And what type car do you have? I am about to embark on a 1000 mile trip and was debating whether I should change the oil before I leave- it would put me at 9000 miles in between if I wait unitl I get back.
I have my car serviced regularly, and the oil is changed then.
Different cars have different recommended oil change intervals; you should follow the interval recommended by your car’s manual. Cars made in the last few years typically have 7500- to 10000-mile recommended intervals, but a couple thousand miles over most likely isn’t going hurt anything.
What does your owner’s manual say?
Quite a few service stations say every 3000 miles, but our owner’s manual and others not in the oil change business say that every 5000 miles is fine.
What type of car do you have? That would be much more informative then which type of car I have.
What is the miliage, did you check your oil level, did you have to add any oil, what type of driving have you done before this trip, how long was it between your last oil change, and do you use synthetic or conventional oil?
I change mine every 10,000 full synthetic, which workes out to about 4 times a year (yes 40K a year). All my driving is easy highway driving however.
I am a big fan of the 3 month oil change regardles of miliage unless there are extreme circumstances. If you come way under 3000 miles in this time I figure that your oil has not really heated up for long periods of time and has water in it from condensation, better to get that out. And yes over the years I have been on that scedual also, I had a car that I drove so infrequently that the water-oil combo would froth to form a whitish paste.
I guess what I meant to say, I know what the manual says (5000) but that could be because they expect you will have you car serviced at the dealership and overpay for an oil change there. I was asking those who think the 3000-5000 range is bunk, how long have you gone without problems?
No. Your manual recommends 5000 miles because that’s what the engineers who designed the engine determined to be appropriate.
I tend to err on the side of caution, especially since changing the oil is much cheaper than changing the engine. With conventional oil under regular driving conditions, I’d change every 3,000 to 3,500 without fail. My current ride mandates Mobil 1 synthetic and while it only suggests a change every 20,000 I will at most half that. “Better safe” and all that.
kanicbird - you’re probably changing your oil a bit too often, especially for “easy highway driving.” No harm to the engine, but there is some harm to the checkbook.
The same person who came up with the 3000 mile change interval had to be related to the person who put “repeat” on shampoo bottles.
Only in part.
The same car sold in different markets will have different oil reccomendations and oil change interval reccomendations, wholly contrary to any logical engineering choices.
The engineers tell the suits what range they CAN make the interval, and the automaker decides what to put in the manual.
Check out the Ford Focus owner’s manual in the UK versus here.
I shoot for 3000 miles, but rarely make it due to general laziness and inattention.
No, he specced that when the average car was using the same kind of oil, engine and engine management system as you would expect to find in a '59 Impala.
It’s actually a GREAT conservative reccomendation. It will work for a soccer mom with a maximum two-mile drive anywhere whose car spends 75 minutes a day idling with the AC on.
The way to do things is what Mercedes and GM have been doing for years on some models… have the engine control computer keep records of your driving habits, conditions and then use an algorithm to determine your oil change interval. Good for the consumer AND the environment.
What does the oil look like? You should check your oil at every gas fill. If it looks dark and dirty, change it. If it still looks light & clean, you’re probably alright.
My car (98 Ford Contour with 2.5 V6) officially calls for 4,500, but I try to change it around 3,500-4,000. And the oil is plenty black too. IMO changing the oil is the #1 preventitave maintainence you can do. If the metal bits in your engine start rubbing together your engine ages FAST. My car is at 173,000 miles, so far so good.
Unless you’re driving 1000 miles into Darkest Africa or taking a road trip across Antarctica or something, you’ll probably find garages along the way and be able to get your oil changed at your usual interval. I did this during my 18000km trek across North America in 1997, stopping at Jiffy-Lubes (or the local equivalant) every 5000km.
I have a posh new German auto with no dipstick (for real) and a 15000 mile recommended change interval.
I said bollocks to that and changed it myself to full synthetic at 500 and 5000. Will do the next one at 10000.
Moving to IMHO, where you can get informed opinions to your question.
Not necessarily true. The oil will get dark as it heats up; this is a normal part of operation and doesn’t indicate that it needs to be replaced. Technically speaking, you want to replace it when it becomes contaiminated beyond a certain level and will no longer pass cleanly through the filter and particulates accumulate, causing engine wear. You won’t be able to tell this, though, without having it taken to a lab and analyzed. If your oil is visibly sludgy or has particles that you can see with your bare eyes…you need to consider trading in, quick, 'cause the damage is already done.
Q.E.D. has it right; you should perform oil changes per the manufacturer’s suggestions in the manual. If you want to go longer because you do more highway driving or use a synthetic blend, that’s your risk. If you do a lot of stop and go driving, or driving in a caustic/dusty environment, you might consider shorter intervals (no risk there except the additional expense).
Porsche? I don’t know about the new ones with the water cooled head, but the older 911s had an oil reservoir with >12 qt capacity (the effectively used the oil as the coolant fluid) and thus, you had two to three times as much oil as a standard car engine, thus the longer interval. Plus, they used a high pressure filter that more effectively screened out particles.
I’ve read (but haven’t personally evaluated) claims that you can go 30k+ miles with a performance filter and synthetic oil while staying within allowed SAE particle accumulation levels. Not knowing the conditions, engine manufacture, type of oil, et cetera under which this was tested, I can’t advocate it, but the 3000 mile limit advised by quickie change places is definitely lower than most cars need.
As for the OP, an extra 1000 miles before a change won’t hurt you, but since you’re thinking about it, why not just do it now? It’s always good practice to perform regular and preventative maintanence before a long trip, and you certainly won’t hurt anything (provided the rocket scientists at the quick change place, if that’s where you take it, don’t fail to properly torque the oil pan plug, as happened to me one).
Stranger
I’m in the “3000 miles is bunk” camp. I change mine every ~7500 miles with regular dino. I’m also in the “synthetic is bunk” camp as well. Not because I think it’s inferior over dyno, but because I don’t feel I should pay for what the regular does just as well.
Pour one quart of synthetic in with the remainder of dino-blood. You’ll get all of the viscosity breakdown and alleged protective coating effects of synthetic at about 20% of the additional cost.
Pure synthetic is good for high performance engines that are run at or near redline most of the time. For street vehicles (excepting perhaps performance motorcycles), it’s totally unnecessary.
Stranger