If you have an hour meter on your riding lawn mower, that is the best way to tell when to change your oil. But that could also not be totally accurate if you mow in dusty conditions. You will need to change your oil sooner if you do.
The best way to tell when to change the oil in your riding lawn mower is to consult the owner’s manual for the engine. This will give you the correct number of hours to change it and what type of oil that the manufacturer recommends. Also be sure to use the correct oil filter for your riding lawn mower.
Normally the oil is changed every 100 hours or more depending on which engine is in your riding lawn mower. You can use conventional motor oil to break in a new engine and then change over to a synthetic oil once your engine reaches its first oil change interval with is normally at 25 hours. This first oil change is the most critical of all because you drain out any metal shavings from the internal components as they wear in. Do not skip this first REQUIRED oil change!
Here is a list of engine manufacturers to help if you do not have your owner’s manual.
Briggs and Stratton https://www.briggsandstratton.com/na/en_us/support/manuals.html
Honda https://engines.honda.com/support-and-service/owners-manuals
Kawasaki https://www.kawasakienginesusa.com/support/manuals.html
Kohler https://kohlerpower.com/en/engines/manuals
Taking great care of your engine in your riding lawn mower is very important to getting the complete life out of it.
If you need a lawn mower repair shop to change your engine oil, visit our Locations page.