I agree with Shepperd. Your engine does not have a built in laboratory to test the oil quality. The oil life monitor is merely a preset oil life expectancy based on mileage sinse last reset . If the authors theory is correct, why do customers return to my shop a week after having an oil change because there oil life monitor is illuminated ? Probably because we forgot to reset the monitor, not because they wore their oil out in one week. Most vehicles have a oil life monitor life of 5000-7500 miles, some more. Your engine oil monitor has absolutely no clue of the quality and viscosity of your oil. I operate a repair shop, a, ASE certified, and totally disagree with this article. But, those of you who believe everything they read on the 'net, I do engine repairs also. Go ahead and run that oil to 10,000 miles. If you are driving a GM vehicle, you WILL buy an engine.
why do you change oil you ask? Crankcase blowby that passes by your compression and oil scraper rings on the ignition stroke will enter the crankcase. This blowby is an acid, and the oil only has an ability to only adsorb so much of this. Once the oil is "saturated" with crankcase acid, it will then start to work on the crank and rod bearing surfaces, over time the bearing surface will wear and erode thus cause lower oil pressure. Once your oil pressure is low enough, you will have a massive engine failure. acid will also eat cylinder walls, causing more blowby to enter. Most oils will tell you how much they can absorb (these are the detergent type). Changing oil is one of the cheapest and easiest things to do. If you care about your vehicle and expect it to give you 200K plus mileage, then change your oil. I have one car with 189K miles on it, and a van with 176K miles, neither one of these vehicles burn or lose oil. I attributed it to good maintenance and timely oil changes
As an old shadetree mechanic, I would buy the argument for 4000 to 4500 between oil changes,but no more. The one thing the article above does not address is the fact that the car companies want you to keep dirty oil in your car longer so the engine parts wear out faster. What's the first thought when your 130,000-140,000 mile vehicle starts to use oil ? Time to trade ! Just what the car companies want to you to reason. There is profit not only in vehicle replacement ,but very much in parts and the more they get you to replace and buy, the more profit they make. Articles like this are nothing more than BS !!!!!!
Obviously no one at Edmunds builds engines. 90% of this article is nonsense, and if they like, I'll provide them with a 100's of oil samples proving we need to be changing our oil at least every 6k miles depending on how the car is driven. Lets see: More frequent oil changes would cost them $1847 in their "FIT". The replacement engine + install = $6859. As someone said in another "cheap insurance" Oil formulations appear to change quite frequently. What was recommended for a car in 2001 is not the same oil they are selling today.
This article is forgetting many aspects that should be taken into account when deciding when to change your oil. The year of the vehicle (due too tolerances), short duration drives vs longer duration (run time), and climate (dirty, dusty, etc). The oil technology, say standard Pennzoil for example, hasn't changed in the last 20 years. Lets say you use standard Pennzoil in a 1986 Grand Prix, the oil coupled with the lack of tolerances on the rings and valves are going to contaminate the oil at a faster rate than a 2005 Toyota Forerunner. Not to mentioning heat from different displacements. To generalize and say that everyone is wasting their money by changing their oil too often is naive. Sure, newer engines coupled with synthetic oils will yield much higher mileage, but not as high as they would like you to believe. One person wrote in these threads it's a small price to pay for insuring that your engine will last per your investment. I agree. Making an educated decision about your current vehicle and how you drive will ultimately be the deciding factor of when you should change your oil. The 3k guideline is just that; a guideline. With standard oils that have been around for many many years, they seem to start to break down around that mark (short duration driving). If I had a 2012 BMW with synthetic; well I just might push for 5k. But then again- why risk a 20k motor replacement huh?
I submit this with some trepidation because of my personal brashness with respect to oil changing, but here goes....
I have been driving for 60+ years and have "worn out" probably 20 cars. I typical "recycle" my cars at typically 180,000 miles. By recycle, I mean giving each to one of my children, who shortly wreck them.
I have had one engine fail due to lubrication problems. This occurred when I idiotically failed to notice a low oil condition and literally ran the engine out of oil. (Cheaply repaired by burnishing one of the crank throws and installing new rod bearings).
But the point of my comment here is to state that my policy is to a) use quality oil (Castrol, in my case) and b) rarely change oil (rarely, means 50,000+ miles).
My point? Only suckers change oil at 3,000 miles. Those who recommend these premature oil changes are simply promoting their own financial self-interest. They are not serving the best interests of the public.
I suggest that a conservative approach is to change oil and filter at 20,000 miles.
I understand that professional truckers to do not change oil on a schedule but depend on periodic lubricity tests to signal deteriorating oil. Perhaps someone with experience with this industry to comment on this practice. t
I drive a Porsche 911S ($125,000). Owners Manual says 10,000 miles between oil changes using Mobil 1. I change the oil once a year at the dealership ($275).
Having worked as an engineer in vehicle testing with a major automotive manufacturer, we performed extensive testing on engine and oil life expectancy.
