Despite the array of tv and radio commercials that insist people get their car’s oil changed every 3,000 miles, I’ve seen a number of experts saying this is completely unecessary under most circumstances. I’ve read articles (and heard those Click & Clack guys, or whatever they’re called, on NPR) say that your car can easily go 5,000 miles plus. My owner’s manual, however’, disagrees. In fact, of the three cars I’ve owned, 2 Japaneese, one German, they all say to go in to your local dealership for a nice, costly oil change. Is this just a cash-driven conspiracy? I don’t think most people go into their dealerships to get the oil changed, so why is the car industry in on it?
If you’ve ever helped in the pit of a stock car race, you’d know that oil is the one thing they NEVER skimp on.
It is the cheapest protection for any engine. What are you hoping to gain by delays? $20/year?
You don’t save a lot of money by skipping oil changes so there is no reason to skip them. I use Mobil 1 which is about 4 bucks a quart but even that is cheap compared to engine repair costs.
There is at least one earlier thread on this subject, but I didn’t search for it.
5-6000 miles is ok. For most average cars. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
Another thread I remember is about laundry detergent. The “recommended capful” crap. When a half-capful is sufficient.
Perhaps 50-75 years ago, oil changes every 3,000 miles may have had relevance. NOt today.
Just thought I’d point out that if you don’t put a lot of miles on your car, you may need to change your oil at shorter (mileage) intervals. e.g., if you drive 4,000 miles a year, you may need to change your oil before you hit 3,000 miles.
I have seen research in Consumer Reports, Car Talk, and several other reputable media outlets which all state that there is no difference in engine wear between 3000 mile oil changes and 6000 mile oil changes.
I drive 30,000 miles per year - that’s 10 oil changes at 3000 per or 5 changes at 6000 per. A commercial oil change runs between $20 and $25, so I save $100 to $125 per year by changing my oil every 6000 miles. Not a huge savings by any stretch, but why throw money away?
Actually, since I do my own oil changes I only save the materials cost, which is about $10 per change, but I also save myself the hassle 5 times per year.
Don’t forget that if you lease your car - and don’t plan on keeping it at the end of the contract - you’re probably good changing your oil at 3,000 miles, again half-way through your lease, and then one more time about a week before you return the car! 
They have been saying 3000 miles for 60’s vw bugs (thats as far back as I know) but newer cars can go much longer.
Changing oil at 3000 miles is a waste of oil and money in most cases. I have worked in both the oil and auto industry and I don’t remember a single oil maker or manufacturer that recommended 3000 mile oil changes.
A company I used to work for sold a name-brand oil and a house-oil. Which would you buy? I won’t use the name-brand oil anymore because of their silly “good for 3000 miles” advertising campaign while the local sheriff’s department drove our house-brand oil for 5000 miles between oil changes and were quite happy with its performance. I want an oil that will last to the engine maker’s recommended change, not one trying to scare me into buying more oil.
In the rental business, we leased several cars that the manufacturers would let their dealers sell as “program” cars after we had put 25000 miles or so on them. It was important to the makers and dealers that these cars come out in great shape. To facilitate this, we had to meet certain auto maker standards. Oil changes were one of them. For our fleet, the automakers wanted the following change intervals:
Ford - 5000 miles
Toyota - 7500
Nissan - 7500
Chrysler/Dodge - 7500
If those numbers are good enough for a rental fleet, where engines are driven hard, spend a lot of time idling, and can be shut off then restarted as many as 20 times in an hour or so, they should be good for the rest of the cars on the road.
As always, the best reference is your vehicle owner’s manual. Most will recommend an oil change at about 7500 miles for regular driving. If you change at this interval, any oil that meets the API service classification standards (that is the SJ letters in the starburst on the container) for your car will do the job, even the 69 cent/qt stuff. If you change oil at 3000 miles, I would buy the cheap stuff. No reason to pay for good oil and throw it out less than half-way through its life.
On my 89 blazer which I bought new I change the oil every 3000 miles. It has 207,651 miles on it. No maintenance but normal maintenance. It runs with great power and starts like the day I bought it.
The problem with anecdotal evidence is I can easily say that I have an 89 Blazer which I bough new. I changed the oil every 3000 miles, and all my piston rings were burnt up by 50,000 miles.
Or, in my case, the anecdotal evidence is a 1990 Cutlass Sierra with oil changed every 6000 - 7500 miles that now has 348,800 miles on the odometer with an original engine and tranny.
The story above is true, YMMV.
Where on earth did you drive to get that many miles Doctor?
The 3000 mile figure was invented to make more money for the oil companies. Sort of like the “Spend 2 months pay” for an engagement ring was invented by the diamond people.
I should have said above that I think 5000 miles is OK.
The only places I hear the every 3000 miles line coming from are Jiffy Lube and Dennis Leary’s Penzoil commercials, companies that make more money the more you change your oil.
I personally change my oil every 3000 miles. Mostly because it is easy for me to remember, because it is habit. I used to have to change my oil based on a time schedule, not any mor though.
My wife’s car goes about 12,000 miles a year, so 3000 miles is about every 3 months. A savings of $20 a year doesn’t seem like that much to me. However, she drives a Saturn and I’m not impressed by the maintenance schedule on those.
My truck on the other hand, is a 2001 Silverado. It’s supposed to have one of the “oil life” lights. I’ve never seen it come on. Of course I got the extended warranty (why… it seemed like a good idea at the time, i wouldn’t do it again), which came with 12000 miles worth of oil changes. So I went in every 3000 miles. I drive around 15000 miles a year and I’m undecided how far I’ll go on an oil change yet. They (the manual) claim I can go up to 7500 miles on a change, but I’m too stuck in my old ways to believe that. I might be persuaded to go every 5000 miles, depending if that oil wear light comes on or not.
I seriously doubt I’ll change my habits. It takes about $10 and 15 minutes to change my oil. On my truck it will take less time because I can fit under it. I could practically pull over on my way to work and change it. Since I figure I’ll have it for at least 200,000 miles, any extra insurance I can get is worth it for me. Yes I acknowledge that it may not be necessary, but it can’t hurt anything either.
All I need to do now is remember how to reset it when I change the oil 
He must make house calls.
From the other side of the argument. Oil never wears out. It does, however, get dirty. After awhile, all the dirt in the oil starts acting like sand paper on the bearings and other internally lubricated surfaces. Changing the oil and filter at 3000 mile intervals is just plain cheap insurance. To put it another way. Engine oil is the “life-blood” of the engine. It needs to be kept filtered and clean. If your blood is not filtered by your kidneys (or whatever filters it) you die. Eventually, so will your engine.
I change my oil and filter every 2500 to 3000 miles. If the engine goes south, it won’t be for lack of necessary lubrication. It may be a waste of money to some people, but I have wasted money on lots of worse things.
The filter cannot clean the oil perfectly so that is one reason to change the oil too. Also I am pretty sure that oil does “wear out” in the sense that there are small chemical changes to it from all the heat it is under. Maybe a chemist could explain that better.
Mostly Georgia.
I have an 80 mile round trip commute to work, which is not unusual for Metro Atlanta. That’s 19-20,000 miles per year just going back and forth to work. Add in the errands after work, taxi for the kids, trips, etc. and it adds up pretty quick.
When to change the oil really has a lot to do with what kind of driving you do, and what manner of oil you are using.
Stop and go type in town/city driving are harder on an engine than driving at a constant 55Mph is.
Also, Sythnetic/Synthetic blend oils are engineered to last longer, which is also why the price for them is higher.
For the truly curious, I would suggest taking a look at the oil in a car driven stop and go for 3,000 miles.