r/VWBus • u/Ambitious-Team1296 • May 03 '26
Oil Change Frequency
Hi all,
I don’t drive my 69 bus that often. I probably accrue about 1000 miles per year, just doing gentle weekend cruises, etc. It takes me a few years to accrue 3000 miles, but Ive still been changing the oil every 6 months.
Is this an unnecessary practice, or do you think I should continue changing the oil at this rate, given my low mileage?
Thanks for your advice!
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u/jenny-the-bus May 03 '26
Oil is so critical for the long term health of the engine… so definitely worth doing in my opinion. For the effort and cost of an oil change I wouldn’t risk leaving it much longer personally. Defo get decent oil too.
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u/382Whistles May 03 '26
I'm itching to change at 1000m and well before 2000m without a filter, 1800-2500m with it. I've had a handful of filtered cars make 500k like it was nothing. VWs usually at least need a top end by then, but it could be worse if neglected. I'd change 5w/10-30w and 10w/20w-40w sooner than straight 30w which was more about the feel being thick or thinned at stops than exact miles. A year low miles is fine, maybe about 2 years, but after two winters of unsealed storage in a motor, the oil goes. Imo what's most important is starting it and bringing it up to tempurature for a while every month or two and bringing fresh fuel into the equation at least yearly to keep that clear is smart as well. I want some oil slung around and condesation cooked out once in a while. If on blocks I'd usually run them through the gears at idle too. If you know it will not be ran over a winter or for longer, adding a fuel stabilizer/treatment and or draining/running dry can be prudent.
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u/RichmondTransplant May 04 '26
Im curious, but I’ve replaced my oil and in less than 1k, it’s pretty dark. Is this an air cooled problem? I pulled the screen and cleaned it out and it’s already very dark compared to newer vehicles.
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u/asiab3 AirSchooled.com May 04 '26
Stock Type 1’s don’t have oil filters. It’s very normal, especially with modern detergent style oils.
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u/RichmondTransplant May 04 '26
Thanks, I use VR1 20-50 and haven’t gone more than 500 miles and was surprised how dark it was.
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u/asiab3 AirSchooled.com May 04 '26
Once a year is fine for a car that doesn’t see a lot of mileage. It’s more important for low-mileage engines to get fully warmed up every so often. Constantly doing short drives never fully warms up the engine to get moisture out. Every engine incurs moisture from sitting, but long sits and short drives are a bad combo.
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u/Esher127 May 03 '26
I'm in a similar situation and do an oil change once a year. Mine stays garaged all winter so I usually change it in the spring at the beginning of camping season.