We successfully tested vehicles to 200K miles using the following procedures: 10K miles - change of oil only, no filter change 20K miles - change both oil and filter and so on for each 10K miles. At each interval, an oil sample was taken and laboratory tested for metal contamination and quality of oil. At the end of 200K, the engine was removed and disassembled and I have never heard of one of these test engines having any significant wear associated with them. Typically the result is the engine could have continued to perform as normal, without any repairs necessary, only normal maintenance (valve clearance check/adjustment, timing belt/water pump replacement, etc.).
This article is wholly valid and I have been informing my family and friends for more than ten years to follow the manufacturers recommendations. If you're not sure, then check your owners manual and call the manufacturers representative for your vehicle. They're knowledgeable and accountable to provide the consumer with accurate information.
In sum, the manufacturers (both oil and automotive) place an enormous amount of time and energy (and money) into maintenance requirements for vehicles and want to provide the best economic outcome for the consumer. I am a witness to this effort and know from my experience that today's vehicles and oil products are the best they have ever been, on a longevity basis and maintenance-wise.
I go 10k on anyone's full synthetic... currently use Amzoil and the oil change is done at a locally owned tire store... not chain. Sick of getting ripped off and lied to at the brand name oil change places and dealerships... tired of the attitude or refusal to put what I ask for on the sticker. They put 3k on a conventional oil change sticker on my kids Jeep after I ask for it to read 5k... they put 5 k on my full synthetic changes in my 05 Maliu (132,000 miles and uses no oil) and on 05 Odyssey (155,000 and uses no oil). Go to a place that uses Amzoil as their primary oil brand and the lies stop!
I monitor the oil visually. When it get ugly and smelly, I change it. It is generally between 3 and 5000 miles. There also is more contamination as the engine gets older and there is more space between the pistons and cylinders which causes it to get bad more quickly. At 216,000 miles, my 03 Chrysler Town and Country burns a quart in 3000 miles, but it is still going strong.
Have been following the oil life monitor on all of my GM cars since 1997. Change oil according to the monitor, once per year or depending on the vehicle at 8500 miles or 15K miles which ever condition comes first. One vehicle is 10 years old and still running strong, doesn't use oil. It is due for its second coolant 5 year change which I will be doing in the next two months. All of the other vehicles are still running strong and all are at least 4 years old. Cutting down on oil changes has saved me a lot of money over the last 15 years and there hasn't been any detriment. People who say it doesn't work are wrong. They are blaming any troubles they get into on the wrong thing.
I bought a 86 camery in 1992 with around 70k miles on it...I changed the oil myself every 10k to 15k miles, sometimes didnt change the filter...Not smart I know but the car had over 175k miles on it when I got rid of it and was still driving strong...I've always said that changing oil every 3k miles is a big waste but it makes a lot of money for all of those involved in the business...I did check my oil every so often between changes and topped it off if it was low...
Ok, afterall is said an done, if you believe you should change your oil in 3,000, by all means do so, and while you are at it, if you are trying to save$, you might a well use the cheepest oil you can find, because if you are changing so often it realy doesn't matter does it? Now if you are like me, and try to get the most out of any vehical I spend my hard earned $ on, I will by the best oil I can find, and after much reaserch I have found that Mobil 1, Pensoil Synthetic, Red Line and any syn oil is best, I say this because when I us these in my Harley, (which is air cooled) it does run at least 20 degrees cooler, and when I tried them in my 64 Corvair, (air cooled) it to ran cooler, what does that say? that it works better! because air cooled engines run HOT, and it does not cause any leaks, every vehicle I use it in has ran fine, has never used any oil (when before it did), that is because it has a higher flash point, (meaning it takes a higher temp to burn it). So for me it is synthetic oils, it cost more but I can change it less often, I don't go past 6-7thousand though, I don't believe in going that far.
Total garbage and more environmental BS- the absolute best thing you can do for your car if you do nothing else is to change oil at 3000 miles. This is simply the best and cheapest insurance against long term engine problems. I am a lifelong auto enthusiast and I have been changing oil for more than 30 yrs. The average driver who keeps a car for 7-10 yrs is best served by this practice and any other cars/trucks as well whether leased, rented or owned. Even with the advances in todays oils this is still required and always will be.
I have had 13 cars/trucks of just about every classification (gas and diesel) over 50 years. Some I drove for 150,000 miles and 10-20 years. I have never changed the oil at shorter than factory recommended intervals. I've never had an oil related failure or burned any oil. On the other hand, I have saved a bundle by not following dealers' recommendations for oil change interval.
What the "quick lube" places dont tell u is they will use a cheap substandard filter that will break apart & circulate with the oil rather quickly. So now youre 1,000 miles into what should be a 7500 mile oil change & the paper filter is floating in the oil in pieces & not filtering the oil like it should. Combine poor quality cheap oil void of the proper wear additives and the customers standing at the dealer wondering how they did everything right & still had an engine failure. Thats why the 3,000 mile rule still applies. Unless you change your own oil & filter and KNOW whats in your car.
