What Happens When You Skip Oil Changes?

What Shoppers Need to Know

• Extending or skipping recommended oil change intervals can lead to excessive engine wear and void the engine’s warranty coverage.
• Oil change intervals are established to protect the engine while minimizing maintenance cost and oil waste.
• As you drive and even as the car is sitting, the oil degrades and gets contaminated with debris and water.

While it’s certainly tempting to skip or extend recommended oil change intervals, you may well pay the price in the end.

Related: Do You Really Need to Change Your Oil Every 3,000 Miles?

Why You Need to Change Your Oil

Running engines produce some fine metallic particles due to normal wear and tear; in addition, water can get into the oil from condensation through normal running that can result in thick sludge that doesn’t lubricate well. This sludge could prevent the oil from circulating in the engine, which in turn could cause poor running and increased wear. Oil also naturally degrades over time, and any water that gets mixed in can reduce the oil’s anticorrosion properties.

Furthermore, some newer engines burn a little more oil than you might be used to, yet the oil change interval is often longer. Racking up more miles between oil changes means that any amount of oil burned is going to be greater between the extended intervals. So, if an engine consumes one quart of oil every 5,000 miles (which is probably not unusual or excessive), the engine would only be a quart low if the oil is changed at 5,000 miles — but if the interval is 10,000 miles, it would be 2 quarts low by then, which would be worrisome. And then if you skip that oil change, the oil level might drop low enough to cause disastrous results.

Thus, periodically checking the engine’s oil level is more important than ever even if you have the oil changed when you’re supposed to. Note that many cars don’t have oil dipsticks anymore, relying instead on electric oil level indicators. Though those should give you a warning of low oil levels before damage occurs, that warning may not come at a time when it’s convenient to add oil, so it’s a good idea to go into the screen to check the level if possible.

What’s the Right Oil Change Interval?

While the old rule was to do an oil change every 3,000 miles, most maintenance schedules in modern cars call for one every 5,000-10,000 miles, with some going as high as 12,000-15,000 miles. And many cars today have an oil life monitoring system that calculates when oil changes should be performed based on how the car is driven, which can extend the intervals even further. These longer intervals are due to improvements in both oil technology (such as synthetic formulas) and engine technology.

However, if the car doesn’t have an oil life monitoring system, the time interval listed is important, as well. Often it’s every six to 12 months regardless of mileage, as oil degrades over time, and it can also be affected by the aforementioned water buildup. Short driving trips — particularly in cold weather — may not get the engine hot enough to burn off this water, which can reduce the effectiveness of oil additives that are intended to minimize friction and corrosion.

In addition, the manufacturer will also specify the proper oil to be used, including the weight (e.g., 5W-30) and type (e.g., synthetic).

Can Skipping Oil Changes Void the Warranty?

Whether you’re adding oil yourself or are getting an oil change, all recommendations on intervals and oil type should be followed not only to maintain a healthy engine, but to keep any powertrain warranty in effect. If your engine fails within the warranty period, you’ll almost certainly be asked to provide proof that the maintenance schedule was followed.

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• What Happens When You Overfill Your Car With Oil?
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