Oil Change, How Long???

[Larry]

Don't be too surprised about lack of maintenance. I have a friend that leases a car every two years and NEVER changes oil or does anythng else. He adds oil when the oil light goes on, but he stops at a grocery store and buys ANYTHING that looks like motor oil. He says that maintenance is for other people, not him. He claims it's a total waste of money, that most modern cars can go two years without any help from him. When he turns in the car he gets a quickie oil change and the place supplies him with receipts for the two years and actually does an oil change with some Marvel Mystery oil in the oil and gas tank to clean things up. They power wash the engine compartment and wash/wax the car. It cost him $50/75 for parts, labor and a set of receipts.

He has had some problems, though. Once an under inflated tire blew up and actually put holes in the fender well and left pieces in the trunk. He said is was worse because he had a mile or so to go after the flat, to get to work. Said the tire was really flapping an making a lot of smoke and noise as he pulled into the parking lot. The quick lube guy fixed everything and found a used tire that was very close to the right size.

Here's his advice.

Hondas are too complicated and there's always a recall or something, and besides the Honda dealerships and their salesmen are hard to deal with. They want full price or close to it and they don't give an inch when one of their complicated contraptions fails.

Toyotas are great cars, a lot simpler and you can get great discounts. The salesman are easy and the dealerships cave in when there's problems. Also you don't have a bunch of little stuff breaking all the time.

Mazada are almost as good and the prices are great. They are hungry to do business and they cave in, too, when things go wrong, just no residual value in the lease.

Most others don't do the two years without maintenance at all, and no residual value in the lease.

And a not from me...if you ever see one of his cars on the lot, run. The Honda that he reciently traded in was right back on the dealer's lot, for sale. Ouch! This guy's a real jerk, but won't be convinced that he's wrong. And I don't think he is alone.

 

[Shark]

Always been@ 3,000 miles. Never a problem. Might be fine at 5,000-7,500 but why risk ruining a good thing!

 

[TeryT]

Always been@ 3,000 miles. Never a problem. Might be fine at 5,000-7,500 but why risk ruining a good thing!

Well, just becuz it ain't broke, doesn't mean we can't fix it better. Lots of discussion regarding oil change lengths, etc. Some research is showing that it actually hurts the engine more to change at 3k. Don't know all the technical reasons, but I think it has to do with a break-in period for the oil.

Synthetics are just so far superior in producing less contaminents & in breaking down. However, with that said, test are showing that modern dino oils are much better than needing to be changed at 3k. We used to think that was safe, but now it seems like way overkill. Many just use a good filter and/or change it more often than the oil.

 

[peter78]

Don't be too surprised about lack of maintenance. I have a friend that leases a car every two years and NEVER changes oil or does anythng else. He adds oil when the oil light goes on, but he stops at a grocery store and buys ANYTHING that looks like motor oil. He says that maintenance is for other people, not him. He claims it's a total waste of money, that most modern cars can go two years without any help from him.

I remeber renting a Alamo car when I went out west. For some reason I checked the oil, it was a quart low and black as tar and looked like tar. The car had 18,000 miles on it. I am sure it never was changed, it actually look like it had more than 18,000 miles on the oil. They probably change the oil and sell it when it gets 20,000 as a almost new car.

Also I remember on the Edmunds board for sludge in the Toyota V6 engine, this guy with 25,000 miles between changes and he got sludge. For some reason (Lexus) Toyota refused to pay for the problem. Imagine that.

(By the way, I didn't add any oil to the rental car, I figured if they weren't upset, who am I to question. )

 

[EDGE]

Im not sure how true it is but I've heard some places use reformulated oil, oil that has been used but they take the top half add more additives to it and reuse it, just like places get oil in bulk their are companies that resell the used stuff, guess it depends on the deal you get and that could be why it's so black cause original oil has die in where the used stuff does not, truthfully I don't know what they do to it but I've heard their are places reusing old oil.

I know that new car dealers would never screw their reputations up by putting used oil in customers new cars, that would really piss people off, but as for other places I don't know.