I own a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan and it eats through two quarts of 5W-20 oil before I stop back in to the oil change facility every 5000 miles. The employees there said that that is typical for Chrysler minivans and for Chevy SUV's. So regardless of having to change oil at a longer interval, owners of these vehicles need to add oil on a regular basis which really is dissapointing.
When I moved to the US from the UK in 1999, I was astounded by the site of Jiffy Lubes and Oil changers everywhere, I asked my wife, what are these places for? She said you have to change your oil every 3000 miles. What complete and utter crap!
This is the only country where this is the case. The service interval for cars in Europe has been 6000 miles since the 70's, in the early 80's it went to 9,000 miles and now your car tells you when to have a serviced, for most cars with synthetic oils that can be up to 20,000 miles.
This is wasteful money laundering scheme and if you take part in it, you deserve to be fleeced.
I could go on about free healthcare but that will probably bring down the site !!
Total Bull.....If you drive gravel roads or only go 1/2 mile to work and never get the engine up to temp. You might need to change the oil more often. A worn out motor will burn old oil more easily as well...I'd rather spend 40 bucks every3, 000 miles than spend thousands on a new motor every 3 yrs.
1) Today's oil may last 6-7000k miles, but the article/studies fail to consider one HUGE factor — dirt (which may cause more engine wear than weary oil). Perhaps the studies need to differentiate the benefits of changing oil vs oil filters. 2) My vehicles always run smoother immediately after I change the oil and filter. (Perhaps it's the new filter.) 3) The driver "insecurities" argument is incredibly weak.
I change my own oil/filter at 2,500-mile intervals because it's easier to remember than 3k-mile intervals. I have been recycling oil and oil filters since 1976, and will continue to do so until I go electric.
This is imortant info about your motor oil. It is helpful to know abou the different oils. I beleive that with newer oils being produced it is possible for you to go longer than 3,000 mile between oils changes, and i beleave that it also dependson whattype driver you are and the typ of car you have, and what the cr is used for.
As a master tech for Honda,since '74...yes since 600 sedans and coupes-yuck.The main problem with the extended oil service interval is driver's never checking their oil level.All use some,some use more than others."I'm here for my 5-7000 mile oil change."Pop the drain plug and voila...little or no oil appears,especially high mile engines.Any oil will suffer prematurely with this issue.So we try and inform all customers with extended intervals to be sure and pull the dipstick every few fill ups.
I have to laugh at all these KNOW-IT-ALLS who claim you HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR OIL every 3000 miles. Why don't you give ME your money since you want to THROW IT AWAY!!! I work in QUALITY CONTROL in a auto engine plant. I can tell you that in the last 30 yrs ther have been GAINT improvements in Engine's preformance and quality. Today auto engines are so much better that it is hard to believe.
If you are smart you will use a FULLY SYNTHETIC motor oil like MOBOL 1 advanced oil. Use the weight your car requires because it is set to the gaps in your engine's metal to metal surfaces and using the wrong weight will cause a problem. I only change my oil every 10,000 to 12,000 miles and have NEVER had a oil/wear engine problem. I have a 2000 Chevy Venture that we drove for over 300,000 miles and currently have a 2008 Pontiac Torrent that has 130,000 miles with no problems and I expect it to go well over 300,000 before we get rid of it. I had a 1994 S-10 truck that I first used synthetic oil on and after 3000 miles the oil was so clean you could hardly see it on the dipstick. That setteled my mind on using the synthetic oil instead of standard oil. I also use the MOBOL 1 synthetic oil FILTER with the synthetic oil and not only does the oil last longer, but I get better MPG with the synthetic oil too. 3 to 5 miles per gallon better.
shepperd is correct. Changing your oil more often, while not necessary, is cheap insurance. Contrary to what uninformed environmentalists will have you believe, most used oil gets recycled in the form of alternative fuel used in industrial applications all across the country.
Really, I think in todays harried life, having the Oil change closer to 3000 to 5000 makes up for our inattention to cars. Quick Change places do a great of other safety checks that (although I also do) have caught many problems before my inspection, bad brakes, leaks in coolant etc. I would say sure you can extend your oil life, but my two cars have 247000 and 215000 miles, and I change closer to the 4000 mile mark with synthetics or blend. The quick lubes guys do a good job of checking those components besides oil that are great safety checks. I do extend once in awhile knowing I have a higher performing product, but really not 15000 or 20000.
Don't even think about extending changes if you are using conventional oil.
The advantage to using Synthetic is incredible. Popular science ran an article about synthetic several years ago.
They took 2 new identical Lincoln Continental Mk III's, one with conventional and one with synthetic. The one with conventional oil received an oil and filter change every 3,000 miles. The one with synthetic received periodic filter changes, but the oil was never changed, oil was only added when it was low.
