According to mechanics and oil companies, many failures in modern car engines result from improper servicing, which, however, is in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations. The key problem is the harmful long life mode, which consists in changing the oil less frequently.
Is an infrequent oil change recommended?
Oil change every 30,000 km is almost standard in today’s cars, which is a significant extension of oil life compared to the recommendations from the 90s of the last century. This approach has a positive impact on the environment as it generates less oil waste and also lowers service costs as maintenance is performed less frequently.
However, this practice may have negative impact on the durability of the engine and its mechanisms. What’s worse, many drivers, trusting in the high quality of engines, do not regularly check the oil level, which used to be the norm.
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According to a survey conducted by Castrol, only 41 percent. of car owners in Poland check the engine oil level at least once a month. This leads to minor damage that can turn into costly faults over time.
Change engine oil more often than recommended by the manufacturer. Both older and modern car models need to check its level regularly and top up as needed.
Tarek Hamed, Marketing Manager Castrol
What damage can old oil cause?
You might think that the risk of engine seizing due to too rarely changed oil is very high. However, this is not entirely true. Yes, the problems with the dCi, THP or TSI units were partly due to this, but there were design flaws at play here. In this case we are talking about slow wear of mechanisms and a high risk of metal filings entering the lubrication circuit.
Many modern engines face other problems, mainly related to too long intervals between oil changes. One of the most vulnerable areas to premature wear and costly repairs is chain driven timing drive. Specialists recommend more frequent oil changes in constructions where the tensioner may not work properly, which causes the chain to rattle and stretch.
Old oil can also cause lubrication problems in commonly used turbochargers and even promote carbon build-up, which leads to contamination of the engine, exhaust system or delicate EGR valve. What’s more, in engines that work with a diesel particulate aftertreatment system (DPF/GPF), oil degradation occurs even faster due to oil mixing with fuel. Such oil loses its lubricating properties, and its amount increases.
Another costly component prone to premature wear is the variable valve timing gear (or several, depending on the engine). Such a part can cost from PLN 400 to even over PLN 1,000.
I would advise against buying a used car whose service history would indicate that the oil was changed in the long life mode. Oils of this type have more enriching additives and are more durable, but they will never stand up to long tests of operation in difficult conditions.
Adam Lehnort z ProfiAuto
How often should engine oil be changed?
It turns out that the old recommendations to change the oil every 10,000 km. km and at least every 15,000 km. km are still valid. Observing the work of workshops that solve “mysterious” problems with modern engines, you can notice a certain regularity. The cause of problems is usually too infrequent oil changes, and this is especially true for units with a timing chain.
2023-07-03 10:44:00
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