How often do you get your oill changed?
- Thread starter TheFied
- Start date
William Cannon
250+ Posts
I go every 5k with Mobile 1, which is about every 5 months.
What kind of car? Follow what your manual says.
What kind of car? Follow what your manual says.
Years ago Consumer Reports studied the question and discovered that engines that got 3000 mile changes had no less engine wear than engines that went 6000 miles between changes. As a result I've gone 5-6000 miles between changes for years. However, I've since switched from using regular oil to to synthetic Mobil 1 and changing it once a year with a filter change after 6 months.
The 3 month/3000 mile hogwash is driven by the American oil industry and is complete overkill and a waste of precious oil resources. In Europe, where the oil industry has less influence, the standard change interval is 10,000 miles. Mercedes is recommending 20,000 mile intervals with synthetic oil in Europe. Amsoil, another prominent synthetic oil producer, has tons of evidence to support extended oil change intervals. Check them out and you should be convinced like I was. Amsoil spreads the truth here. One of many Mobil 1 studies.
Years ago, Mobil recommended 25,000 mile interval for Mobil 1. They backed off due to car warranty conflicts. Now they sell a version of Mobil 1 that they rate for 15,000 miles after your car warranty expires.
The price of conventional oil is going up sharply as you would expect. The price of synthetic oil hasn't (About $22 for 5 qts at Walmart. Yeah, I don't buy much there, either.). As a result, you can now use synthetic oil for a minimal premium and save a lot of money in the long run. Do your homework. I did, and I switched to synthetic with annual oil changes with a 6 month filter change.
The 3 month/3000 mile hogwash is driven by the American oil industry and is complete overkill and a waste of precious oil resources. In Europe, where the oil industry has less influence, the standard change interval is 10,000 miles. Mercedes is recommending 20,000 mile intervals with synthetic oil in Europe. Amsoil, another prominent synthetic oil producer, has tons of evidence to support extended oil change intervals. Check them out and you should be convinced like I was. Amsoil spreads the truth here. One of many Mobil 1 studies.
Years ago, Mobil recommended 25,000 mile interval for Mobil 1. They backed off due to car warranty conflicts. Now they sell a version of Mobil 1 that they rate for 15,000 miles after your car warranty expires.
The price of conventional oil is going up sharply as you would expect. The price of synthetic oil hasn't (About $22 for 5 qts at Walmart. Yeah, I don't buy much there, either.). As a result, you can now use synthetic oil for a minimal premium and save a lot of money in the long run. Do your homework. I did, and I switched to synthetic with annual oil changes with a 6 month filter change.
About 4000 miles - and I drive straight into the local Nissan dealer and let him do it. It probably costs me about $7-8 more than I could do it myself, and they check everything while it's there. Years ago I used to do everything myself - now that I'm in my 60s, I feel I've earned the right to pay the dealer to do it for me - besides which, my floor jack won't fit under my 350Z, anyway!
HHD
HHD
big_fat_horn
100+ Posts
***paging accuratehorn***
My 2000 Honda Civic has 160,000 miles and I have changed the oil every 5000 miles. Still get great mileage too.
My 2000 Honda Civic has 160,000 miles and I have changed the oil every 5000 miles. Still get great mileage too.
interesting, now is probably a decent time for me to switch intervals if I ever wanted to switch. My '97 Nissan Pickup has been in the shop for a week waiting for a transmission to arrive. Little truck has been great, 158,000 miles, so far a clutch and now a transmission, alternator early on at 50,000 miles. I used to do maybe 7500 miles between oil changes, but for the last 8 or 9 years I've been doing 3500 or so miles.
I switched from 7500 or so to the shorter oil change when I discovered the cheap oil change at Wal-Mart. As recently as 4 years ago, Walmart's cheap oil change was designed to get the customers in the store, there was no regard for profit on the actual oil change.
That has changed, but it hasn't completely gone away like I thought it would. Not yet at least.