Both engines were torn down and miked after 100,000 miles of driving. The conventional oil engine was completely worn and needed a rebuild. Also, the valve covers and pickup screen were covered in sludge along with the oil galley holes. The engine using synthetic was within specs for a brand new engine, without any sludge or varnish build up at all. Synthetic just doesn't break down and any darkening (discoloration) of the oil is due to harmless blowby from combustion and does not affect the lubricating properties of the oil.
Oil filters will fail if you leave them in too long. If you ever experience this, you can shake the filter and hear the deteriorated parts banging around inside. So, change the filter at least once a year (I prefer Fram Extra Guard types, usaully around $10.00).
Okay Sheppard, That is one good data point. To have it mean anything, please tell us how often the S10 owner changed his/her oil. The engine seized at 74000 miles. Does that mean the oil was 74000 miles old? If you don't know, then your argument is meaningless.
I would doubted this to be true but it appears to be correct. My brother recently bought a BMW 5 series and according to the service manual, the first service was due at 18,500 miles including the first oil change. He asked the dealer to confirm no oil changes were required in the interim and they did. It uses synthetic and he lives in England but I doubt either matters. They don't make different cars for Europe (they are all made in Europe) and synthetic oil id exactly the same worldwide. The 3,000 mile is a very US-centric concept. No one else does it as frequently and we are all generally driving the same cars. A Honda Accord is a Honda Accord either side of the Atlantic. Do 3K oil changes do any harm? Absolutely not (environmentally? Possibly but minor) - and if you feel more comfortable then go ahead. Peace of mind is a good thing. Are they necessary? I doubt it. For my Scion XB I use Mobil 1 synthetic, change every 10-15K and I'm very comfortable with that. 80K on the clock and running like a er.... Scion.
Not one word about the oil filter being able to go longer than 3000 miles. Not one word about how clean the oil was in their test. dirty oil is dirty oil. More EPA SCARE TACTICS. Car companies wanting to sell you more cars more often
I would just like to directly respond to SHEPPERD...
IF you had read the article more than just skimming it, you would have seen that the article suggests to follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance intervals.. I know for one my vehicle manufacturer recommends oil changes every 7,500 miles, and its an '01... the point the article was making is that 3,000 miles is a number made up to increase business for the oil change companies---since a vast majority of the population probably never would consult their owners manual, people easily fall victim.
Open up your owners manual AND FOLLOW ITS DIRECTIONS instead of following some jiffy lube recommended schedule.
I have a 1988 Chevy Sprint with over 250,000 miles on it and I still get on average 42 mpg! I change the oil using synthetic about every 8 to 10,000 miles. I have never had any problems with this care mechanically, it is a 5 speed. Other than changing things like brakes, clutch, etc from normal wear and tear, this car runs great. It has the original engine from when I purchased it new so the article above is accurate. You do not and should not change your oil every 3,000 miles as it is a waste of money. As to those people below that work for the oil industry , maybe the car that "the engine seized" was just not a good engine? I know many people that have 1980 era vehicles that are past the 200,000 mile mark on original engine and do not change their oil with any regularity except for when they think about it. Most are at the 10k mark or more between changes and they are over 200,000 miles so I call b.s. to the claims of "your car will seize if you don't change at 3,000 miles".
I work for a Oil Distributor and we carry many brands of oil and do alot of lab testing. First of all to change oil every 3,000 miles is a waste of money, but be careful. Around 30% of the oil on the market does not meet spec and is not licensed by API. A good licensed oil will be able to stand up to your OEM standard. Know where your Garage or Dealer gets his oil, make sure it on API's list of approved oils. To pay for the more expensive oils doesn't make them better, if an oil is on API, it meets the latest spec for most car's.
SHAME ON YOU EDMUND'S. You have been fooled! or worse, bought out!
Of course the manufacturers want to change the maintenance schedule to substitute severe for normal condition because that affects the sell-ability of their cars and ultimately their bottom line. They say their cars require less maintenance, but it's only because they have adjusted their schedules.
Also, nothing has fundamentally changed oil. So much so that no oil manufacturer has any clear information or data about these "changes". Edmund's shame on you for not listing supporting data or articles with hard numbers to back up such a fallacious claim.
Oil may be able to handle heat slightly better these days but not by much. THE MAIN IMPETUS BEHIND THIS ARTICLE, is the drive to maximize profits by car companies trying to sell new cars, that by the way have not significantly changed the way that they use oil. They still produce heat from friction that breaks the oil down and even after 50 years or so there have been only marginal gains in the reduction of oil breakdown in an engine.
I also have worked at a SAAB dealership (gm engines and cars) and when they changed their schedules about a decade ago to increase their range between oil changes, it was met with disastrous results with 3 or 4 year old cars coming in with blocked oil pickups due to a build up of old oil.
You really should do better Edmunds to research and not just be another tool of the car sellers. YOU REPRESENT THE CUSTOMERS, NOT SELLERS. This may seem like you are helping us out but you are doing the opposite.
