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[MyCorolla]

So my car sat for 18 months undriven after I failed the last smog test. I basically started it once every 2 months and moved it a bit to prevent the tires from going out of round.

I just made up my mind that positive thoughts would help me pass, and I decided that NEW OIL and a NEW FILTER would help as well. But before changing the oil I got a one day pass, and then drove the car for a short while (about 4-6 miles) to get the oil warm before changing.

I drained the oil easily enough, but it took over two hours to get the oil filter off because I guess it expanded due to heat build up from driving around. I don't know when I last changed the oil filter since the car was not driven for 18 months and then even before that not that much even when it was being driven semi-regularly.

I drove the car to the SAME smog station for another smog test and the car passed. I really didn't want to just barely pass either, so I was really pleased to find out that I had passed by a wide margin.

The technician said that by law the car should be driven on the dynamometer for three minutes BEFORE the actual smog test is conducted to make sure the car is up to temperature. If a company is busy perhaps they shortchange the warm-up time and that gives a worse score???

I'll have to reconsider my oil changing routine. My previous oil changing procedure included never letting the oil get lower than 1/2 quart before refilling it, but over time obviously the oil gets contaminated and even if the oil is "good enough" to lubricate the engine, it appears that older oil has absorbed more pollutants and so inevitably that gets put back out into the environment???

In case you're wondering, I probably was going anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 miles between actual oil and oil filter changes. A long time ago I would judiciously change the oil every 2,500 to 3,000 miles but over time I started extending the time because I had switched to 20-50 grade oil and that seemed to not break down very quickly and it seemed a waste to change the oil sooner than necessary.

Perhaps I'll go back to changing the oil and filter every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, and most definitely before every smog test.