Originally Posted by
Madison Sully
Metallurgical engineer here.
It depends on the miles per start, more than total accumulated miles OR time.
If you drive 5 miles in the morning and 5 miles each night, and then let your vehicle cool off in between, and that's your habit, you need to change your oil more frequently based on both time AND miles compared to someone who drives 50 miles each start twice per day and lets the vehicle cool off.
So if those 1200 miles were done in two days per year, feel free to change your oil once every four years.
But if those 1200 miles were done 10 miles per day as described above, you should change your oil now, even if it has only been four months.