More frequent oil changes waste of $$ ?

[T-Minus]

New Toyota V8 owner here. My plan is to perform the first oil change early at 5k Mi. with the recommended synthetic oil, but use a Mobil One filter. Then, revert to the scheduled maintenance interval. Our Chevy truck is driven about 7k Mi./yr. and I change the oil every June 1 with Mobil One EP which you can usually find on sale at Wal*Mart.

 

[Big_Hitter]

nothing we own is driven more than 9000 miles/year, most half that.

once a year with synthetic.

anything more would be a waste.

that's about what we do although and it's time for an oil change in my FXT - 5 quarts of Eneos 5w30

 

[Fedup]

My husband changes oil per according to the manual. But I did remember he told me my daughte's car doesn't need changing that often according to some online recommendations. He use very expensive oil so it lasts a lot longer than the normal oil change at the shop.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The website "Bob the Oil Guy" is a good resource for all things oil. I will only make one comment...it doesn't matter often you change your oil if you use cheap/crappy filters. So...use high quality filters!

 

[euro]

Double up on that Yes.

As an engineer, I love how people try to out do the requirements on stuff. Not.

Don't you think an entire department full of BS/MS/PhD automotive engineers with dozens/hundreds of years of combined powertrain experience + untold company mechanics years of experience would have come up with a good requirement to follow? I'm sure that 10K number even has plenty of conservatism in it.

Agree!

 

[Walt34]

Both our Honda Accord and GMC pickup have "oil minders" that track engine temperature, rpm, and I think throttle load and calculate when the oil needs to be changed. Lots of short trips in the winter will result in more frequent oil changes, maybe 5k miles or so, and with longer drives in the summer may result in 8k+ in the summer.

With the GMC it's mostly just the annual oil change since I don't drive it that much. The Honda gets almost double the fuel mileage of the pickup so we use that for most of the routine driving. I do make a point to get the truck out of the garage at least once a week or so and drive it enough to get to full temperatures.

 

[Ian S]

I have a 2014 Audie Q5, 2.0 Turbo engine. Standard oil change frequency is 10,000 miles. My car has 45,000 miles on it, and I plan to keep it for a very long time.
I understand that turbo engines burn hotter, or somehow or other work more intensely (as you can tell, I'm not exactly a mechanic). To do my best to keep the car functioning well, should I start changing the oil at, say, 8000 miles instead of 10,000?
Yeah, I know "it can't hurt" but is doing so just a waste of money?

Not that long ago, VW/Audi turbo charged engines had a sludge problem that resulted in expensive repairs. Apparently driving as few as 500 miles beyond the recommended oil change mileage was deemed "abusive" and the company tried to get out of paying for such repairs. So I'm a firm believer in following the car manufacturer's oil and filter change schedule strictly and will err on the side of more frequent changes. My Hyundai has a 10 yr 100,000 mile drivetrain warranty and I'm following the schedule to the letter (6 months or 7500 miles). I have the oil changed every six months as I only drive around 6000 miles a year and so never hit the mileage limit. I also have the oil and filter changed by the dealer as their records will have everything done to the vehicle. FWIW, an oil and filter change at the Hyundai dealer runs me $30 or $25 when they have a "special" which is most of the time. I wait for the car and fill up on their Starbucks coffee and muffins.

 

[OldShooter]

Oil is not like a candle that has a clear end to its usefulness. No bell rings to announce "It's oil change time."

Oil change recommendations for new cars are not solely the domain of the engineering department. Marketing and warranty considerations apply.

One of the jobs of the oil is to capture nasty byproducts of combustion. This is why you sometimes hear an oil described as "detergent" oil. The nasties start to be dissolved in the oil from the first time the engine is fired after a change and continue to accumulate until the oil is drained.

When the oil is thoroughly heated, some of the nasties are cooked out of it. That is why more frequent changes are recommended for engines that get a lot of short trips where the oil may not get hot. That is why there is a time limit in addition to a mileage limit; the time limit is based on an assumption that if the mileage is not accumulated within the time limit it is because the car is making only short trips. Fuzzy logic, IMO, but easy for Mrs. Consumer to understand.

So is there a "right" interval? No. There are only probability calculations and the OEMs aren't going to give us those. Thus, more often is better than less often, but is the increment of "better" meaningful? If it reduces internal corrosion and cylinder wall wear so that the engine won't begin having problems until 300,000 miles or fifteen years, is that worth anything? Most cars will be in the junkyard by then.

The answer has to be: We don't have enough facts to know what an ideal change interval is for our cars and our type of driving. Do what feels good. and make sure it's often enough to not raise engine warranty questions.

