‘He only drives 4,000 miles per year’: Mechanic reveals how often you should change your oil if you don’t drive a lot

On the internet, there’s a pretty standard piece of advice regarding oil changes. The advice goes like this: After 3,000 miles, you should change your oil.

While common, this advice is hotly contested. As noted by Popular Mechanics, “Your average 3,000-mile quickie-lube sticker gives you a general suggestion of when to change your oil based on a really severe maintenance schedule.”

“The real authority you should consult first…is the owner’s manual for your vehicle,” add authors Ezra Dyer and Stef Schrader. “Different vehicles have different maintenance needs, especially with recent advances in automotive technology that have pushed some newer cars’ oil change intervals out to 7,500 or 10,000 miles, or once every six to 12 months.”

However, does this advice apply if you’re only using the car occasionally? The question is understandable—and now, a mechanic on TikTok has the answer.

When you should change your oil if you don’t drive often

The TikTok account for Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice) frequently posts advice about cars and car maintenance. For example, the account previously discussed what a mechanic looks for during a full checkup, as well as the top five vehicles that are most expensive to repair. 

Now, the account has inspired conversation again with a new video, this time concerning the frequency with which one should change their oil.

Responding to a viewer’s question about how often one should change their oil if they only drive 4,000 miles per year, the mechanic says that navigating this situation can involve a variety of factors.

The main factor, he says, is “100% mileage—within reason.”

“Let's give him as a perfect example. He's driving 4,000 miles a year,” the mechanic starts. “Then what I would tell him is, come in for your oil service. OK, you get your oil service done, and then at six months away from that, come in, let us just check the tire pressures, check the fluid levels, you know, just shake the front end down, check the tires themselves. Let’s just be sure everything’s OK.”

“Then, come back in six months later, Do an oil service. He's basically doing oil service once a year, but at least every six months he's coming in for us to look the car over. Just really, generally just to be sure it's safe,” he continues. “Even though you're not driving very far, you don't want to go a whole year without somebody at least looking at the car to be sure that it's safe.”

How in need of an oil change a car might be can also depend on the style of driving with which one is using it.

“If you're just stopping [and] going around town, that's pretty tough on oil. If you're saying the car sits for a week at a time, and then I make an hour trip…once every weekend—it's a weekend car—then, that's not as bad on the oil,” the mechanic says. “But if you're just doing a couple of miles a day on the oil, that's pretty tough.”

@royaltyautoservice Always stay on top of your maintenance! #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #oilchange #cartok #diy #viral #fyp #foryou #tips ♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) - nightbird_bgm

Viewers share their own oil change experiences

In the comments section, users shared their own thoughts on oil changes.

“I change my oil once every 2 years or 25k,” a user claimed.

“And they won't tell you many newer cars can go up to 10k miles between changes,” added another.

“Hmm kinda agree. work from home… drive my gas saver when needed…put only 1k miles on my truck per year and replace the oil only once a year,” stated a third.

The Daily Dot reached out to Royalty Auto Service via its website contact form.

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