'92 lesabre oil change interval with local (low mileage) driving

hi,

just a quick question. my old ride ('92 lesabre) is ... well ... not really safe car for long highway runs, so it's rather a local driver only for our household since 2 years. i was wondering how often you change oil on cars that do merely 200 miles a month ?

regular 3k miles / 3 months dino oil change interval seems not right for this scenario. every 3 months sounds like changing it very often (600 miles or so) and waiting until it hits 3k miles would take a few years (unless I sell it to someone first).

It's been already 6 months since last oil change, but the car barely hit 1k miles in that time.

thanks for your opinions.

Stop and start short trips are calculated by time not mileage. you are due.

Stop and start short trips are calculated by time not mileage. you are due.

ok, thanks. i was about to change it tomorrow anyways. just wanted to make sure i'm not killing it with 6months interval. so, 3 months sounds right in start&stop driving pattern ? or rather something like 5 months would be safe too ? trying to figure out the timeline for future OCI, since i work on cars outside (no garage) and cannot do this in Winter.

Don't necessarily take my advice because I don't have the best habits when it comes to changing oil, I would probably change it once a year and then watch the level to ensure it is topped off. You could probably go longer on that oil without any problems--especially if you are driving gently around town.

I have a somewhat similar situation. We have several vehicles and tractors that are not used on a regular basis. If I get the oil changed once a year, I am doing well. Sometimes, I change the oil right before heavy use. I tend to watch the oil pressure gauge and then look at the oil on the dipstick (not that I can really tell much). Some have gone longer than a year though if they have not been used much. I am yet to lose an engine and none smoke. I have had one tractor 20 years and it was old when purchased. There is a riding mower here that I believe I have changed the oil twice in over 18 years. The engine is great, but the front end and steering is worn out. I do change the oil in the cars we drive regularly, but they get quite a few miles on them.

Don't necessarily take my advice because I don't have the best habits when it comes to changing oil, I would probably change it once a year and then watch the level to ensure it is topped off. You could probably go longer on that oil without any problems--especially if you are driving gently around town.

I have a somewhat similar situation. We have several vehicles and tractors that are not used on a regular basis. If I get the oil changed once a year, I am doing well. Sometimes, I change the oil right before heavy use. I tend to watch the oil pressure gauge and then look at the oil on the dipstick (not that I can really tell much). Some have gone longer than a year though if they have not been used much. I am yet to lose an engine and none smoke. I have had one tractor 20 years and it was old when purchased. There is a riding mower here that I believe I have changed the oil twice in over 18 years. The engine is great, but the front end and steering is worn out. I do change the oil in the cars we drive regularly, but they get quite a few miles on them.

thanks for your opinion!

i was looking for some kind of confirmation that 6mo (or longer) OCI will not kill the engine. that car of mine is ready for trade-in anyways once i find a good deal on some newer toyota (and have money for the down payment), but i need it alive for the time being, it's my daily driver (only 2-3 miles one way).

i think i will stick to 6months OCI interval in Spring and then again in Fall to avoid Winter oil change hassle. old oil looked not bad when i changed it today, i mean it was darker like it did 3k miles already, but it was still "good". i'm using Castrol GTX 10W-30 on this car and I rather do not abuse it, ... except for some hard acceleration situations ... I love the V6 accelerating power on this car and I can a little abuse it sometimes ;)