Should I change the oil in my Freelander 2 before embarking on a 2000-mile trip round Europe?
We own an 18-month-old 150PS Land Rover Freelander 2, which was serviced at 12 months and 10,000 miles. We will shortly be six months on from the first service and 5000 more miles (90 per cent of which are 60 mile motorway runs from cold). In June the car is going to be used to tow our caravan around Europe for five weeks and will cover 2000 miles. Do we now change the Castrol long life oil for new and should we also change the oil filter at the same time? The reason I ask about the filter is because on our older cars without DPF and EGR vales we would always change the filter without discussion and the oil stays clean for weeks, but with the DPF and EGR valve this Land Rover dirties the oil before I have driven it home from the garage. What would you recommend as best practice please?
I would change the oil and filter prior to the holiday, which will create severe operating conditions, particularly for the turbo. Remember always to idle the engine for a minute or two before switching off after towing to make sure you keep the turbo bearings cooled and lubricated as the turbo spools down. Towing will make it run a lot hotter than usual.
Answered by Honest John on
