My owners manual states 5000 miles or 6 months… which ever comes first.
(for our Euro-friends: 5000miles is about 8000Km)
My Toyota is, by the book, on that same schedule. However, for those services that are on a yearly or longer-period basis, the book uses a 15Kmile/Year equivalency.
Guess what system the dealer’s “guidelines” use… Yep, 3K/3m and 12/1Y. Just like my friendly neighborhood quick-lube joint (Used to be really neighborly, 2 blocks away. Then they moved).
I have determined that for major check-ups I can just go in to the dealer and say “gimme the 30,000-mile maintenance” or “the 45,000-mile maintenance” and they won’t ask questions about time frames. That’s good enough for me.
Here’s another funny side note for you, LemonThrower: many automakers, including General Motors, consider it perfectly “normal” for your car to burn up to one quart of motor oil per thousand miles.
Are you above that threshhold?
Anyway, burning oil is one thing. But had you checked oil level at each fill-up and replenished the oil supply as is reccomended, how long would the Grand Am have lasted?
Lots of motors out there burn or leak some oil but continue to operate for years, even decades in some cases.
Assuming that your mileage is low and that there’s no specific guidance from the maker of your vehicle, there are two factors to bear in mind here that I can think of.
Point 1. Low temperatures (sub-freezing or worse) place stress on the cold flow additives placed in your oil. Your motor oil, even with only infrequent use during the winter, is more beat-up in the spring than otherwise.
Point 2. High temperature operation (Texas in August) beats up your oil fairly badly too. It tends to make the oil shear out of grade. That can make your Camry’s 5W30 motor oil turn into 5W20, and eventually 5W15 depending on how much you beat up on it and how long you let it go.
While point number 1 will affect an unheated garaged vehicle regardless of whether it’s driven, if you never even let the car warm up, point 2 really isn’t an issue. Even going up to 110 degrees while your car is turned off won’t stress that part of motor oil.
An expensive synthetic like Mobil 1, Amsoil and a handful of other motor oils will basically resist points 1 and 2 above for at least 12 months of low mileage operation.
With a conventional run out to extended time but not extended mileage, you’re really gambling as to whether or not your cold flow and your high-temperature properties are the same as they were when you put the oil in.
In a low-mileage convetional oil situation, changing your oil twice per year makes some sense. If it’s not going to be based on mileage, you might wish to pick the last day you’d seasonally expect sub-freezing temperatures, and then six months later around the end of summer or beginning of winter (depending on where you live).
Then again, if you were only driving 100 miles a year, you could probably drive from 'till doomsday with the factory fill in your car and it wouldn’t hurt a thing.
I have a 94 Saturn with 219,000m on it. It burns about 1qt of oil per 700 miles, now.
I last changed my oil around 6-7,000 miles ago (last Nov). Nothing wrong with it. Runs better than a lot of my friends’ cars with maybe half the miles.
I figure it’s more important to keep the oil FULL than changed exactly every 3,000m. It’s worked well for me so far. I will be getting an oil change soon, since winter’s over and I want some new oil. I use Quaker State High Mileage oil (and apparently “high mileage” means 75,000+. Why no oil for 150,000+? Eh? EH?).
The Cody has a 94 Acura with something like 170,000m on it (not sure of the exact number). He hasn’t had an oil change in almost 2 years. And his car’s still going fine (the transmission’s a little strange, but not “I need to get a new car” strange).
So, I’m not sure exactly how often oil needs changed. I guess it depends on the car. Sorry I don’t have an answer, only stories.
Thanks, Jonathan, for all the details. Good to know.
My 2001 Nissan Sentra manual says to change the oil every 3750 miles if you drive regularly in dusty conditions, or if you drive several short journies (under 5 miles) daily. If not, change every 7500 miles.
I agree. I remember seeing a test done where they tested two new city taxis for 100,000 miles. One taxi got the standard new oil every 3000 miles, the other never had an oil change, it’s oil was only checked for proper level. Both cars ran just fine at the end of the trial.
I ran my old car with this philosophy, keeping it full but never changing the oil fully. ( it burned half a quart a week). It was running just fine at almost 170,000 miles. Like Jonathan Woodall says, it was the other things, besides the engine, wearing out with increasing frequency that prompted me to get a new car. Having to go in every month with this or that sensor or valve acting up was getting old.
With my new car, I’ve been on a dealer prepaid maintenaince plan, and changed it every 3000 until the plan ran out. Now that the plan has run out, I just check the fluids once in a while and call it good. I do plan, however, to get it maintained again soonish, probably after the semester is over and I have a free afternoon. I don’t anticipate not changing my oil for a few thousand miles to have much of an effect.
My Lincoln came with 36,000 or 3 years free maintenance.
This covers oil changes and tire rotation every 5000 miles, transmission service at 30,000 and other necessary filters etc.
