I know it only hurts your wallet but...

[Will_T]

I had this issue with my previous truck also when it was in warranty. I had that truck for 20 years and when I sold it, it had 70,000 miles. I drive the new truck even less, but this past year was a record low. All camping trips being local was the main contributor. Last year I put about 4,000 miles on my current truck before having the oil and fuel filters done at 12 months. This year is coming due and I will be just under 2,000 miles. As the title says, I know it does not hurt anything other than the wallet, but still. In addition to a waste of money, it seems a waste of still good oil and filters. Nothing to be done though as long as in warranty as Ram says "or 12 months".

 

[Darkside]

I have had my truck for 2 years as of January 21st, I’m at 5,320 miles and it will be going in for the 3rd oil change in March. First oil change at 1,000 miles, then 3,000 miles or 12 months at the most. I plan on keeping this truck for at least 20 years…

 

[jj1101]

I'm in the same boat. I only use my truck for towing my 5th Wheel trailer. I put about 4,000 miles a year on it too. This service will be more expensive this year because it calls for a drain and flush of the transmission fluid. I purchased the Mopar extended warranty, so I will be sticking with their service interval.

 

[mountainears]

My current ‘22 replaced a 2000 F350 that was only used for towing, maybe 5000 miles a year. So definitely can relate, but always serviced every year regardless of miles.

I couldn’t justify spending as much as I did for a new truck if I wasn’t driving it all the time. So now it is no longer just a tow vehicle. Fewer vehicles in my “fleet” now….


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jj1101]

I had an 05 F-350 6.0 that was my tow vehicle but it finally could not tow my trailer reliably, so I had buy a new truck. It didn't help that my trailer weights about 17,000 fully loaded.

 

[AH64ID]

Oil life starts to decrease as soon as you start the engine, which is why there is a time limit on oil.

If you are in warranty I’d change it. If you’re not in warranty, or don’t care, do an oil sample that reports TBN and see if you can get another year out of it.

The oil is likely good for more than 12 months, but it’s hard to say without a sample if it’s good to 18 months or even 24 months.

I’ve done this in the past when selecting an oil for extended change intervals on my wife’s 4Runner. It took a couple oils before I found one that wasn’t completely toast at 12 months, which is as long as I run the oil but I didn’t want the TBN too low. It wasn’t getting crazy miles on it either, 10-12K on oil rated for 12 months or 25K miles.

Bottom line, the month limit has validity to it.

 

[Johnco]

I had a 2007, last of the 5.9 engines and I would still be driving it today had some distracted driver not chosen to stare at his phone and t-bone me into a Starbucks patio. Thankfully nobody in the coffee shop injured. After recovery from a broken back I purchased a 2019 and while I really enjoy all the new bells and whistles I still miss my 2007. To get back on track I did all regular maintenance religiously and would still be driving the truck which had 327,000 trouble free miles at the time (actually just replaced the radiator days before the accident). Keep up with the regular maintenance and your ride will treat you well.

 

[jebruns]

I'm used to that from our Cummins in our diesel pusher. Usually not a lot of miles each year, but still need to replace the 2 fuel filters, coolant filter, oil filter and 5+ gallons of oil each year. I do all my own maintenance. My 4 month old 22 2500 CTD has 1034 miles on it. It is obviously not a daily driver and this is not the time of year I do much pulling with it. I will start putting miles on it soon, but will still be way under 15K at my first yearly oil change.

 

[flan]

I’m similar, only use the truck for truck things. I’m rolling the dice and doing 2yr oci. F it.

 

[dogbreath650]

My understanding on the oil is that it depends on the climate you live in whether yearly changes are needed. I live in a dry climate so I don't worry too much about the humidity and condensation that contributes to oil degradation. I don't put a lot of miles on either so don't change yearly, only when miles dictate a change. With the cost of oil changes I plan on this same process on my new truck but I'll also send out the oil for analysis just to make sure I'm not doing something stupid.

