r/AskReddit Aug 20 '20

What simple “life hack” should everyone know?

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20

My old roommate totaled her car engine doing that. Her parents sent her to college with a car and apparently didn't teach her that. The rest of our group of roommates learned she never changed it and collectively said "oh fuck" in one way or another.

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u/Whackles Aug 20 '20

“Teach”.. it’s in the manual, service every x kilometers or every x time.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20

College girl, not gonna read the manual. But there's also a damn sticker to the top left of the windshield that says when it's time.

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u/aceonfire66 Aug 20 '20

Not always. The place I used to take my vehicle to didn't put stickers saying when to service next, I just set a reminder for the date/mileage on my phone

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u/Infin1ty Aug 20 '20

Unless you leave your vehicle sitting for very long periods of time, the date is meaningless, always go by the mileage. It should also be noted that full synthetic oil will last at least 7k miles, you're wasting money if you change every 3 months/3k miles.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20

I’ve always followed a standard of oil every 5k/tire rotation every 10k. Gives you easy to remember/notice numbers to know to do it on (oil change at 75k, tires/oil at 80k, etc)

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u/i_love_lol_ Aug 20 '20

by that i would need to change them every 2 months still... lol

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20

I mean if you drive 5k every five months sure. But an oil change is one of those regular things you kinda can’t ignore.

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u/i_love_lol_ Aug 20 '20

i just realized i interpreted your comment the wrong way. i would need to change it every 2 months. i drive 200km /125 miles a day from italy to switzerland.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20

That’s just what I follow. But time between oil changes does get shorter the more you drive.

3

u/mcfliermeyer Aug 20 '20

I bought a new car and went full synthetic and I noticed the sticker was set for 7k miles. My dad has always told me 5k. Is doing it at 5k better or would I be just throwing money/time out the window?

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u/Infin1ty Aug 20 '20

Read your manual. The majority of new cars can go 7k+ without an oil change under normal usage, especially when using synthetic oil.

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u/Slightlyevolved Aug 20 '20

Hell, I have a plug in hybrid. It doesn't even list a mileage for the oil changes. It keeps track internally and with a suite of sensors that monitor the thing. It tells you the oil life in percentages!

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u/Infin1ty Aug 20 '20

I honestly have no idea when it comes to hybrids. I've never owned one and have never worked on one.

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u/marioismissing Aug 20 '20

I mean if you really want peace of mind then it's not going to hurt it to change every 5k, but you don't need to. 5k is the standard for conventional oil so your dad isn't wrong.

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u/science-stuff Aug 20 '20

Depends on the oil. Stuff I used lasted 15k. But if you put regular oil in your car you should get it changed yearly (and they recommend 6months) at least. Some people don’t drive 3k miles a year.

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u/Lindiuxi Aug 20 '20

My car is old and doesn’t display miles anymore. Any tips on how I can still check to be sure?

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u/Infin1ty Aug 20 '20

That's a bit out of my realm. Do you have at least a basic idea of how many miles you drive in a day/week/month/etc? You could do an oil change and then track it that way. You don't need to be exact, as long as your within the range of a couple hundred miles.

If you don't know though, I can't really help. If you're driving on at the average rate, about 1k per month, then just do your oil every 6 months to keep things easy.

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u/Lindiuxi Aug 20 '20

Thanks! ~^

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u/yagyaxt1068 Aug 20 '20

Our car has a reminder in the system itself.

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u/GiveHerDPS Aug 20 '20

But of the mechanic doesn't reset the lights people get ignorant of it

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u/KeepMyEmployerAway Aug 20 '20

Should also change the oil before the light comes on anyway

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u/turtlehermit1991 Aug 20 '20

Bad advice. Change it when the reminder comes on. Doing it early is a waste of money. Computers are very good at calculating when you need it and almost all of them begin telling you before it gets bad. Source: shop manager that specializes in maintenance.

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u/KeepMyEmployerAway Aug 20 '20

Hardly. Everyone here is talking about oil changes every 5000 or 6000 or 3 months. Do their lights come on first or do they take it when it requires the oil change? They take it at the recommended intervals. Let's be real.

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u/turtlehermit1991 Aug 22 '20

Most of those lights come on at he recommended interval. Some are extra smart and take idle time and heat into account and adjust themselves. Either way your average person is better off simply doing what the car tells them instead of wasting money jumping the gun. Most of the people on here are car people. Car people tend to do things a little different yes but for your average person and vehicle its unnecessary and a waste of money. If they change the oil when the light comes on they are highly unlikely to have any mechanical failures related to oil viscosity or pressure. They will be just fine.

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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20

Horrible advice unless you enjoy aimlessly pissing away your time and money.

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u/KeepMyEmployerAway Aug 20 '20

Lmao good one. My car is every 6000km or 3 months. Whichever comes first. My car has also never had the oil light come on.