Don't Grind My Gears

Oil changes feel like the most unglamorous thing you can do for a car. That is exactly why they get delayed. Nobody wants to spend money on something that does not feel different afterward.

Then one day the car feels different, and it is the expensive kind of different.

Oil is a job, not a fluid

Oil does not just “sit” inside the engine. It carries heat away, it cushions moving parts, and it traps tiny bits of wear that would otherwise circulate. Over time it gets thinner, dirtier, and less able to do all of that quietly.

Modern engines can survive a surprising amount of neglect, which is why people build bad habits. The engine does not complain at first. It simply wears faster in the background.

The real reason intervals matter

The point of changing oil on time is not perfection. It is consistency. Engines like routines. Consistent oil service keeps the wear curve flat. Delayed oil changes make the wear curve spiky, and spikes add up.

If you want an easy rule that keeps you safe, stick to the interval your car asks for and shorten it if you do a lot of short trips. Short trips are sneaky because the engine spends more time warming up than running efficiently.

The best oil change is the one that buys peace

There is a kind of calm that comes from knowing your engine is not quietly paying interest on your procrastination. People chase performance upgrades and forget that reliability is an upgrade too. Oil changes are one of the few upgrades that pay you back every time you drive.