I am a snowbird with cars in two areas. So I always have at least one parked for about 6 months.
My pattern for 8 years and more is to change the oil in the vehicle just before I park it. Then when I come back I drive the vehicle for 6 months and repeat. I drive about 1,000 miles per month so I am well under the mileage cap recomended by the manufacturer.
My theory is that oil does not go bad on the shelf, and it should not go "bad" while it sits in a clean engine for six months so as long as I ensure the car parked does not have dirty oil in it, I will not do damage.
The 3 vehicles I have been treating this way are old and high mileage and have seen no ill effects at all. I never have to add any oil in between changes and the oil always looks like new.
The vehicles:
Nissan Xtrail 2005 with 170,000 miles
Hyundai Sonata 2009 with 120,000 miles
Toyota Solara 2007 with 120,000 miles
And now I just traded the Sonata for a 2014 Subaru Crosstek with 70,000 miles.
THE QUESTION....Should I keep up this practice????
Yes, you're doing it right. Keep it up.
What you have been doing should be fine, I would recommend reversing the order here is why:
It's possible for water to condense within the crank case of your engine over time, in the container this doesn't happen because it's sealed.
When you get back change the oil, drive for 6 months leave, return change the oil drive with fresh oil.
That being said all of your vehicles are newer and should be more water tight than older ones. And because during the time you are gone the engines are not being heat cycled so not much potentially moist air is likely entering the crank case.
Either way is probably completely fine.
Hi there,
Depending on how old the oil is before you put these cars to bed you might be wasting your time and money.
( what I mean is that maybe changing the oil after they have been sitting might be your best bet for engine longevity)
....To explain my reasoning.....
If these cars are sitting in a temperature controlled garage you might be ok with this practice.
However, If the temperature and humidity level fluctuates greatly even if you have new oil there will be moisture accumulating inside the engines.
The would most likely burn off quickly when the engines are finally started after the long rest.
Even though this is the case the old oil sitting in there might be fine and a fresh oil change at this time would be the better choice.
I will say that you have some decent mileage on the cars you have and if they run fine .. well this might be the reason your cars have lasted so long..
LOL
In your case, following storage and before attempting to operate a vehicle:
1. Drain old oil, replace filter and add new oil.
2. Disable ignition system, then crank engine a minimum of 60 seconds to distribute oil throughout engine.
3. Re-Enable ignition system and attempt to start engine (if engine flooded, wait 10 minutes and try again.).
4. Allow engine to operate a minimum of 4 minutes at a slightly elevated idle.
I'd use the above process on any type of oil, but especially Full Synthetic or even Synthetic Blend. If you perform a procedure such as the one above, you should be fine. If not, damage to components requiring lubrication has already occurred and all you can do now is try to mitigate additional damage.
Also, especially in some of the larger urban areas, storage facilities are available that will periodically operate engines during the storage period, and perform a procedure similar to the one above immediately prior to release from storage. They even do a wash job ...
Oil changes should be done by the mileage interval or once a year, whichever comes first. The oil will be just fine if left for 6 months. Yes, very little moisture will get in during that 6 month period, but it will all burn off when you start the engine again.
Thanks all.
Some info left out....cars are sitting outside in Canada winter and cold, but winter air is normally very dry, and inside in Arizona (summer and hot and dry)
So I think less of a moisture issue....if they were in San Franciso or Portland that would be waaaay different. Should have mentionned that.
Oh, and while I am cheap, last few years I HAVE been putting in semi-synth oil. Of course the Crosstrek gets full synth. by manuf decree.