I noted the local dealer always puts on the oil sticker to return after 3 months or 3000 miles. 
When Mobil 1 synthetic oil first hit the market it was advertised that with it you could go 25,000 miles between oil changes.
That claim was discontinued. The oil was still lubricating at 25,000 miles but going that long between changes allows too much dirt to build up in the oil which can be a problem. The oil filters may not last that long and nobody changes the filter without changing the oil. Essentially, when you change synthetic oil and the filter you are getting the dirt and impurities out of the inside of the engine not improving the lubrication.
My 2000 Jeep Wrangler has 125,000 miles on it. It is running fine. The place where I get oil changes gives a “free” car wash with an oil change. Therefore, I get my oil changed whenever my Jeep needs a good cleaning.
A long time ago, I used to think that oil change shops were trying to get us to change the oil too often, so with one of my cars, I changed the oil very infrequetnly - 6-8000 miles. after about 40,000, my engine was not running right. When the guy opened it, it was all black and gooey and sticky on the valves, etc. He said I didnt change the oil enough from what it looked like.
I since change the oil when it starts looking bad on the dip stick- about every 4000, and that works out fine.
But nobody has yet to explain the great difference between US and European oil changes . Do you have inferior oil over there or is it the design of the engines ? As to European cars I am not only talking about top of the range BMWs and Mercs . Even the bog standard Fords and other family cars still have these much longer intervals. My little 1 litre Nissan Micra with a twin cam sixteen valve engine has a recommended oil changes of 9,000 miles.
I just do it seasonally, I changed it about a month ago with 5w-30
I’ll probably change it again late May/early June to 10w-30
Several post about not changing oil.
Just to point out that oil doesn’t wear out but it does get dirty and contaminated.
I was responsible for many large industrial engines, motors, turbines that were in service 24 hrs. a day, 365 days a year. The oil was never changed but the filters were routinely changed each month or anytime if they showed excessive pressure drop. Also the oil was sampled monthly for lab analysis. If the acid number showed high some oil would be drained and fresh oil added. Every two years the equipment was shut down for maintenance but the oil wasn’t drained.
I have the exact same experience – now that service isn’t free thanks to Ford Motor Company, there’s always sticker for 3 mos./3000 miles! And all of the other recommended services suddenly “need” to be done on an accellerated schedule.
FWIW I usually throw out the sticker first chance I get. All the maintenance – including oil/filter changes – is at 5000 miles.
Don’t forget that if you’re a good customer and get all your service done at your dealer, you can often get after-warranty assistance up to 75,000 miles if you lose your transmission or something – Ford pays for most of this with a small contribution from the dealer. I’m only saying this because someone’s going to come along and ask why I bother to pay $25 at the dealer when I could get it done for $15 at the quickie place.
We DO use inferior oil in the US. Tracking down the WHYS and WHEREFORES of the discrepancy between US and Euro oil changes is a job for an economist, sociologist or marketing person, but we DO use inferior oil in the US.
As far as our engines being inferior, that isn’t the answer. Most of the engines in the US are actually available in markets besides North America, and nowadays even most conventional domestic not-widely-exported motors are adequately reliable.
I will note that the economics of driving a car is WILDLY different in let’s say… the UK, versus the US.
In the US, the car itself is probably as cheap as you’ll get it nearly anywhere. Most of the time people convert overseas car prices to $US, I wind up being outraged at the prices.
Most places overseas, except for OPEC member countries, you can guarantee that gasoline costs waay more. So that part is different. Whatever forces cause that probably drive motor oil prices up too.
Finally, auto service is reputedly more expensive overseas.
Those last two factors probably add up to a situation where you would want to see a mechanic for oil changes less frequently, but would be inclined to ensure that when he did change your oil, he put in motor oil good for more miles. And in fact, the harshest specification out there for motor oil quality today is ACEA A3. That is the Euro-market automaker’s specification for “high-performance, extended-drain, low-shear” motor oil. It pretty much forces you to use synthetic because the standards are so high.
Either approach will lead to your motor probably lasting longer than you really want to keep driving your car.
Rayneman, out of curiousity, how much does an oil change cost you in your local currency? I pay anywhere from $19 to $30 US. I can’t find prices for non-US oil changes online anywhere, except on one message board, but that guy had a BMW with a high-displacement oil sump being changed at the dealer.
We have a semi-regular customer in valet with a natural gas conversion on his engine.
The fuel runs so clean that after 6 months, the oil was still clear and golden.
I am going to have to ask for a cite on this.
I have just had a quick Google and the cost of an oil change , plus filter , seem to be about £15 -£20 ($25 - $30? ) . I don’tthink many people ,apart from those with older cars , have a seperate , stand alone oil change. Most wait until the next , specified service interval and have it included with the rest of the servicing of the car. That will cost from £100 to £250 at a main dealer.