I switched from 7500 or so to the shorter oil change when I discovered the cheap oil change at Wal-Mart. As recently as 4 years ago, Walmart's cheap oil change was designed to get the customers in the store, there was no regard for profit on the actual oil change.
That has changed, but it hasn't completely gone away like I thought it would. Not yet at least.
random horn
250+ Posts
whenever the money light comes on (every 5K miles)
OrangeBlooded
500+ Posts
i worked in a garage in HS (early 90's) and i'd say no sooner than 6K and no later after you hear knocking (and not from cheap gas)
accuratehorn
10,000+ Posts
Engines will "sludge" up eventually, and if that happens, you didn't change the oil often enough. How you drive has something to do with how often you should change it, but how far you should go it somewhat of a mystery.
Honda's official recommendation was 3750 for severe conditions and 7500 for normal conditions, for many years.
In recent years, it is 5000 miles for severe and 10,000 for normal. Severe conditions are dirt roads, extreme cold, extreme heat, and stop and go driving. Austin is severe because of the heat, so every 4-5,000 is probably about right.
If you follow the factory maintenance schedule, you should time the oil changes according to the owner's manual schedule. Honda has 10/20/30k services, so if you do the oil changes every 5k, it will coincide with the recommended tire rotations, and major services at 30, 60, 90k etc.
Changing too often is a waste of oil and creates more waste to be disposed of, so change it according to the factory schedule.
There will be a recommendation for cars that are used sparingly, I think most say once a year if you don't put many miles on the car.
I've seen Honda engines with just over 100,000 miles ruined by sludge-you take the valve cover off, and the parts look like they are coated with chocolate pudding. There are drain holes in the cylinder heads where the oil drains back down to the bottom after being pumped up there, and these holes can get clogged with the sludge, so the engine starves for oil and gets ruined. This is the result of the owner who brags about how little he spent on the car over its life.
Do the maintenance on schedule, and most cars will lead a happy and healthy life for 200k these days.
And you don't need an air filter at every oil change like the quick lube places try to sell you-you need it according to the owner's book schedule, usually every 30k with a major service.
Honda's official recommendation was 3750 for severe conditions and 7500 for normal conditions, for many years.
In recent years, it is 5000 miles for severe and 10,000 for normal. Severe conditions are dirt roads, extreme cold, extreme heat, and stop and go driving. Austin is severe because of the heat, so every 4-5,000 is probably about right.
If you follow the factory maintenance schedule, you should time the oil changes according to the owner's manual schedule. Honda has 10/20/30k services, so if you do the oil changes every 5k, it will coincide with the recommended tire rotations, and major services at 30, 60, 90k etc.
Changing too often is a waste of oil and creates more waste to be disposed of, so change it according to the factory schedule.
There will be a recommendation for cars that are used sparingly, I think most say once a year if you don't put many miles on the car.
I've seen Honda engines with just over 100,000 miles ruined by sludge-you take the valve cover off, and the parts look like they are coated with chocolate pudding. There are drain holes in the cylinder heads where the oil drains back down to the bottom after being pumped up there, and these holes can get clogged with the sludge, so the engine starves for oil and gets ruined. This is the result of the owner who brags about how little he spent on the car over its life.
Do the maintenance on schedule, and most cars will lead a happy and healthy life for 200k these days.
And you don't need an air filter at every oil change like the quick lube places try to sell you-you need it according to the owner's book schedule, usually every 30k with a major service.
The Bandit
100+ Posts
Sludging is a huge problem for many toyota's. From my understanding, many Toyota engines get sludge due to the design of the engine regardless on how often you change oil. To get better smog ratings, they decreased the water flow through the heads. This in turn produced more heat in the heads, which caused sludge.
There are many articles on the web, but here's one. toyota sludge
If you want to learn a lot about all types of oil, visit bobistheoilguy.com
There are many articles on the web, but here's one. toyota sludge
If you want to learn a lot about all types of oil, visit bobistheoilguy.com
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