In a Facebook Reel that’s generated over 1.3 million views as of this writing, the Millennial Mechanic (@millennialmechanic) reveals what took place during a hybrid car’s oil change.
In the brief clip, the mechanic revealed that the oil appeared fresh and looked brand new when drained. A golden, honey-toned oil freely pours out of the hybrid engine.
Typically, the oil that comes out during an oil change is dark brown or blackish. However, with this hybrid oil change, the oil looked to be the same color as when it went in.
The on-screen text read, “Average plug in hybrid oil change (engine barely gets ran).”
Considering this a plug-in hybrid, it’s easy to wonder whether these hybrids need oil changes at all after seeing this oil change take place.
Do You Have To Change The Oil In Hybrids?
Getting an oil change is a standard maintenance task for a car owner. Typically, it’s suggested to get an oil change every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. While some drivers ignore this and go three years without getting one, it can conveniently be done by a professional or as a DIY task.
However, does the same oil change interval apply to hybrids?
Plug-in hybrids use a combination of batteries and fuel to get the engine moving. The Department of Energy reports that plug-in hybrids have an electric motor powered by batteries and use gasoline to power the internal combustion engine. So, these plug-in hybrids use two motors.
When driving, plug-in hybrids will use the electric motor first, then switch to the internal combustion engine once the battery is depleted. The “electric range” is usually between 15 and 60 miles of driving time purely from the electric charge. This makes basic daily driving run on electricity, and the car can be plugged in to recharge at night to repeat the cycle.
Once the electric range is depleted, the vehicle will run on gasoline to keep the car running. With this operating model, it may be difficult to determine the condition of your oil. As in the case with the Facebook Reel, the mechanic believes that the hybrid barely used the internal combustion engine.
Both Take 5 and Valvoline report that hybrids still need to have their oil changed every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. Even though the electric motor will handle most of the workload before switching to gasoline, it’s still advisable to follow the standard oil change interval.
Now, though plug-in hybrids do have larger batteries than parallel or series hybrids, it’s still recommended to follow the 5,000 to 7,500-mile interval.
“Regardless of the type of hybrid system, the presence of an internal combustion engine requires regular oil change services, just as in conventional vehicles,” per Take 5.
While it may seem OK to skip oil changes because the electric motor handles most of the workload, it’s still good to follow standard oil change intervals. This ensures the engine continues to run smoothly, and clean oil will always keep it running properly.
The Millennial Mechanic told Motor1, “The manufacturers have published oil change intervals. Always follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and you shouldn’t have any issues.”
‘I Would Still Change It’
Viewers chimed in with a range of different talking points, including fuel dilution, personal oil change intervals for hybrids, and design ideas.
“I’m guessing the car has no indication when the oil actually needs to be changed? If I were designing a plug in hybrid I’d have the engine oil interval based on engine hours instead of miles,” one Facebook user commented.
“In my Chevy Volt, the onboard computer keeps track of the engine miles separately and tells you when to change the oil,” one shared.
“Can you smell fuel in it? I would think a major concern would be fuel dilution,” another added.
“I would still change it trying to make the engine last as much as possible with clean oil,” one suggested.
“We had our PHEV outlander for 5 years and 50,000km and I only did 2 oil changes after some long road trips. Otherwise day to day it hardly ever ran the gas motor,” another added.
“Heck I’d drain it in a jug and run it in my beater,” one commented.
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