I generally change oil/filter between 3k and 5k miles, never more than 5k. Though I was interested to note that the sticky my mechanic (a VW specialist) put on the windshield after the last change indicated the next change was due in 5k miles. If that's what he recommends, that's what I'm doing. He knows his stuff.

And I've yet to go full synthetic. Perhaps if I were to get a brand new vehicle, but at this point (almost 80k miles) it doesn't seem it'd help much.

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On heavy equipment, I've seen an analysis that it is cheaper to do engine rebuilds than to do too many oil changes (cost of having the machine down unnecessarily for the oil change is a factor). Especially if you do the rebuild in the off season prior to a major failure. I don't think I'd go that far.

My personal experience is changing oils at 12,000 km (7k miles) when doing highway driving (I try for 8,000 km if doing city driving). I've never had an engine failure, and have taken one vehicle to 420k km (300k miles?). The engine was the least of my worries on that car.

New engines burn cleaner so they put a lot less garbage in the oil. It doesn't break down nearly as soon as previous engines. An easy way to tell if you are breaking down your oil is if you start needing to add oil as you increase your mileage between changes.

Anyway, thanks for the blog. I find the site entertaining and informative.

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GM recommends 3000 miles interval. But I never get to it on time, so my average is 5 to 7k. 75,000 miles later, the engine has now blown yet.

My moto is to give the car 'enough' care to keep it going trouble free. I think 3000 miles or 3 month is a little to often.

My mother's 10 years old nissan recommends one oil change per year or every 15,000 Km (like 9k miles)

Check that you're not running low, check that the oil is not full of crap (my oil still looks clean even after 7k miles) and you should be ok.

It's probably better (safer) to check tires pressures, rotate tires, check brakes more often than changing oil.

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In my first two cars, a 1988 Mustang GT and a 1995 Ford Probe, I changed the oil/filter religiously at 3000 miles. Mustang got to 250,000+ miles (relatively problem fee) before I sold it, Probe got to 140,000+ miles (with some problems, but nothing engine related).

MINI now says I can go 15,000+ between oil changes running Castrol Syntec in my MINI Cooper S. I'm a little sceptical, so I change my oil myself at 7500 or so and let the dealer do that standard maintenance oil changes at 15K. 15K out of an oil change seems unreal though...but I have no doubt that 3K would be "over maintaining" your vehicle (if there is such a thing).

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Nice article. The manual has two recommended cycles for changing oil; one is short and the other very long (12,000km for Chrysler). The short cycle is listed under "severe service" stop and go, extended drive times etc.

I start my new car with standard oil for the first 8,000 to 10,000km; to get it broken in well. I then flip it over to the synthetic.

Now here is my plan, I might have the number off a bit; but here it goes. Severe service says to replace oil every 5000km, "normal" says every 12,000km. So I go dead centre between those two when I have synthetic in the car -- so I target 6500km to 8500km. That should keep the warranty people happy I would think.

You have to really pay attention to keeping it top up when you are using longer intervals.

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Oil changes are definately necessary, but the interval mainly depends on your driving style. If you drive your car hot and hard it will need more frequent oil changes. Also long periods of idle will really shorten the life of the oil.

Most car engines start to make more mechanical noise when a oil change is due. Listen when the engine is hot and idling for about a minute (listen with the hood up). Of course the noise can only be compared to your own car as some engines are quiet by nature (most modern 8 cyl) and some are just designed with very noisy valvetrains (Jeep's 4.0 6cyl). My oil changes vary between 3000 to 8000 miles on my driven cars and my older classic cars get once a year oil changes (under 3000 mi/yr).

Be sure to check your oil every few fill ups. I also like to feel the oil with my finger tips and look carefully for contaminates.

I use synthetic because I fell it holds up better to my hard driving and my engines look quite clean with minimal glossing internally even with all the miles.

Some cars with the automatic sensors that compute when you need a oil change are great. The system on my parents Yukon seem to agree with my predictions

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Ya they said for Helen's Mini 15k miles. I was like ummm... I'll do it at 7500. I can agree that it's possible for an engine to be able to go that long but I'll let someone else be the ginny pig. As for "over maintaining"? No such thing. I have a 19 year old Saab turbo with 266k miles. She gets her oil changed every 3000. Original timing chain and original turbo (oil cooled only). Also I use dino and not synth.

If it aint broke... see that it dosen't get that way.

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I used to have a toyota echo that had its oil changed every 5-7000 miles with mobile 1.

Now I'm driving an 83 rx7, it has its oil changed every 3k on the button. 100k and no problems yet. Guys with turbo rotaries will change it between 1500 and 2000 miles for best engine life.

