# How often (distance/time wise) do you change your vehicle's oil? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674 "2014-06-26T07:05:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/21 "2014-06-26T16:00:39Z")
I go every 3k miles (roughly). It’s a 14 year old car, and I keep that schedule just to get my car in front of my mechanic every few months. For about $30, I get the oil changed, and he has a look at the undercarriage. If there are any weird noises or issues I can mention them. Well worth the less than $90 extra it costs me a year to only go at 6-8k miles. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/22 "2014-06-26T20:25:38Z")
I drive about 3000 miles per year (city dweller, lots of public transportation and walking). So I get my oil changed, along with an overall safety check, every fall heading into winter. It’s a Scion (aka Toyota) and I’ve had it since it was a pup 9 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/23 "2014-06-26T20:53:37Z")
I’m at “75% oil life remaining” on my Volt after 23,000 miles. I assume I’ll change it in a couple of years ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/24 "2014-06-26T21:31:13Z")
I change at the end of every winter, although I average only about 3500 km a year (7 years, 25000 km). But the winter is hard here and most of my driving is either a mile to the market and back or 5 miles to the concert hall and back and those short hauls are not good. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/25 "2014-06-26T22:10:05Z")
My cars use synthetic so annually. My motorcycle uses dino oil, so every 3000 or so. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/26 "2014-06-27T00:41:35Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions and anecdotes, although they seem all over the place 🙂 I understand there are a lot of variables that determine when the oil should get changed like oil type, type of driving you do, and the make/model of the vehicle. The only reason I was thinking of changing my oil-change habit was because I wanted to consolidate it with when I get my winter tires put on and just get it over with once a year, and I just received a notice from my dealer reminding me of the 6-months mark since my last oil change. > [@Gary\_T](#): > > The most critical factor is what kind of driving you do. If it doesn’t get many miles on it because you’re doing a lot of very short trips (just a few miles), changing it at 1,000-3,000 mile intervals would be wise. Alternatively, if it doesn’t get many miles because it’s not used often, but when it is used it’s typically long trips with a lot of highway driving, then Volvo’s recommended 7,500 mile interval should be fine. Yeah, it’s mostly long trips with highway driving. Mostly in the winter when we go away snowboarding, or small trips out of town during the other seasons. The only short trips we use the car for are when we load up on food and drinks and household sundries, which we do about once a month. From this, I’m leaning towards changing the oil once a year (and maybe changing from dino to synthetic). ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/27 "2014-06-27T00:51:52Z")
About 8,000 miles, synthetic oil. Engines just don’t seem to wear the way they used to. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/28 "2014-06-29T16:48:01Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > OTOH, mechanics want you to bring your car in every 3-4000 miles so they can sell you air filters, wiper blades, “free” brake checks and flushes, etc. The right answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Possibly so, though I have friends who are mechanics, to whom I never bring my oil changes, who tell me the same thing. In fact, my regular mechanic knows that I get my oil changed at quick-lube places for no other reason than that I can get the job done in 20 minutes or so without an appointment, rather than have to book an appointment with him and spend hours there waiting. And he also vouches for the 3000-mile oil change. He gets all of my regular work, but never my oil changes, unless I happen to be due when the car is in for other work. When it was just the guys at the quick-lube telling me to change every 3000, I took it as “enlightened self interest.” But the idea seems to be unanimous, at least in my circles. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/29 "2014-06-29T16:50:54Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > ETA: And while a 3-4K interval might be right for someone who does a lot of short trip city driving, 7-8K is more appropriate for long trip highway driving. I’m no mechanic, but this statement leaves me wondering - are you saying it would actually be \*better \*for my engine to change the oil less often if I do a lot of highway driving? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/30 "2014-06-29T20:44:28Z")
Cars have changed a lot, and manufacturers recommendations have changed, but what “people say” … not so much so. [Edmund’s](http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html) stated it like this: > [@](#): > > Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you’d never know it from the quick-change behavior of American car owners. Driven by an outdated 3,000-mile oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of dollars and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil. > > The majority of automakers today call for oil changes at either 7,500 or 10,000 miles, and the interval can go as high as 15,000 miles in some cars. Yet this wasteful cycle continues largely because the automotive service industry, while fully aware of the technological advances, continues to preach the 3,000-mile gospel as a way to keep the service bays busy. As a result, even the most cautious owners are dumping their engine oil twice as often as their service manuals recommend. > > After interviews with oil experts, mechanics and automakers, one thing is clear: The 3,000-mile oil change is a myth that should be laid to rest. Failing to heed the service interval in your owner’s manual wastes oil and money, while compounding the environmental impact of illicit waste-oil dumping. … I go by the car’s oil life monitor. Mind you it is a plug-in so a majority of my miles are using the electric motor, but it didn’t give me the alert until over 19K. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674/31 "2014-06-30T04:04:50Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > And while a 3-4K interval might be right for someone who does a lot of short trip city driving, 7-8K is more appropriate for long trip highway driving. > [@NeonMadman](#): > > I’m no mechanic, but this statement leaves me wondering - are you saying it would actually be \*better \*for my engine to change the oil less often if I do a lot of highway driving? No, I’m saying it’s reasonable and sufficient. It’s better to change it more often – heck, it would be great to change it daily. But it’s neither necessary nor cost-efficient to change it too soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-distance-time-wise-do-you-change-your-vehicles-oil/691674.md?page=1)