While frequent oil changes in ICE-powered vehicles are widely considered common knowledge, there are cases of extreme neglect shared by surprised car mechanics. The videos show the terrible state of the oil after exceeding its lifecycle for thousands of miles.
Most automakers suggest oil change intervals of 6 or 12 months, or after clocking 7,500-15,000 miles (12,070-24,140 km). Unfortunately, this Seat Leon 1.8 TSI spent a lot more time on the roads between services, as proven by the state of the oil. The Spanish compact hatchback which is a close relative to the VW Golf came into the shop with a check engine light, only for the inspection to reveal that the owner hadn’t changed the oil for 60,000 km (nearly 37,300 miles).
Read: Toyota Master Technician Argues Against 10,000 Mile Oil Change Intervals With Busted Engine Teardown
This black viscous mass which looks like some kind of thick syrup, started life as a light-colored engine lubricant a long time ago. This kind of oil has likely caused damage to the engine, which in this case is the VW Group’s widely used turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder mill. The poor car tried to warn the driver with the check engine light, sending an error due to the malfunctioning of the camshaft variator, in its last effort to save its dying heart.
The video was originally posted by TikTok user @cundo110 and included in a compilation uploaded on YouTube by the Just Rolled In channel. If you’re thinking that this type of incident only occurs in old used vehicles, think twice. The compilation shows another example of neglect, this time in a previous-gen Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. The owner of the pony car came in for a new clutch when the mechanic realized it hadn’t changed the oil for 47,000 miles (75,639 miles). The state of the lubricant in the supercharged 5.4-liter V8 was as bad as you may expect, having us scratching our heads in disbelief.
Besides the aforementioned oil-related issues, the video includes some other interesting cases like a Land Rover Discovery Sport with gasoline filling up its coolant reservoir instead of the gas tank, or a wheel flying off an old Lada and hitting an unsuspecting bicycle rider.