PHEV specific topic: oil change based on time ONLY

Not a PHEV owner, and didn't watch the video, but most equipment has hour meters, no?
Too bad this couldn't be accessed via software, or even miles with engine running-you'd think it should be kept track of by the car.
I suppose you could install an hour meter.

 

if i had known this when i owned a pip, i would have changed the oil twice in eleven years, instead of every year.
that would have been a $1,000. savings

 

Oil goes bad from oxidation. At room temperatures, that reaction is very slow, and even stops if cold enough. Then in a sealed bottle, the available oxygen is used up and oxidation stops.

So oil can last some time in a non-running engine. But we also need to account for climate along with time. The engine isn't sealed, and warm/cool cycles will lead to fresh air getting into the crankcase with more available oxygen. It also can bring in humidity that adds water as an oxidation source.

In the case of a PHEV, the engine use cycle needs to be considered. If only running for a short time when it comes on, that is the same as a short trip in an ICE car. This is severe use on the oil, as there is more water and even fuel sitting in the oil for long periods before being boiled off.

Toyota's oil change schedule is too short for PHEVs; its what they use for ICE cars. Would be great if they, and everyone else, used a system like Honda and GM, which monitored engine operation to calculate remaining oil life. With that system, the Volt could go two years between oil changes. Which was probably still conservative.

 

You want to take away my once-a-year fun...

 

i'm surprised big oil hasn't shut these guys down.
it would be interesting if someone did a long term study of hybrids vs gassers. the only potential problems i see are climate and driving variables.

 

Honda's maintenance schedule (it's a little elusive, built into their in-dash Maintenance Minder system) stipulates oil filter change at every second oil change. That said, at our nearby dealership at least, if you ask them to just change the oil, leave the filter, they treat you like you're nuts. What I would DIY at the oil change-only-interval, was drain the oil and filter, reinstall that filter. Worked, and the oil change was more complete.

BTW, I wonder if there's some brain-fart afoot in the video, at 4:52 the guy he quotes says "a dirty air filter...". I have heard the latter.

 

I believe we are really overthinking things. While the data may be correct for that instance in time; are we really going to monitor the car that closely? Regarding the dirty filter thing, what happens when it gets loaded up with junk and the by-pass valve opens up - it dumps all that debris into your motor. They're creating a solution for a non-exisiting problem by taking a narrow slice of data points. It's more advantageous to look at the entire set of data points, before coming to a conclusion. When I was a kid working the fryer in a fast food joint, after cleaning the filter, we used to dump a cup of powder into the fryer. It was suppose to coat the stainless steel filter and make to filter better. I'm NOT going to leave a dirty filter in on an oil change.

I did NOT watch the video, because data points can be manipulated to prove their argument. Isn't it common sense that a partial clogged filter is going to filter better if it's partially clogged? Does this mean that we should NEVER change our filters??? We need to be looking at the entire data set and repeating the experiment - only then you can come to a valid conclusion. That's why scientific papers are peer reviewed. To play devils advocate; how clogged should a filter be, before you should toss it out and how would you measure that?

I change my oil per OEM required intervals. When I get beyond my 5 year 60K mile ICE warranty; I'll more than likely stop annual oil changes and do 10K mile changes ONLY. Based on my current pattern, I've calculated that I do 7500 miles max. on the ICE in that 10K mile interval, that's rounding up on all ICE calculations. Actual numbers not rounding up places me right around 5K miles. So I'm OK with that and may also move to 5w30 oil to reduce wear - I'm in the warmer part of the lower 48 and don't see any down side to that. I exercise my ICE enough to require a fill-up every month. IMHO - anyone doing fill-ups >90 days should rethink how a PHEV fit's their life style.I believe someone here had a strong gasoline smell coming from their engine oil, when they changed it - that's telling me that they are NOT running their ICE long enough or hot enough to evaporate that contamination.

Just my two cents.....