Do you really need to change your oil every 3,000 miles?

[Volzfan]

My owners manual says every 5000 miles. I thought for years that the quick change locations have been pushing 3000 mile changes just so they can get more of my money. This article supports that belief. It can't hurt though.

 

Do you really need to change your oil every 3,000 miles?

By Bankrate.com

 

 

By Rick Popely, Cars.com

No, you don't, according to every auto manufacturer we've talked to. The main advocates of the 3,000-mile oil change schedule are those who would profit by it: repair facilities, quick-lube chains and service departments at some new-car dealers.

Years ago it was a good idea to change the oil and filter frequently, but because of advances in engine materials and tighter tolerances, as well as the oil that goes into engines, most manufacturers recommend intervals of 7,500 miles or more.

 

Ford, Volkswagen and Porsche, for example, recommend oil changes every 10,000 miles. So does Toyota on several engines, including the Prius' 1.8-liter four-cylinder and the Camry's 2.5-liter four-cylinder. BMW says owners can go up to 15,000 miles between oil changes (with synthetic oil).

The intervals vary by manufacturer and engines, so consult your owner's manual or maintenance schedule to see how often to change the oil in your vehicle and what type of oil to use. You may be surprised. We were surprised to learn that the Camry's 2.5-liter engine requires 0W20 synthetic oil, for instance.

Manufacturers suggest you change oil more often for "severe" driving conditions, such as frequent trailer towing, extensive stop-go driving or idling in traffic, driving in extreme heat or cold, or frequent short-distance driving in which the engine doesn't reach full operating temperature.

Some car companies, Ford and General Motors among them, equip most vehicles with oil life monitors that tell you when it's time to change the oil based on vehicle speed, engine temperature, climate conditions, number of cold starts and other factors. They can all cite examples from owners who say the oil-life monitors indicated they could go even longer than the recommended change intervals.

If you're nervous about going 10,000 miles or more between oil changes, then do it every six months, when you probably should also have your tires rotated (also explained in your owner's manual). GM says to change your oil at least once a year even if the service indicator warning light doesn't come on. With longer recommended intervals between oil changes, it's more important to check the oil level at least once a month to make sure you have enough.

But to change oil every 3,000 miles is probably wasting money. Environmentalists say it also adds to the glut of used oil that must be recycled or disposed, and the state of California is trying to discourage the practice.

If the guy at the quick-lube shop says he's only trying to help you when he recommends frequent oil changes, consider this: It is not in the interest of an auto manufacturer for you to suffer premature engine failure caused by worn-out oil. If that happens, they might have to pay for repairs under warranty and probably will lose you as a customer. Yet, they're the ones advising you to follow longer oil-change intervals.

Read more: http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/04/do-you-really-need-to-change-your-oil-every-3000-miles.html#ixzz2UJWmLl2J
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[Mike.357]

every owners manual I have had always claimed 5K as the change interval.

 

I saw a commercial last night for Mobil 1 brand oil and it claimed 15k as an interval.

 

On my new truck the owners manual claims 7500 to 10k as the normal interval for normal driving usage.

 

The service manager at my dealer told me to bring it in at 5k to get it done.  Out of curiosity I just checked the info on the onboard computer and with 4k in milage on the truck it claims oil is at 63% right now.

[Moped]

No you don't.  The oil companies would like you to believe that, though! 

[Guest 270win]

I change it at 5K with full synthetic, but I am glad I saw this article.  Habit I guess to change more frequent than this article.  I have gotten a lot of miles out of cars and I guess I partly credit it to changing oil.  I do drive an older car with well over 100K miles and will have to look and see what the book says on it on oil changes.

Edited May 25, 2013 by 270win

[TripleDigitRide]

I change oil every 5000 with Mobil 1 synthetic.

[Sam1]

It's impossible to use a generality of oils A, B and C last 5000 miles when heat is what breaks down the oil.  Great example of this, when at the road courses on my motorcycle (any of them), I had to change the oil after every race.  That was a max of 75-100 miles, oil was black and about like water when it came out sometimes.

 

Was able to go 10k+ on amsoil in the turbo cobalt, but if it was the summer or a lot of city driving, it got cut in half. I also use straight weights in the summer, they're better than using the multiple viscosities. 30w during the spring/summer in everything, fall/winter get 5-30 or whatever they call for in the manual.

[173rdABN]

I use Mobil 1 and change it every 6k in the car and truck just because its habit all my life. On my diesel excursion it was every 8,500 with semi synthetic rotella. Ill probably always do 6k as well. I've replaced a motor in my 87' Chevy blazer because when it was given to me, my cousin didn't change the oil for 13k and it caused the engine to blow itself up. Cracked the block, ect ect. Pulled the oil pan to satisfy my curiosity and it was literally sludge. Clumps and handfuls. That makes me want to keep changing my oil every 6k. I know that was a 20+ year old motor and things have changed, but I'm stuck on my old ways. And I feel I have good reasons.

[xjsnake]

I run Rotella in my Jeep and I change it every 7,500-10,000 miles with no issues what so ever.

[Murgatroy]

I am paying attention to the little gauge on my dash that tells me when to change my oil.

 

I have always been a "check the oil, it is dirty? Then change it guy." That is normally 5,000 miles.

 

My Mustang came with so much confusing literature. The owner's manual says 10,000. The dealership gave me a piece of paper saying 7,500 and then they gave me a booklet to keep track of maintenance, and it says 5,000.

 

My dash says that I have 25% oil life left. I have 7,500 miles on the car.