Okay, Shepperd- Just because your trucks engine siezed- does not make this hogwash. Do some research. Did you consider, maybe his neglect of the cooling system had something to do with the engine siezing? Maybe he was changing his oil every 20,000 miles, and not every 5-8000. Think about it ~ your case in no way at all de-validates this theory, can't you see that? For this to make sense, you would have to know the interval that the oil was changed, and you would have to know what effect the neglected cooling system had on the oil/engine- Only then could you come up w/your own hypothesis. Do you have children? Would you like your children and grandchildren to see/enjoy the Earth as you have? I don't know, maybe you are not smart enough to realize that a healthy planet is necessary for a healthy economy. It is selfish people like you who don't care about the planets health? Don't you think future generations have a right to a healthy life, on a healthy planet. Or is it more important to change your oil more than necessary, ,JUST-IN-CASE- regardless of the auto-engineering/scientific data proving otherwise. Global Warming has been proved. Waste oil is not good for the environment, but go ahead keep changing your oil every 3000 miles, cause its more important to cover your [non-permissible content removed], then it is for your children/grandchildren and future generations to live healthy lives in a clean environment. Doesn't that strike you as selfish? If Jesus were here, he would call you out on your sinful ways.
Well you can call me stupid but when it comes to a subject as technical as this one, I want to form an opinion based on true scientific, peer reviewed, hard data from a group of folks with advanced degrees. The last thing I will rely on is "opinions" from some "billy bob shade tree mechanic". I've been involved in auto racing for almost forty years and I've heard about every "good ole boy" opinion out there. Modern day engines and all of the related components and fluids have advanced by an order of magnitude over the technology available when I was building my first race engines. I've run synthetics in my engines, gear boxes, and differentials since I first learned of their existence back in the seventies. With high quality lubricants and filtration, oil change intervals can be extended well past the manufacturer's recommended mileage. Attentiveness is the key to maintaining any machinery. Monitoring the levels and conditions of all of the fluids and related components is the key to long service life. It's fairly easy to blow up an engine in a multitude of different ways. It's almost always due to poor maintenance and/or abuse.
Seems to me that neither extreme is the whole solution. Changing it more often than it needs to may not hurt your engine, but it's a huge enironental impact when you take everyone that drives into account. But then, not changing it enough, like some other commenters have noted, is very bad for your engine, and might even cause you to have to replace it. What the article didn't stress well enough to some people was that places like Jiffy Lube are in the business of making money off your oil changes, so of course, they will reccomend the shortest time between changes. Every time, all the time. (just for the record, you couldn't pay me to take my vehicle to Jiffy Lube, they've cost me too much in damages in the past)
The article says that owners should BE AWARE of what their car's manual recommends as the oil change cycle. Not what some guy writing the minimum on a sticker says. It's not difficlt to remember - what day is your birthday on? Go for that week, and figure out based on the manufacturer recommendations, how many months between changes you should go - and then get it changed the week of your birthday, and every [however many] months in between.
Know how to check your own oil. You don't have to change it, but know how to check it. Same with antifreeze. That's almost too easy. There's a fill line, and a great big cap for it, and a marker line. If it's not full to that marker, you're burning or losing it somewhere, and you either need to get that fixed, or check and top off regularly.
I have a vehicle with 145K miles, and it's had a bad head gasket for the last three years. It would cost more to fix that then the vehicle is worth at this point. But I know how to check an top off the oil and antifreeze, and I've learned to drive it gently. It doesn't give me any problems, and amazes mechanics when they tell me "oh, by the way..." and I say, yeah, it's been like that for a few years now. "How have ou kept the engine from seizing?"
It's called paying attention. And that's what this article was trying to stress.
This article is very misleading. You should read your owners manual and check for Technical Service Bulletins. Use the manufacturer recommend interval and oil. the meaning of Synthetic oil in the US is also misleading. It only means some part of the oil is man made and not all of the oil or even the base of the oil. Also be careful with manufactures changing formulas. This happens often especially with the ever changing EPA regulations. Oils are very engine specific even engines from the same manufactures. One example would be the Nissan VQ v6 engines. Some of them have very short oil change intervals(~2750miles) because they are hard on oil. Others of the same engine family have shorter intervals because of different valve train arrangements.
@G556 The "street blow off valve" voids your warranty. The speed 3's have a known issue with the PVC system which the bypass valve is a part of. your blow off valve replaces or bypasses it. This may not have caused your issue but that part can
well I could care less what people say about getting my oil 30changed, but I bought my car a 2004 chevy malibu brand new and have always changed the oil at 3000 to 3500 miles and used CASTROL GTX and wouldn't change a thing. It still runs like a top and I take care of her and she takes care of me. OH BY THE WAY she just turned over 283,000 miles
As a retired scientist, I take the analytic route. When I have my oil changed, I have a sample chemically analyzed. What I've discovered is that this article is exactly right, 3,000 mile changes are wasting money. 6,000 mile changes also wasting money, at least in my car, since the additives are still in the acceptable range. I'm now using an 8,000 mile change which still has additives in the acceptable range and who knows, I may be able to hit the 10,000 mile change. Incidentally, my car is not an inexpensive knockaround make, it costs considerably more than a pair of top line Cadillacs.
