A man read the instructions on the oil bottle while doing an oil change — and learned that the definition of “high mileage” was not even close to his perception. 

On Feb. 7, a man (@LimbLossBossOfficial) posted a Facebook Reel, which has amassed 975,000 views, reading the instructions for an oil change.

“Full Synthetic High Mileage… anything over 75,000 miles,” he reads from the bottle. 

He says that this wasn’t even close to his perceived definition of high mileage.

“Man, I ain’t ever owned anything less than 75,000 miles in my life,” he states.

Why might 75,000 miles be considered high mileage?

“I thought ‘high mileage’ was, like, 200,000 plus,” he shares. “That’s why it burns a little bit.”

Overwhelmingly, the comments agreed with him.

“I thought high mileage was 300K+,” wrote one user. 

“That’s not high mileage,” added another. “My truck with 340k is high mileage.”

In the printed wording on that bottle, and on most “high mileage” oil labels from mainstream brands, the cutoff is surprisingly modest. Vehicles with about 75,000 miles on the odometer are typically where manufacturers say high-mileage oil makes sense. 

That’s because rubber seals, gaskets, and other engine internals begin to lose their original flexibility, making leaks, oil consumption, and sludge buildup more likely. The added conditioners, detergents, and anti-wear agents in high-mileage formulas are engineered specifically to address those age-related issues for which standard oils aren’t optimized.

So what is considered high mileage in a practical sense?

This does not necessarily mean that 75,000 miles is actually high mileage compared with how most owners think about it. Typical drivers put roughly 12,000–15,000 miles per year on a car. A five-year-old vehicle with around 75,000 miles is pretty average. In the broader used-car world, many experts and buyers don’t start calling a car “high mileage” until it’s crossed 100,000 miles or more, with a significant uptick in maintenance risk often showing up past that mark.

Modern engines are also built to last far longer than they used to. Many today are designed to reach 200,000+ miles with proper maintenance, which shifts the perception of what “high mileage” really means. 

That said, mileage alone doesn’t tell the whole story. How a car was driven, where it was driven, and whether it was serviced regularly often matter more than the number on the odometer. Hence, some drivers in the comments argue that “high mileage” only starts at 200,000 miles.

MotorBiscuit reached out to @LimbLossBossOfficial for comment via Facebook Messenger.