Oil Change Intervals

[saevel25]

Being I have my new car :). I've been digging into proper maintenance. This came up on my YouTube feed today. I saved the timestamp of where he goes into oil change intervals. 

Basically, more often than what your manufacturer recommends. 

1. The oil manufacturer has an incentive to do fewer oil changes because they then have to get rid of less used oil. 
2. It maintains the engine to the warranty.

If you just lease cars, then do the manufacturer recommendations. You are not keeping this car past its warranty. If you want to keep a car for a long time, pass it down to a kid or something. Then change your oil sooner, and if possible get samples tested to know what type of wear is going on to predict failures. Certain parts have certain metals that can show up and tell you what is going on. 

I plan on doing oil changes very 3000 miles. I want this car to last a long time. For me, it cost me like $40 bucks for the oil. It takes me like half an hour to do my own oil change. 

Also, manufacturers see 1 quarter of oil usage per 1000 miles as acceptable. So, if you have a 5 quart oil level, and the recommended oil change is 15K miles. You better know if you are running low or not. Waiting till the indicator light comes on might not be the best practice. 
 

[Vinsk]

20 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Being I have my new car :). I've been digging into proper maintenance. This came up on my YouTube feed today. I saved the timestamp of where he goes into oil change intervals. 

Basically, more often than what your manufacturer recommends. 

1. The oil manufacturer has an incentive to do fewer oil changes because they then have to get rid of less used oil. 
2. It maintains the engine to the warranty.

If you just lease cars, then do the manufacturer recommendations. You are not keeping this car past its warranty. If you want to keep a car for a long time, pass it down to a kid or something. Then change your oil sooner, and if possible get samples tested to know what type of wear is going on to predict failures. Certain parts have certain metals that can show up and tell you what is going on. 

I plan on doing oil changes very 3000 miles. I want this car to last a long time. For me, it cost me like $40 bucks for the oil. It takes me like half an hour to do my own oil change. 

Also, manufacturers see 1 quarter of oil usage per 1000 miles as acceptable. So, if you have a 5 quart oil level, and the recommended oil change is 15K miles. You better know if you are running low or not. Waiting till the indicator light comes on might not be the best practice. 
 

Really irks me they’ve done away with dip sticks for many cars. Being able to slip that tube down and do an oil change top side with minimal if any mess was golden. 

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Really irks me they’ve done away with dip sticks for many cars. Being able to slip that tube down and do an oil change top side with minimal if any mess was golden. 

Plus it was a great insult to call someone without swearing.😜

[Typhoon92]

I do a lot of highway miles on the 2007 Lexus es350.  I use the synthetic blend and change it every 5000-6000 miles.

[Shindig]

I have to admit, I only get mine changed when I bring it in for scheduled maintenance.  For that, I use mileage and not time, since I drive a lot less than they seem to think I do.  For context, I am in my 63rd month of owning my current car (bought it new) and I will cross 42,000 miles later this month.  I bring it in for maintenance once every 4000-5000 miles.  

If I'm making a mistake with this and should get it changed more often, I'm open to hearing about it.  Maybe I should learn more about how vehicle maintenance works.

[dennyjones]

I have 145k on my Chevy Equinox and change the oil when the indicators states about 20%.   It's started to use a little oil but from what I've read that's normal for most cars.

[Yukari]

I have 2007 FJ Cruiser with 275K miles.  I've been doing oil changes every 5000 miles with synthetic oil.