As an addendum to what I wrote earlier let me add this. Check the manufacturer's recommended oil for it's additive package. Oils by the same manufacturer don't necessarily have the same additives and you could shorten your engine's life by using alternatives that are acceptable for emergency use. My engine has a recommendation for 0-40W Mobil1, 10- 30W is an acceptable substitute for topping up. Checking the additives packages of these two, one finds that the 10-30W has less anti-galling zinc additives than the 0-40W which means that any sliding components like valve trains will suffer in the long run.
Modern cars with precisely machined engines do not dirty oil as quickly as the older ones. Older cars had carburetors that were guilty of sometimes dumping too much gasoline into the engine. I'm referring to microseconds here during acceleration and start up. That excess fuel did not burn clean, it would get down into the oil cavity of the engine, causing it to get dirty sooner and to have a high acid content.
The new cars with electronic fuel systems are much more precise in how they deliver the fuel. Very seldom do they inject too much fuel, even for a microsecond. So the oil DOES stay clean longer then in the 1970's.
And today's oils are better quality. I have personally begun to use only synthetics. My Jeep has a diesel engine and the factory recommendations are to change at 12,000 with light duty, 6,000 with severe duty. I change the oil at 12,000, but I replace the filter at 6,000 to remove any acids that may have accumulated, because they are hard on the metal parts.
Please be certain to use oil recycling centers. Don't laugh, there are companies that can re-refine that oil. They filter out the impurities and acids, and when they are through with it, it tests as safe and clean as first time refined oil.
I don't know if they are keeping synthetic separate from petrol oil, but they should. Synthetic has better resistance to break down from heat.
I now have 120,000 on my Jeep and it still sounds the same as new so my 12,000 mile oil changes haven't hurt it yet.
LOL, I have two 2001 BMW 330i. I just follow the system oil change monitor (oil change around 15,000 miles) never have a warranty issue even if it was 500 mile over/after the oil change signal comes on. One has 140k and the other has 190k still same engine and same transmission fluid. This article is correct and people should not make unnecessary wasteful oil changes but if you want to contribute to the fat wallets of the oil companies than that's your prerogative. Both the BMWs don't burn oil at all, only if you drive like New York taxi driver (a maniac) then yes, you need more frequent oil changes at lesser mile intervals. Oil change every 3000 miles is an unnecessary insurance!!
My bad, the reference to synthetic oil change "only if you drive like New York taxi driver (a maniac) then yes, you need more frequent oil changes at lesser mile intervals" is incorrect. Even driving under severe conditions you just need to top off the oil level if the oil level is low, which means you need to check the dip stick more frequently.
As a former regional training director for one of those major oil change companies and based on my years of training and education about oil, this article is misleading. While it's true that oil now keeps getting better, not all oils(including synthetics) are created equal. That's like saying paper is paper. All factors should be considered as far as when to change your oil and filter, such as the environment you live in, how you drive, the type of engine you have. The reason to change oil(other than heat degradation) are the contaminants(water, carbon ect). Synthetics are a must for turbocharged because they offer much less friction thereby reducing heat in the turbocharger and they're much more resistant to heat degradation than conventional oil. With antifreeze, ethylene glycol doesn't break down, it's the additives that do(rust inhibitors, water pump lubricant, ect).
If I followed the average 7800 miles thought posed in the article, I'd have to turn a blind eye to reality. You have to eyeball the oil. And you can actually feel the difference on some situations as friction increases after a thousand or more miles. On most of my used cars I watch for it to turn pretty dark but not pitch black on the dipstick. That could be at two or three thousand with conventional oil. In my newer Chrysler I only use synthetic and I don't like the color at around five thousand miles. Yet the Chrysler automatic oil change interval warning light will go on at around 2400 miles. And that folks is about right for severely used conventional oil in that vehicle and I imagine I could perhaps do a change out if using conventional. Better to treat your engine kindly to a fresh bath. Yet we all have heard stories of drivers who never change oil...
I have a 1995 Sonoma 4x4 [4.3 vortex, 5 peed manual] and it gets USED HARD-I use Mobil 5000 about 5 qts. about every 9,000 miles [or when the oil just gets so I cannot read thru it on dipstick] w/over 160,000 miles on it original engine, coolant changed every 20,000 [or so] miles-it runs perfectly [tune up every 75,000 miles]; the only frill is that I started using mid-grade gas [89 octane] at about 100,000 miles & use STA-BIL marine because of the 10% ethanol crud in gas. my mechanic & I expect to get at least 300,000 miles out of her...
My old 2000 Honda Civic is testimony to this article. The manufacturer suggested 7500 mile oil changes. I usually got it at between 6000-7000 miles. Basically whenever the oil change square went yellow in my car. That car lasted me 267,000 miles and I'd still be driving it if someone hadn't smashed into me from the front.
