad thing, the TL would be in the #1 spot.

Oh BTW.. I highly recommend using the Mobil 1 M1-104 filter over the factory OEM unit. It's 1/2 inch wider so a standard quality filter wrench works, the rubber seal is SO much better, and the body steel is thicker. All around a much beter quality filter.

I replace the aluminum drain plug washer with each oil change and torque to 360 lb/inches. I use Mobil 1 5W/20. Also, my driveway, being asphalt, is somewhat slippery so the Rhino composite ramps slide when I try to drive the TL up on them. About 5 years ago, I made my own ramps out of 2x10's and use those. They do the job just fine for both TL's and my Ford Ranger pickup.

SodaLuvr

For those of you here that like modding cars, simply relocate the oil filter.

Michael