The car I drove today went 14 years w/o an oil change.
of course, it was sitting inert in somebody’s garage all that time…
Yeah but “they” also say you should change your oil every year regardless of mileage. What about that? I have 2 vehicles that don’t see 3,000 miles a year.
The general recommendation is xxxx miles (whatever is says in the manual) or 3 months. I’d definitely change the oil at least once a year, if not more often, espeically if the vehicles sit for more than a month at a time. (Even in a fallowed state, the oil will lose volatiles and sludge up, reducing any protection it can offer to your engine.)
Count Blucher, if you have a car that has been sitting for 14 years without use, it probably desperately needs PM (filters replaced) and all fluids (engine oil, tranny fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and definitely coolant) replaced ASAP if you plan on keeping the car any time at all. Everything that can evaporate probably has, and everything that can settle and collect grit will have done so. This is cheap compared to replacing engine bearings or buying a new transmission, and certainly a lot less of a headache than changing out the radiator or fuel pump. And if fuel has been sitting in the tank the whole time, you should have it drained and cleaned; the last thing you want is for that crud to end up in your fuel system, clogging your injectors/carburator or causing detonation in your engine.
Stranger
I don’t drive very long distances, but I have a 1989 Dodge Daytona CS Turbo that needs its oil changed more frequently than, say, a Honda or Toyota.
If you want a definitive answer on how long to go between oil changes then you should have your oil analyzed by a competent lab, not one of those DIY kits.
Here’s a site that should answer all you engine oil questions:
The people who think that the conditions for a taxicab are BETTER than average are probably thinking of cold starts.
A taxi spends more of its time fully warmed up than a standard privately owned non-hire passenger car. The taxi is less likely to suffer from condensation of water in the engine, for instance, from starting up and never getting fully warmed. Crankcase oil can take 30 minutes to hit full operating temp, and many urban commuters don’t drive that far, but an NYC taxi can spend an entire driver shift in operation.
The reason people see taxis in great shape at high miles is in part because of the vehicles chosen; full-sized American sedans are mostly older, more established designs with the bugs worked out, as an example, the 2006 Ford Crown Vic is largely a 1992 design with incremental tweaks. There was an article in Police Fleet Manager (yes, talking about taxi usage, not interceptor usage) some time back indicating that a rear-wheel-drive taxi like the Crown Vic can make it to 300K without too much trouble, but around 200K a vehicle like an Intrepid or the FWD Impala hits its high-maintenance phase.
Exactly. This is why CR chose them. NYC taxis are used for this kind of stuff all the time. If you want to argue with a scientifically done test… :rolleyes:
Not exactly the proudest pissing-contest claim, but 40,000+ (i.e. 40k since I acquired it). No problems at all, apart from a dead battery and rusted exhaust.
I’m not debating whether the CR test is valid, I’m arguing whether NYC taxis have an easier or harder life than the average car. I would say the NYC taxis have a harder life.
I agree. They only have three modes of operation:
Idling
Throttle wide open
Full brakes to the point of incipient skid
I think some folks have never ridden in a NYC cab. 
I myself go between 5 and 6K, sometimes 7 or 8 if I get forgetful, on every vehicle I have ever owned, and never had a lubrication related problem.
People, that’s VERY good advice. I did exactly all of it some 5000 miles ago (I also got 4 new tires as I heard old standing rubber gets brittle and goes boom when you least expect it). Stranger, you should be happy to know that she is well on her way to her 12,000th original mile, which isn’t too bad for a 1992 Subaru.
And yet, the Crown Vic still has poor impact safety ratings (especially rear end), a high maintanence cost rating from CR, and the crappy live rear axle suspension that has been abandoned on virtually all vehicles in the same class or price range. The reason the Crown Vic is popular for taxi companies (in North America) is because its essentially the last truly full-sized sedan available. 300k miles is about 3 years or less of actual operation time, compared to the 10-15 years this would be for most privately owned vehicles, and a taxi company will typically do 2-3 major overhauls (new suspension, tranny, maybe engine) before retiring the vehicle, judging that it’s financially cheaper than buying a new car.
This doesn’t invalidate the CR tests regarding oil change interval, though, especially since its apples to apples. And while cold starts are about the worst condition, wear wise, for an engine, going rapidly from idle to full load is next on the list.
Stranger
Hey, when you roll over 200k, let me know. That’s when Subarus just start to wear in.
Stranger
All highway miles here. But rough ones. Over the continetal divide.
Brand new Pathfinder with 8,700 miles on it since May. I’ve changed the oil twice.
The next service is to be at 11,750.
I will be putting about 2000 miles on it in November (road trip). Hmmmm. Not to worried about it. Easy miles. Cool weather.
On my last Pathfinder, I usually ran about 6,000 miles. No problems and it was still running strong when I traded it in with 205,000 miles on it.
The vast majority of my driving these days is on the highway, which is easier on an engine than city stop-and-go traffic. Still, since my poor old truck has a lot of miles on it and I want to baby it to keep it in fighting shape, I change my oil every 3 months. That comes to about every 4500-5000 miles. I’m due right now, in fact.
I’m just curious, but where did you get your crash safety ratings? According to Edmunds my 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS (which is mechanically and structurally identical to a Crown Vic) is rated by NHTSA as “Excellent” in all categories except “side impact front”, where it is rated as “Good”. My Marquis is equipped with the optional side impact airbags, so I assume it would be better rated in front side impact than a car without.
Source: Edmunds Review
Regarding the rear suspension, the 2003 models were equipped with a redesigned rear suspension:
Source: Edmunds Road Test Review
I stand corrected. Last time I looked at the ratings was back in the late Ninties and I was under the impression that no major design revisions had been done past that time. The Crown Vic used to have a terrible crash rating (I recall CR giving it a “73% worse than average”) and I’m never a fan of a live, solid rear axle on a street car, the Ford Mustang be damned.
Stranger
That’s probably the difference - there have indeed been redesigns since then, which I suppose would greatly improve the vehicle. In fact, the latest was for the 2003 model:
(sorry for the hijack)
Every 7,500 miles, just like the manual says.
There is a commercial on the radio saying that changing every 3,000 miles increases fuel efficiency so you save money on gas. It would cost me an extra 3 oil changes - call it $80 - every 15,000 miles. I use about 600 gallons to do that. For the commercials to imply that changing oil more frequently is going to save me 8000/600 = 13.3 cents a gallon is just plain lying.