 

Bless my heart for taking advice from the Mustang Forums, but the consensus there is to follow the dash gauge.

 

I figure I will change the oil next month.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

It all depends on how you drive and how you view the value of your car. I change mine around the 6-8k

mark. BMW says 15K. They are wrong, just like the other manufacturers. You can get several hundred

thousand miles out of your car, if you maintain it correctly, but that's up to you, not some writer.

[TMF]

I change mine between 4-5k. The owners manual on my truck says 7.5k. I went just over that amount once (took me a year to rack up that mileage) and the old oil that came out was awful. I don't like the idea of old funky oil in my engine, so I change more frequently than needed. I plan on driving my truck for the next 14 years or until the democrats ban them, whichever comes first.

[TNMTBik3r]

I change the oil in my ranger at 7500 miles. I put 100 miles a day on it driving interstate to work. I use synthetic oil.

Manual says 5-10k depending on driving conditions, oil is rated for 15k but I would rather spend more and change it more often than blow something up.

[Fivestring63]

Since I have to put a quart in every 4-5 weeks, I don't need to change mine. :stalk:

[Raoul]

for me it's 5K and Castrol Syntec.

[daddyo]

Makes sense that manufacturers would want you to go longer between oil changes, possibly reducing the life of your vehicle. Those who do oil change for a living would benefit from shorter intervals. As a consumer, it seems like somewhere in the middle is reasonable.

[gregintenn]

My Honda tells me when it's time to change the oil; usually about every 8k miles. I figure the engineers at Honda know a lot more about it than I do.

[mav]

My Accord gets changed every 7 - 8k miles.  It must be doing okay because I have 220k miles on my 06 Accord.

[Xtarheel]

The only way to know the condition of used oil is by sampling the oil. It also tells you a lot about the condition of the engine. I went from 6k mile OCI's on my Dodge diesel to 12k mile intervals after a series of sampling. I used conventional Shell Rotella (non-synthetic). Engine was still in good shape at 530k when I quit using it commercially and decided to sell.

[Lumber_Jack]

My work truck is managed by a fleet company. We change the oil every 5K.

Our Land Rover tells us when it's time for a scheduled maintenance, usually 15K

[RED333]

Old car mech here, if you short drive every day, less than 10 miles, 5000 is OK.

Same 10 miles just a few days a week, 3000, more water will build up in the crank case.

If you can let you car warm up for a few mins (10 to 15 mins) you oil will last longer.

If you drive more that 20 miles to work you can go 7500.

I drive a work truck, lots of miles on the interstate, I can go 10,000 or when the computer says to change it.

[Guest bluecanary25]

Got a RAV4 that automatically lights a Maintanence Required message when I get close to 5000 mile from the last reset/oil change. 

First couple times seeing it was unnerving, but I know what it's for (and how to reset for another 5k if needed).

Use synthetic 0-20 oil, hate the price... and what's with this move away from spin-on filters?!?!?

OOOOopps... wrong place for rant...

[glock55]

it looks like xtarheel has hit the nail on the head regarding oil change intervals. oil sampling is the only way to know for certain when your oil really needs to be changed. as I have read this thread I noticed a couple of things that may need to be clarified as follows: 1) my owners manual says--- manufactures oil change recommendations are based on several factors such as average driving conditions ( who really knows what those are? ), warranty issues ( covering their backside), and engineering calculations ( these always look better on paper than out in the real world ). On average I don't think a person will do bad by following these recommendations but I have seen examples of both under and over lube by following these guidelines 2) my oil looks dirty so it must need changed--- this can lead to excessive oil changes due to the fact oil suspends contaminates so it can carry them to the oil filter to be captured and held there. the color of the oil is not a indicator of its need to be changed unless its milky in color. 3) there is sludge in my engine my oil needs changed---- sludge in an engine is not caused by the oil. sludge is cause by combustion byproducts getting past rings, water condensation in the crank and dirt introduced into the engine in many ways. neglecting to change oil regularly prevents the oil from being able to carry all this stuff to the filter in an efficient manner. also every time you change oil you flush the contaminates out with the oil. not changing oil and filter regularly also clogs the filter and puts it into bypass mode so in effect you have no filter at all.

 

the only way to know for sure when oil needs to be changed is through a sampling program. the oil is checked for contaminates, viscosity, and a host of other factors that determine its need to be changed. were I work we run oil 30,000 mile in engines that are putting 500 hp and 1950 ft/pd torque at the flywheel. the drawback with sampling is the cost and availability to the average driver. I don't think its really practical for the average driver. so I feel we are back to the original question of when should I change my oil?  the newer autos that calculate the change interval are pretty good. it factors all the driving conditions on that vehicle and arrives at a pretty accurate interval. that becomes the average for that vehicle and its driving conditions. my Silverado has this and it can average a oil change from 7,500 to 10,000 miles. I suppose though I have been a mechanic too long and don't let my oil go past 5,000 miles. if you decide to do a longer interval on your vehicle I would strongly suggest replace the filter in between oil changes. in my opinion the filter becomes the weak link in the extended oil change interval.

[pcrc11]

I had an 88 Chevy pickup years ago that I would wait until it started knocking, then pour 4 quarts in. I sold it with 200,000 miles on it and last I saw guy who bought it had put close to another 75,000 on it with no problems.

[AU_88]

My car says 10k mile interval I do 5k. On my other trucks I do 3k just because they run dirty. I would rather have nice clean oil and not have to worry...

[crashgordan]

Dodge 5.9 liter
Changed faithfully at 3k
One change away from 300,000 miles
Valvoline max life

My other cars get changed every 5k