The 3,000-Mile Oil Change Is Pretty Much History (NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/your-money/11shortcuts.html

September 10, 2010
The 3,000-Mile Oil Change Is Pretty Much History
By ALINA TUGEND

...“There was a time when the 3,000 miles was a good guideline,” said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the car site Edmunds.com. “But it’s no longer true for any car bought in the last seven or eight years.” Oil chemistry and engine technology have improved to the point that most cars can go several thousand more miles before changing the oil, Mr. Reed said. A better average, he said, would be 7,500 between oil changes, and sometimes up to 10,000 miles or more.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board ran public service announcements for several years about “the 3,000-mile myth,” urging drivers to wait longer between oil changes. Although the information is a few years old, the board has a list of cars on its Web site and how often they need oil changes. The concern is not only the cost to drivers, but the environmental impact of throwing away good oil, said Mark Oldfield, a recycling specialist for the agency.

But the situation is not that clear cut, according to Robert Sutherland, a Pennzoil scientist who works at Shell Global Solutions. Rather than picking a number, Mr. Sutherland said, he recommends following what your owner’s manual advises...

Mr. Reed of Edmunds.com said car owners often got conflicting messages because of an inherent tension: “The car manufacturers want the reputation that it makes cars that last a long time. The dealership wants to see you every three months.” But he acknowledged that “3,000 miles strikes a deep chord with the consumer,” adding: “It feels good to get an oil change. If you fill up the car with gas, wash it and change the oil, it runs better. Of course, it doesn’t. But it’s the perception.”...

5000 to 7500

for the next oil change. Now that is a joke since on my Scion Toyota recommends 5000 miles between changes with regular oil. I think it had been 8000 miles since my last change.

When I first switched to synthetic in my 06 Scion I took it to the local Saturn dealer that had a quick oil change lane. I watched as they were finishing and noticed that they were putting in oil from the bulk with the hose while the synthetic was in cans. I mentioned it and sure enough they had put regular oil in it. Had I not seen it, how would I have known?

By my next change the Saturn dealer had closed so I went to the Ford dealer next to it. Guess what? Beyond all odds the same thing happened again and they had given it a regular oil change. Both times they had to drain the brand new regular oil and then put in the synthetic.

they like the people, then they tell them 5000 to 7000. They tell me 15K because I work here, though that's partly because I use synthetic.

They really aren't trying to con people with the lower numbers. We don't make much off oil changes, so there's no reason to. It's just that most people have been so brainwashed for so long on that 3000 miles--which was a marketing gimmick from day one--that if they don't tell them 3K customers think they don't know what they are talking about, and won't come back.

People are funny.

usually they'll show me a perfectly good but dusty air filter and try to con me into replacing it while they flush my radiator and cooling system.

Once I laugh at them and tell them to put the oil in it they'll quiet down.

to everyone in the waiting room. That was at the dealership and one of the reasons I decided not to go there.

The 3000 mile oil change interval seems to be ingrained in the car psyche in this country.

Have always had my oil changed at 7,000 miles.

we'll stick with every 3,000 miles.

If you still have the owner's manual for any of your older cars, you should check what they recommend--it might say 3000, of course, but you might be surprised. I have a 1995 Chevy, and it recommends 7500 miles. Our previous car, which was made in 1984, recommended 5000 (I think, it may have been 7500, though). We've got a 2001 now, too, and it recommends 10,000 miles--5000 in severe conditions. So it isn't just new cars that the 3000 mile myth applies to.

The service dept may still recommend coming in earlier than necessary. Check your owner's manual. My last current and previous vehicles were 10k between changes, I got all my oil changes at the dealer and they still put a sticker up that I was supposed to get my next one at 5k miles.

the manual might not be there though since it is a 2001 vehicle.

A good quality oil is capable of going much further while providing the film protection vital to an engine. But if you do a lot of stop & go,short trips or just drive like a granny you are going to have extra sediment that doesn't burn off. And that transfers into the oil..


Y'all are wimps-My VW van requires valve adjustments every 1K tops..I rarely go over 2K on an oil change. But its my daily driver & a family member. I rebuilt the engine after the left cylinder head melted the valve seat. A common issue wich is why I make sure to check the valves early & often...