 

[AH64ID]

I’m similar, only use the truck for truck things. I’m rolling the dice and doing 2yr oci. F it.

I hope you’re buying a quality synthetic, and not just something off the Walmart shelf.

Ever sampled the oil?

My understanding on the oil is that it depends on the climate you live in whether yearly changes are needed. I live in a dry climate so I don't worry too much about the humidity and condensation that contributes to oil degradation. I don't put a lot of miles on either so don't change yearly, only when miles dictate a change. With the cost of oil changes I plan on this same process on my new truck but I'll also send out the oil for analysis just to make sure I'm not doing something stupid.

The biggest thing that effects oil life on low mileage oil is the acidity of blow-by, which gets its the oil past the rings. This happens the most at cold startup, so every time you start the engine. This degrades the oil regardless of miles.

Good call on a the analysis, it’s the only way to know how long you can actually go.

 

[John Jensen]

A good thread.
I too am a very low annual mileage person, . While it seems a waste of oil and money, I change every year for warranty reasons.

I'm really only posting to say I had a neighbor who drove about 4000 miles a year on his 6.7 which I believe was a 2007, year that engine first came out. He used the truck for towing and some as a daily driver. He went totally by mileage without a problem other than he went through a couple of rear ends. I don't know his current miles because he moved away several months ago. His theory was oil doesn't go bad sitting on the shelf, so it won't go bad sitting in the engine.

 

[flan]

I hope you’re buying a quality synthetic, and not just something off the Walmart shelf.

Ever sampled the oil?



The biggest thing that effects oil life on low mileage oil is the acidity of blow-by, which gets its the oil past the rings. This happens the most at cold startup, so every time you start the engine. This degrades the oil regardless of miles.

Good call on a the analysis, it’s the only way to know how long you can actually go.

Yea off the Walmart shelf rotella T6

 

[AH64ID]

Yea off the Walmart shelf rotella T6

Decent oil.

Ever sampled it?

One thing that would make me a little nervous is that TBN on CK oils isn’t as high as it used to be. Granted ULSD isn’t as hard on oil as LSD so you don’t need as much, but it’s still lower and that’s what will wear out first on low mileage oil.

 

[flan]

Decent oil.

Ever sampled it?

One thing that would make me a little nervous is that TBN on CK oils isn’t as high as it used to be. Granted ULSD isn’t as hard on oil as LSD so you don’t need as much, but it’s still lower and that’s what will wear out first on low mileage oil.

I have not. I’ve owned my truck 3yr 6 months and has 19k on it. I last changed it around 15,500mi. Dec of 21. So I only put about 4-5k on it last year. It pains me to dump clean oil.

 

[AH64ID]

I have not. I’ve owned my truck 3yr 6 months and has 19k on it. I last changed it around 15,500mi. Dec of 21. So I only put about 4-5k on it last year. It pains me to dump clean oil.

I would sample it next time you change it. Kits aren’t much cash, make sure the test does TBN, and you’ll know for sure.

 

[flan]

I would sample it next time you change it. Kits aren’t much cash, make sure the test does TBN, and you’ll know for sure.

Good point.

 

[jetrinka]

I change my oil every 3k. I enjoy hearing my wallet cry from the constant abuse.

 

[AH64ID]

I change my oil every 3k. I enjoy hearing my wallet cry from the constant abuse.

It’s nice that oils and engines have come a long ways since those days.

My 05 4.0L TJ calls for the 3mo/3k treatment, but it gets annual changes and only about 5K miles on it.

 

[dogbreath650]

Yea off the Walmart shelf rotella T6

Decent oil.

Ever sampled it?

One thing that would make me a little nervous is that TBN on CK oils isn’t as high as it used to be. Granted ULSD isn’t as hard on oil as LSD so you don’t need as much, but it’s still lower and that’s what will wear out first on low mileage oil.

For us uninformed, what is TBN, CK, ULSD, & LSD