# oil change interval

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-change-interval/165819>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 1, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-change-interval/165819 "2003-04-01T22:46:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-change-interval/165819/21 "2003-04-02T13:48:11Z")

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To build upon GaryT’s informative post (aren’t they all?) this problem is likely your fault. Not because of your oil change habits, but because you ignored the red flashing messages and beeping. Your poor car was crying out “STOP” “Refer to Manual” “STOP ENGINE NOW” and you kept on driving. Something went horribly wrong inside your engine and by continuing to drive, the engine got destroyed.

A word to the drivers out there, red warning lights are serious, do not treat them lightly.

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**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-change-interval/165819/22 "2003-04-02T15:03:38Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Spartydog \*  
> \*\* Modern engines operating properly have such close tolerances that they don’t consume much oil. If you just top off the oil and change the filter, over time you will be using oil with insufficient lubricating properties and engine wear will accellerate. Of course, when you change the filter you typically lose about a quart of oil so yes, the overall quality of the oil may be good enought to keep the engine running but it is probably nowhere near good enough to prevent engine wear. Your neighbor probably trades in the car before the problems appear and sticks someone else with the problem. \*\*

As I said in my post, I would **not** recommend this method. To me, an oil and filter change is one of the easiest and inexpensive preventative maintenance “must do’s” the owner should do.

You said something that made me think. This guy never buys a new car. He drives older model cars, and he tends to keep them. However, he may very well get rid of them before the engine suffers any major breakdown. I’ll have to ask my father if he knows approx. how many miles he would drive before replacing the car. Also, since he doesn’t drive newer cars, perhaps he has to put in more than a quart when he does the filter change, due to engine oil consumption. That may also help lengthen the engine’s life.

I wonder if any of those consumer labs have ever tried this technique?

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oil-change-interval/165819/23 "2003-04-02T15:36:14Z")

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Murasaki312a, generally when the stuff is black, its time to change it.

Also, in the manual it should state something like change it every 4000 miles _OR_ every three months, whichever comes first, not one or the other.

What I don’t get about your situation, is when I waited too long for a change, which was only 4000 miles on a VW bug '65, it would make a ping sound from the oil being too dirty (my friends told me they heard this sound). Did your car make this sound?

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