Most modern vehicles have an external oil cooler to reduce temperature (engine oil breakdown) and the extension of service to 5,000 miles is not nearly as risky as some believe. I ran Mobil 1 synthetic in my 307 HO in an 85 Cutlass 442 with an aftermarket oil cooler installed at 20,000 miles.. This Vehicle was driven HARD! 15W-50 was responsible for keeping this engine in great shape. This car is STILL on the road. 179,000+ miles changing the filter every 5,000 with a quart added and complete changes each 10,000. My 2007 Silverado 5.3L goes as often as 8,000 miles between changes in the fall/spring but closer to 5,000 in Summer.
Oil and filters are better engineered than Dad's and GrandDad's Oil and Fram filters.
Comments
I have been driving for 60+ years and have "worn out" probably 20 cars. I typical "recycle" my cars at typically 180,000 miles. By recycle, I mean giving each to one of my children, who shortly wreck them.
I have had one engine fail due to lubrication problems. This occurred when I idiotically failed to notice a low oil condition and literally ran the engine out of oil. (Cheaply repaired by burnishing one of the crank throws and installing new rod bearings).
But the point of my comment here is to state that my policy is to a) use quality oil (Castrol, in my case) and b) rarely change oil (rarely, means 50,000+ miles).
My point? Only suckers change oil at 3,000 miles. Those who recommend these premature oil changes are simply promoting their own financial self-interest. They are not serving the best interests of the public.
I suggest that a conservative approach is to change oil and filter at 20,000 miles.
I understand that professional truckers to do not change oil on a schedule but depend on periodic lubricity tests to signal deteriorating oil. Perhaps someone with experience with this industry to comment on this practice. t
We successfully tested vehicles to 200K miles using the following procedures:
10K miles - change of oil only, no filter change
20K miles - change both oil and filter and so on for each 10K miles.
At each interval, an oil sample was taken and laboratory tested for metal contamination and quality of oil.
At the end of 200K, the engine was removed and disassembled and I have never heard of one of these test engines having any significant wear associated with them. Typically the result is the engine could have continued to perform as normal, without any repairs necessary, only normal maintenance (valve clearance check/adjustment, timing belt/water pump replacement, etc.).
This article is wholly valid and I have been informing my family and friends for more than ten years to follow the manufacturers recommendations. If you're not sure, then check your owners manual and call the manufacturers representative for your vehicle. They're knowledgeable and accountable to provide the consumer with accurate information.
In sum, the manufacturers (both oil and automotive) place an enormous amount of time and energy (and money) into maintenance requirements for vehicles and want to provide the best economic outcome for the consumer. I am a witness to this effort and know from my experience that today's vehicles and oil products are the best they have ever been, on a longevity basis and maintenance-wise.
Bill
This is the only country where this is the case. The service interval for cars in Europe has been 6000 miles since the 70's, in the early 80's it went to 9,000 miles and now your car tells you when to have a serviced, for most cars with synthetic oils that can be up to 20,000 miles.
This is wasteful money laundering scheme and if you take part in it, you deserve to be fleeced.
I could go on about free healthcare but that will probably bring down the site !!
1) Today's oil may last 6-7000k miles, but the article/studies fail to consider one HUGE factor — dirt (which may cause more engine wear than weary oil). Perhaps the studies need to differentiate the benefits of changing oil vs oil filters.
2) My vehicles always run smoother immediately after I change the oil and filter. (Perhaps it's the new filter.)
3) The driver "insecurities" argument is incredibly weak.
I change my own oil/filter at 2,500-mile intervals because it's easier to remember than 3k-mile intervals. I have been recycling oil and oil filters since 1976, and will continue to do so until I go electric.
If you are smart you will use a FULLY SYNTHETIC motor oil like MOBOL 1 advanced oil. Use the weight your car requires because it is set to the gaps in your engine's metal to metal surfaces and using the wrong weight will cause a problem. I only change my oil every 10,000 to 12,000 miles and have NEVER had a oil/wear engine problem. I have a 2000 Chevy Venture that we drove for over 300,000 miles and currently have a 2008 Pontiac Torrent that has 130,000 miles with no problems and I expect it to go well over 300,000 before we get rid of it. I had a 1994 S-10 truck that I first used synthetic oil on and after 3000 miles the oil was so clean you could hardly see it on the dipstick. That setteled my mind on using the synthetic oil instead of standard oil. I also use the MOBOL 1 synthetic oil FILTER with the synthetic oil and not only does the oil last longer, but I get better MPG with the synthetic oil too. 3 to 5 miles per gallon better.
The advantage to using Synthetic is incredible. Popular science ran an article about synthetic several years ago.
They took 2 new identical Lincoln Continental Mk III's, one with conventional and one with synthetic. The one with conventional oil received an oil and filter change every 3,000 miles. The one with synthetic received periodic filter changes, but the oil was never changed, oil was only added when it was low.