 

[Chuckanut]

FWIW, years ago I new a guy who was an aircraft mechanic. He firmly believed that maintaining the drive train using hours of operation rather than miles driven was a far better way to get long life from his vehicle. His logic was the he might drive 10 miles in rush our traffic for an hour, or 60 miles on the open road for an hour. Which produces more wear and tear on the drive train? (OK, tires were a different story.)

He installed a gizmo on his car that recorded hours of operation. After some observation comparing miles driven to hours of operation, he had figured out when he should change the oil based upon hours of operation, flush the radiator, flush the transmission, etc. etc. etc.

 

[atmsmshr]

FWIW, years ago I new a guy who was an aircraft mechanic. He firmly believed that maintaining the drive train using hours of operation rather than miles driven was a far better way to get long life from his vehicle. His logic was the he might drive 10 miles in rush our traffic for an hour, or 60 miles on the open road for an hour. Which produces more wear and tear on the drive train? (OK, tires were a different story.)

He installed a gizmo on his car that recorded hours of operation. After some observation comparing miles driven to hours of operation, he had figured out when he should change the oil based upon hours of operation, flush the radiator, flush the transmission, etc. etc. etc.

Best perspective yet mentioned.

 

[aja8888]

Oh no! Not ANOTHER oil change interval thread....

 

[Music Lover]

Don't you think an entire department full of BS/MS/PhD automotive engineers with dozens/hundreds of years of combined powertrain experience + untold company mechanics years of experience would have come up with a good requirement to follow? I'm sure that 10K number even has plenty of conservatism in it.

Exactly.

I simply follow the "severe" oil change requirements due to many short trips and a brutal winter climate. I don't presume to know better than the dozens of experts involved in designing and building cars and the depth of knowledge and experience that preceded them.

 

[RunningBum]

Exactly.

I simply follow the "severe" oil change requirements due to many short trips and a brutal winter climate. I don't presume to know better than the dozens of experts involved in designing and building cars and the depth of knowledge and experience that preceded them.

Reminds me of the service place in North Carolina that wanted me to follow the severe schedule because of the "extreme heat" we had there. I did a little research and found that by extreme heat, it means Arizona type heat, not the 90s of NC. So I was wondering if you really needed the "severe" schedule due to cold, but then I saw your Winnipeg location...

 

[pb4uski]

Stay with the manufacturer's recommended interval... the reality is that their interval is likely conservative (more frequently than really necessary based on what the engineering specs of the engine really need).... IOW , they probably calculate 12k miles and then haircut it to 10k to be conservative.

 

[meierlde]

FWIW, years ago I new a guy who was an aircraft mechanic. He firmly believed that maintaining the drive train using hours of operation rather than miles driven was a far better way to get long life from his vehicle. His logic was the he might drive 10 miles in rush our traffic for an hour, or 60 miles on the open road for an hour. Which produces more wear and tear on the drive train? (OK, tires were a different story.)

He installed a gizmo on his car that recorded hours of operation. After some observation comparing miles driven to hours of operation, he had figured out when he should change the oil based upon hours of operation, flush the radiator, flush the transmission, etc. etc. etc.

Of course in addition to airplane engines heavy equipment (road building etc) has hour meters built in and the number of hours controls the oil change interval. Note that it appears that the obdII system does keep track of total engine run time as well.

 

[brett]

I follow the manufacturer's recommendation. Camry has 240K miles, does not burn oil, never a problem. I do the same for all fluids and I use manufacture's parts for rad , brake, and transmission fluids. The Honda is newer and smarter...it tells us the percentage of life left in the oil and when to change it.

 

[wolf]

Oh no! Not ANOTHER oil change interval thread....

+1. But it's fun. My observations.

1. Younger generations. Change oil when the "engine software" tells you
too.

2. Us older drivers. Instead of every 3k. Now 4-5K.

My case, buy oil at Costco, do my own change, so very cheap. Therefore,
change oil every 4K, filter every 8K. 193,000K Honda odyssey.
130,000 Toyota Camry.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

+1. But it's fun. My observations.

1. Younger generations. Change oil when the "engine software" tells you
too.

2. Us older drivers. Instead of every 3k. Now 4-5K.

My case, buy oil at Costco, do my own change, so very cheap. Therefore,
change oil every 4K, filter every 8K. 193,000K Honda odyssey.
130,000 Toyota Camry.

I remember years ago people changing their own oil, then they would dump the used oil down the sewer.

 

[Gumby]

I change the oil in my 2008 Civic hybrid when the maintenance minder says to do so -- about every 9000 miles. Since I drive about 27,000 miles a year, that means an oil change every 4 months. I do it myself, with Mobil 1 synthetic and an OEM filter. I just rolled 251,000 miles without a problem, so I must be doing something right.


I take the used oil to AutoZone for disposal.