But yeah- some of the newer ones don't even have a drain hole on the tranny-Per the dealer-sealed for life.

I have a diesel pickup truck and it holds 4 gallons of oil - yep, you read that right, 16 quarts. The filter holds almost two quarts as well so changes, which I do myself, are pretty expensive. A couple of years ago I started sending my used oil for sampling and analysis and its just amazing what they can do. First they told me that I had a bad injector and once we got that fixed and ran through another change cycle (5,000 mile intervals that that point) they then did another analysis and recommended I move out to 7500 miles and sample again. I did so and it turned out clean enough to take it to 10,000 miles between changes. It cost about $25 per sample and they keep your vehicle on file so you get historical context with each analysis. We have also had it done with our car's oil but in that case we do it more to be forewarned about problems with the engine.

Blackstone will send you a free kit to hold the oil

Very interesting, like "bloodwork" for the auto.

:)

But I check it weekly.

You don't want to have a warranty claim denied because you didn't change the oil frequently enough or kept the receipts. Hint: VW, Honda, and Toyota tend to do this a lot.

And they recommend that I use the most expensive oil they have and they also recommend I have all this other expensive sh*t done to my car too while it's there.

You have to do what they say or else you don't want your car to explode or whatever will happen.

selling you shit you don't need. Many women were ripped-off...coming out with a $300 bill for $29 oil change. Another one that they put the clamps on is Midas Muffler Shops. I went in there for a new muffler, adv price 129.00. After inspecting it, their "technician" said I needed this and that, and it would cost 525.00. I told them to pull my car of the rack and I drove off. Got it done at a regular muffler shop for $175, total

It's strange, when I took the car there, the oil was their standard oil and I started noticing that when she would take it there it was $30 higher. So, I called them and asked them about it, and they said she always requested the special expensive oil, which I knew that wasn't the case. She doesn't know anything about oil and would always just say whatever is cheapest.

Well, they were asking her, "do you want the same as last time?" and she would just say "sure" and then they woudl give her the more expensive oil and she just wouldn't know. Now we go to valvoline, who also has a free slurpee machine :)

I've never had a problem with Midas though, and they are my favorite shop in town here in KC. They've never once recommended I get anything extra done or even asked. I've taken my car in there a handful of times and they've told me they couldn't find anything wrong so didn't charge me anything. Probably has a lot to do with individual management at each one.

I get an OnStar report emailed to me once a month. I haven't changed oil since January. It reads out on the dash too.

My Cobalt: OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics from your 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt Coupe as of 08/17/2010
Remaining Oil Life: 42%
Mileage: 8,258

No required maintenance due at this time.
Based on oil life and mileage readings, next required maintenance estimated at 11,200 miles.


Marta's Equinox: OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics from your 2009 Chevrolet Equinox as of 08/18/2010


Remaining Oil Life: 23%
Mileage: 10,868

No required maintenance due at this time.
Based on oil life and mileage readings, next required maintenance estimated at 12,100 miles.

We did change Marta's to Mobil 1 last Friday. I will on my next change. The first and only change on my Cobalt I used a synthetic blend.

I have a '07 Cad.

Never void your engine warranty just to save a few bucks on oil changes.

After that, I break it apart like this:

Every 3K if you drive on dirt roads a lot.
Every 5K if you drive predominantly in city traffic.
Every 10k if your car is exclusively used on the highway.

Every 7500 if you do a mix of city and highway driving.

Nothing new here...I've been doing this for 10+ years.

They studied the cabs for about 150-200,000 miles. They could find no discernible difference in engine wear between cabs changed every 3000 miles and cabs changed at 7500 miles.

My Prius recommends every 5000 miles. I do it about every 8000.

Energy saving motor oil has been known to cause the clutch to slip and the shearing action of the transmission gears is hard on the oil..

My 500cc engine takes three quarts and I try to change it every 1500 miles. I usually change the filter on every third oil change.

If you carefully read the owners manual it usually says between 3,000 and 7,500

many new cars monitor conditions and advise via info displays.

a lot of factors are involved like short trip driving which doesn't fully heat the engine and stop and go conditions etc.