I have a 2012 f150 v-6. I had the oil changed in January of last year, since then I have only driven 600 miles. Should I have my oil changed now or wait until I put more miles on? Thanks in advance

 

Regardless of miles, you should change the oil at least once a year.

 

The manual for my 2009 says 7500 miles or every 6 months. I change it every 6 months with only 2500 miles.

Cheap insurance is the way I look at it.

 

Maybe Labnerd will chime in on this subject. I seem to remember he addressed this issue before.
I change the oil in my wife's Inifniti EX37 every 6 months in accordance with the factory maintenance shedule and document it to maintain the warranty, even though she drives less than 3k miles in 6 months.

On my 2002 F150 and 2005 Dodge Magnum Hemi, I change it at 5k miles even if it takes 2 years to put that many miles on them.

 

if you are driving it somewhat often and are getting it up to normal operating temps, let it ride. I get 8 to 9 months out of my pan of Mobil 1, about 6800-8000 miles.

Edit: Oil life down to 25% and change/reset truck

 

Thank you all for the information

 

The answer is not as cut and dry as it would appear. The recommendation to change every 6 months is because the makers have no way of knowing what condition the engine in. Lets assume the truck has been maintained according to the owners manual and it's not missing parts like the oil fill cap, you would change by mileage, not time. The issue is with free radical oxygen. It degrades the oil. If the engine is well sealed, no leaking valve covers, oil fill cap is on, no leaking seals, then the oxygen can't get in the engine to degrade the oil. Most commonly, the air inside of an engine is not breathable due to all of the combustion by-products and blowby that all engines have. There is no free oxygen inside the engine. But since the makers of the oil and the engine maker can't guarantee that the engine is still sealed tight, they will continue to recommend the shorter change cycle. As an example of long term testing. I have an 89 LSC garage queen with 34,000 one owner miles on it. I changed the oil in the engine in 2006. It has the same oil in it but every year I pull it and run it thru the machine to find out if it's still holding up. It's just as good last year as the day I put it in. Should be interesting this April when it comes out and will be replaced. There will be ferrography testing and particle counts done to see what long term effect there are on the oil and the engine. In the last 10 years, the car has not seen 2000 miles yet. Then again, the car has yet to see rain either. So it depends on how well you maintain the engine. Like some have stated here before, it's cheap insurance but once a year will get it for most folks.