Both engines were torn down and miked after 100,000 miles of driving. The conventional oil engine was completely worn and needed a rebuild. Also, the valve covers and pickup screen were covered in sludge along with the oil galley holes. The engine using synthetic was within specs for a brand new engine, without any sludge or varnish build up at all. Synthetic just doesn't break down and any darkening (discoloration) of the oil is due to harmless blowby from combustion and does not affect the lubricating properties of the oil.
Oil filters will fail if you leave them in too long. If you ever experience this, you can shake the filter and hear the deteriorated parts banging around inside. So, change the filter at least once a year (I prefer Fram Extra Guard types, usaully around $10.00).
The engine seized at 74000 miles. Does that mean the oil was 74000 miles old?
If you don't know, then your argument is meaningless.
IF you had read the article more than just skimming it, you would have seen that the article suggests to follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance intervals.. I know for one my vehicle manufacturer recommends oil changes every 7,500 miles, and its an '01... the point the article was making is that 3,000 miles is a number made up to increase business for the oil change companies---since a vast majority of the population probably never would consult their owners manual, people easily fall victim.
Open up your owners manual AND FOLLOW ITS DIRECTIONS instead of following some jiffy lube recommended schedule.
seriously, how could you miss that?
Of course the manufacturers want to change the maintenance schedule to substitute severe for normal condition because that affects the sell-ability of their cars and ultimately their bottom line. They say their cars require less maintenance, but it's only because they have adjusted their schedules.
Also, nothing has fundamentally changed oil. So much so that no oil manufacturer has any clear information or data about these "changes". Edmund's shame on you for not listing supporting data or articles with hard numbers to back up such a fallacious claim.
Oil may be able to handle heat slightly better these days but not by much. THE MAIN IMPETUS BEHIND THIS ARTICLE, is the drive to maximize profits by car companies trying to sell new cars, that by the way have not significantly changed the way that they use oil. They still produce heat from friction that breaks the oil down and even after 50 years or so there have been only marginal gains in the reduction of oil breakdown in an engine.
I also have worked at a SAAB dealership (gm engines and cars) and when they changed their schedules about a decade ago to increase their range between oil changes, it was met with disastrous results with 3 or 4 year old cars coming in with blocked oil pickups due to a build up of old oil.
You really should do better Edmunds to research and not just be another tool of the car sellers. YOU REPRESENT THE CUSTOMERS, NOT SELLERS. This may seem like you are helping us out but you are doing the opposite.
I've run synthetics in my engines, gear boxes, and differentials since I first learned of their existence back in the seventies. With high quality lubricants and filtration, oil change intervals can be extended well past the manufacturer's recommended mileage. Attentiveness is the key to maintaining any machinery. Monitoring the levels and conditions of all of the fluids and related components is the key to long service life. It's fairly easy to blow up an engine in a multitude of different ways. It's almost always due to poor maintenance and/or abuse.
The article says that owners should BE AWARE of what their car's manual recommends as the oil change cycle. Not what some guy writing the minimum on a sticker says. It's not difficlt to remember - what day is your birthday on? Go for that week, and figure out based on the manufacturer recommendations, how many months between changes you should go - and then get it changed the week of your birthday, and every [however many] months in between.
Know how to check your own oil. You don't have to change it, but know how to check it. Same with antifreeze. That's almost too easy. There's a fill line, and a great big cap for it, and a marker line. If it's not full to that marker, you're burning or losing it somewhere, and you either need to get that fixed, or check and top off regularly.
I have a vehicle with 145K miles, and it's had a bad head gasket for the last three years. It would cost more to fix that then the vehicle is worth at this point. But I know how to check an top off the oil and antifreeze, and I've learned to drive it gently. It doesn't give me any problems, and amazes mechanics when they tell me "oh, by the way..." and I say, yeah, it's been like that for a few years now. "How have ou kept the engine from seizing?"
It's called paying attention. And that's what this article was trying to stress.
The new cars with electronic fuel systems are much more precise in how they deliver the fuel. Very seldom do they inject too much fuel, even for a microsecond. So the oil DOES stay clean longer then in the 1970's.
And today's oils are better quality. I have personally begun to use only synthetics. My Jeep has a diesel engine and the factory recommendations are to change at 12,000 with light duty, 6,000 with severe duty. I change the oil at 12,000, but I replace the filter at 6,000 to remove any acids that may have accumulated, because they are hard on the metal parts.
Please be certain to use oil recycling centers. Don't laugh, there are companies that can re-refine that oil. They filter out the impurities and acids, and when they are through with it, it tests as safe and clean as first time refined oil.
I don't know if they are keeping synthetic separate from petrol oil, but they should. Synthetic has better resistance to break down from heat.
I now have 120,000 on my Jeep and it still sounds the same as new so my 12,000 mile oil changes haven't hurt it yet.
This car is STILL on the road. 179,000+ miles changing the filter every 5,000 with a quart added and complete changes each 10,000. My 2007 Silverado 5.3L goes as often as 8,000 miles between changes in the fall/spring but closer to 5,000 in Summer.
Oil and filters are better engineered than Dad's and GrandDad's Oil and Fram filters.