Are oil changes needed when not driving much?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tim
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 4
  • Views Views 1K
T

tim

Member
I haven't been driving much during these coronavirus times. So, I'm wondering if I can put off doing the service that is indicated on my dashboard. I'm guessing that the service alerts are based on calendar time and not mileage or oil quality. On my Odyssey, there is an oil life indicator, which triggers a service alert when it hits 15%. There's no such indicator on the Clarity, so I assume that service alert is not based on oil quality.

And if I put off doing the indicated service, does that affect my warranty?
 
tim said:
I haven't been driving much during these coronavirus times. So, I'm wondering if I can put off doing the service that is indicated on my dashboard. I'm guessing that the service alerts are based on calendar time and not mileage or oil quality. On my Odyssey, there is an oil life indicator, which triggers a service alert when it hits 15%. There's no such indicator on the Clarity, so I assume that service alert is not based on oil quality.

And if I put off doing the indicated service, does that affect my warranty?
Click to expand...
Is your Clarity still under warranty? Check out this thread and decide what you want to tell Honda if you have engine problems.
 
tim said:
I haven't been driving much during these coronavirus times. So, I'm wondering if I can put off doing the service that is indicated on my dashboard. I'm guessing that the service alerts are based on calendar time and not mileage or oil quality. On my Odyssey, there is an oil life indicator, which triggers a service alert when it hits 15%. There's no such indicator on the Clarity, so I assume that service alert is not based on oil quality.

And if I put off doing the indicated service, does that affect my warranty?
Click to expand...
Technically there are things that can happen to the oil even if the engine doesn’t run much. Oxidation and moisture can have an effect on the oil that can eventually cause it to degrade. I don’t know if the degradation would be significant after a year but the general consensus seems to be that you should change it at least once a year even if the engine hasn’t run.
 
Yes, you can put if off quite easily. Just don’t change the oil when recommended.

Yes, it can, may, will affect the warranty. For example, failure to follow the recommended oil change maintenance interval could result in denial of an engine related failure from being covered under warranty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top