Is there a formula for servicing cars with very low monthly mileage?

that's what we call "severe service". Your manual has a schedule for that.

When you are only doing short trips in the car the engine never gets up to temp so moisture and other contaminents can collect in the oil. I would stick to the reccomended four month change cycle. I would also stick to their time schedule for coolant and to a lesser extent brake fluid. The transmission fluid doesn't get contaminated as bad because there are no combustion byproducts in the trans so that one isn't as important. Any hard parts will last their normal mileage lifetime.

Steve B.

Two miles each way? Those short trips getcha right in the motor oil, since you never get it warmed up enough to chase the volatile contaminants. I'm with those who say you should change it according to the severe-service schedule, or thereabouts.

And try to find excuses to take a good ride on weekends, at least 10 miles and preferably a few tens of miles, with a stretch of highway speed involved. This might extend the value of "thereabouts." (It's more or less educated guesswork, not science, unless you drop more than the price of an oil change for an oil analysis.)

This is also good for the battery, which will tend to go flat on a car that is driven seldom and only for short distances -- especially with a lot of electrical accessories running.

Use the air conditioner or defroster for at least a few minutes when you do this -- keeps their seals happy. Actually, you should probably exercise all accessories, such as power windows, sunroof, driver-controlled suspension settings, etc. at least once in a while.

Keep an eye on the exhaust system too, as the years go by. Some quality cars these days have stainless exhausts so short trips don't kill 'em from the inside out. As you walk to work, watch the tailpipes of freshly started cars on a humid day, as their owners pull out of the driveway. You'll see water dripping or even fairly pouring out! Whatever water vapor was in the intake air recondenses as the temperature goes down, and when a car isn't gotten fully warm, it can linger in the muffler and pipes.

I can't imagine that the brakes, tranny, or internal engine adjustments such as valves will need to have any work done before their mileage thresholds. (Does this car have belts or chains to run the timing?)

Best of luck,

--Joe

It's not *only* short trips, just mostly short trips. A few times a month, it will go at least 10 and as many as 50 miles.

It does go for longer trips (10-50 miles) at least a couple of times a month.

The LS400 has the automatic envorinmental controls, so the A/C is on almost all the time. I live in the SF Bay Area so it's never really cold and can be warm enough for A/C even in February.

I don't know if this car has stainless steel exhausts or not.

I think it has a timing belt because the tech told me I should have that replaced based on time, rather than mileage, also. The car only has 50K miles, but it's a 1999 so the timing belt is 6-7 years old.

The owner's manual has a section entitled "Special Operating Conditions", which are any of the following:

1. Towing a trailer or camper or using a cartop carrier.
2. Repeated short trips of less than 5 miles in temperatures below freezing.
3. Extensive idling or low-speed driving for long distances as in heavy commercial use such as delivery, taxi, or patrol car.
4. Operating on rough, muddy, or salt-covered roads.
5. Operating on unpaved or dusty roads.

The only one I even come close to is #2 and around here it rarely gets below 45F and that would be late at night when I would not likely be driving.

However, brake fluid absorbs water based more on time than mileage, so pay attention to the time limit for brake fluid changes.

Also, note that low mileage driving is often mostly city or short trip driving, which wears out brake pads in less mileage than highway driving.

Pay attention to tire condition -- low mileage cars may have their tires rot and crack from age before their tread is used up.

This might sound like a smart ass comment, but I live 3 miles from where I work, and I started riding my bike. I only use my car for shopping and longer trips. I also lost about 25 pounds!

OK

How long before a tire will rot and crack from age?

Does my driving qualify as "low mileage" in the sense of requiring special precautions? My actual mileage from 7/04 to 5/05 was 3,000 (48,000 to 51,000). That's about 300 miles/month or 3,600 miles/year.

I'd estimate that I rive to work about 3 times a week at about 3 miles round trip. That's about 40 miles/month. The other 260 miles/month is longer drives (average 10-20 miles each) with an occasional longer drive (50-100 miles).

Not smart ass at all. I don't have a bike, but I do walk sometimes. One problem is I often have to lug a fairly large briefcase with files and a laptop computer. But it is a good suggestion.

Maybe I'll look into a bike. But then I'd have even lower mileage on the car and even more questions! ;-)

A mechanic friend told me, that when I run my car twice a day for such short distances, I put as much wear and tear as if I was commuting 50 miles round trip. He justified this by the fact that the car doesnt have the time to warm up, also since I live in a rural area, as soon as I get out of my community, I am on a 50MPH street. So I go cold, fast and for short distances. All three were bad. On top of that, the one time I drove (because of a large suitcase) it hailed and now I have dents in the damn hood... Now I have good rain gear and I ride... Rain or snow... and I love it!! amazing how much more energy I have in the morning after a nice ride.

To make a quick note, I am lucky that there is a bike trail that goes from near my house to my work, so I do not need to ride on the faster street. If you do not have this convenience, I would not recommend riding a bike, as a lot of drivers dont care for us bikers... :)