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i belive there are a couple of things going on in this ongoing discussion about "when to change your vehicle's oil and filter". first off,the type of driving you tend to do on a normal basis...if you get in your vehicle and begin driving 75, non stop miles each day,then you can extend the interval between changes...on the other hand, if your normal commute includes 45 minutes of stop and go each way covering only 10 miles, then more frequent changes are called for...heat is a big destroyer of motor oil; also,contaminants in oil tend to build up more in shorter trips where the engine doesn't get up to full operating temps...... another item to consider is the various manufacturers trying to match each other in the "after the sale" mantainence required for warranty purposes...ie, if vehicle mfgr A shows a 3,000 mile interval to maintain warranty and mfgr B on a similar cost vehicle shows a 10,000 mile interval necessary for same purposes, many will choose to purchase the "cheaper one to maintain". me? i use synthetic,change the filter everytime, and it all happens in a porsche 911 turbo. cheap insurance!

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http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

The best resource on motor oil on the web. After reading up on it, Mobil 1 for me, and I'll stretch it a little past 5k. Synthetic made my car run so much smoother. There's a reason why it's factory fill from Mercedes, Porsche, etc.

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I stick to the 5000 mi. oil & filter change. The owners manula for my 2002 Dodge Stratus Coupe class for a change every 6500 mi !, and a filter change every other oil change ! Go figure.

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The oil change interval debate only matters if you want to keep your car to the end of its useful life. Why? Let's say that changing your oil every 3k miles instead of every 10k miles extends the engine's life from 200k miles to 250k miles. Most people don't keep cars more than 10 years or 150k miles so this issue will never impact them.

Now, for those of us cheapskates (myself included) who like to keep our cars until they die, it does matter somewhat, but it's worth doing the math on what you gain and lose in the process of getting two or three extra years out of your car.

In my example, if you spent $30 per oil change every 3k miles it would cost you $2500 in oil changes to get to 250k miles. If you changed your oil every 10k miles it would cost you $600 to get to 200k miles. If you drive 15k miles per year then it's costing you $1900 to get an extra 3 years out of your car, amortized over a total of 16 years. So, that's a little over $100/year. If it's important to you to get those extra years out of the car that seems like a pretty cost-effective way to do it...assuming the more frequent oil changes actually make a difference!

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GM actually does not recommend oil changes ever 3k miles. A press release went out about this very same topic about two months ago.

GM says it is not necessary to change ever 3k miles in ther vehicles and to go by the "Change Oil" light on your dash. I've been going by the light since day one. 102XXX miles later in my 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE and no engine problems at all.

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3000mi? What cars are you driving?:)
When i got my nissan primera diesel i was worried too about oil changes. my dealer suggested it at 7500mi. I wasnt so sure, so i stuck to 5-6k mi changes. filter changed everytime also.

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Well I'm going to chime in here...

I was told with my VW (and I believe it was the same for my friend's 2000 Porsche 911) that they use Synthetic Mobil 1 and not to change the oil for 10,000 miles for the very first time, and then every 5000 miles thereafter.

Like many of you, I was a little floored-especially considering what a money-maker this is for the dealer and always hearing the 3-5000K rule...well I did my homework and this is what I was told...

With a brand new engine, with the break-in period it takes 10,000 miles for the oil to form a proper base on all the parts-at least with synthetic. Afterwards, every 5000K will take care of the filter and the oil and keep the engine running fine.

I was also told that doing a change earlier was not recommended because the oil never seats properly.

Now with my Acura the manual says 7,500 miles for normal driving and 3,750 for heavy driving or extreme driving. Even though my habits would dictate 7,500 miles, the dealer has advised following the extreme (and therefore twice as expensive) calendar since we drive a tremendous amount of stop-and-go mileage in New York and the roads are relatively crap (although better than Michigan!).

I know New York City taxis change their oil every 1000-2000 miles-at least they used to with the old Chevy Carprices in the fleet, and from the harsh driving they do, that probably is not a bad idea.

My cousin who races Porsches and Ferraris but drives a BMW 3-series daily, has been told by any number of dealers to wait for the maintenance light! I've also heard that from other quarters as well.

Since I lease my car, I don't care if I get 100K out of the engine, just that I service it minimally according to the lease requirements and that it doesn't drop dead on me.

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I use Synthetic and change my oil b/w 4500-6000 miles with my Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 L (98). I have 131K with a mixture of harsh Boston driving and highway cruising miles on it. It still runs great with zero engine problems.

Now, how do I kill it so that I can get my hands on a sports sedan?

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2001 Nissan Maxima SE
Been using Mobil 1 since first oil change at 7500 miles. Changed every 7500 since and at 70K miles with mixed driving - no problems.

Nissan says oil change at 3000 for stop and go driving, 7500 for mostly highway driving.

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I change my oil on my porsche every 15,000 miles or after one year, depends on what comes 1st.and I only use mobile 1

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I also change tho oil on my Porsche every 15,000 with Mobile 1 as that's what the manufacturer calls for.

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I understand both GM, with the vett and Porsche, ask for oil changes about once a year with Mobile 1, depending on miles driven. Is that true?

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