My neighbor had a 2nd Gen 4Runner, and he always changed the oil in his driveway, I don't know what he used but he had a gallon size plastic milk jug with what looked like used oil that he poured into the engine when he sold the 4Runner it had 220k on it and ran fine, as for his 3rd gen I don't know

 

[alpha]

I just got back from the dealer event that the dealership puts on for new owners.. not bad, free dinner, and you can ask people that work there questions..

anyways, one of the techs there, actually won some toyota competition where he won a free toolbox (huge toolbox, very nice).. he recommended to get oil changes every 3000 miles/3 mo. the typical interval.

he said that the manual's recommend otherwise because typically people change cars in 5 - 6 years. and its fine if thats what you plan to do, but if you plan to keep your car for as long as it will run, then its best to get it every 3 mo/3000 miles.. two other techs said the same thing.. and they even said that you don't have to get service at their dealership, just information you should know.

either way, even without talking about them, i would change it every 3 mo/3000 mi interval.

i used to do that with my accord, and i ran full synthetic in that also.. i plan to do the same with the 4runner, and i think my dad is planning to do that with the pilot and odyssey as well..

 

[TeryT]

either way, even without talking about them, i would change it every 3 mo/3000 mi interval.

i used to do that with my accord, and i ran full synthetic in that also.. i plan to do the same with the 4runner, and i think my dad is planning to do that with the pilot and odyssey as well..

Change synths that often - now that's a real waste! An I don't just think that's my (humble) opinion.

 

[EDGE]

My friends 2000 540i averages 15k intervals on the M1 from the Bimmer dealers, he does mucho highway miles so I don't know if his oil change lights would turn on earlier if he did more around town or city.

As far as dealer techs or oil change places telling you 3k changes, thats been the norm for years I guess we can thank the oil companies for brain washing us but what do you say about all the German companies going synthetic and long intervals, it's only a matter of time before everyone else follows.

I don't know, I've seen cars go 10k intervals on dino and at 150k they where fine with no problems, I guess it will be some time before we really know, I did see this thing on the news where a company was tryin to invent a device that could look into the engine to monitor engine wear but I'd be willing to bet the oil companies will buy that up.

I'll leave with this statement, the USA is the greatest country in the World and yet so many things that are done are ass backwards, we take 5 steps forward and 10 steps back

 

[alpha]

Change synths that often - now that's a real waste! An I don't just think that's my (humble) opinion.

yeah, it does seem like overkill. I'll probably do it every 5000 miles.

 

[haro]

if you keep the inside of your engine clean, your engine will thank you by staying strong.

A dirty engine will lose power and soon the gasket start to get damage

 

[MickeyMouse]

'94 Runner 3L v6 143k miles 4wd

I've always change my oil at 3,000 miles. Valvoline 5-40w Long Life for engines over 75k.

 

[DaveS]

You would all be pretty horrified I think if you saw the service intervals for cars in Europe - most are 12500 miles or so between services (and that means an oil change over there - no such thing as drive through oil changes etc in between major services).

That said, a dealer in Europe will sting you for the equivalent of roughly $100 or more for the privilege of an oil change (and you usually HAVE to get a dealer stamp over there for the warranty to be valid)! The fact is that an oil change is comparatively cheap in North America even at an authorised dealer - I dont mind changing it every 5000 miles (Toyota Canada recommended interval) but I am not so sure its absolutely necessary.

 

[EDGE]

DaveS
12500 but thats on synthetic, don't the German cars follow that here in the US and Canada, my friends 528 gets the oil changed every 12 or so and he pays about 100 bucks.

I could not imagine all those cars changing the oil every 3k, the water would be old oil thats how many cars they have.

I wonder how long before Toyota adopts the 12500 interval, the 3k is sucha waste but I like that stamp but I know their would be people who double that mileage to 25k before changing the oil

edit:
on the M5 board their are guys buying synthetic oil that is better then Amsoil, don't know the name but it's made in Europe:

 

[Larry]

More mileage between changes would mean dropping API requirements and moving to something like ACEA type specs. API is a one size fits all spec and can't possibly be good for every vehicle on the road. ACEA has specs for many different vehicles, and drivers in Europe do a better job of using the right oil. They just don't use 'quick lube' services as much as Americans do.

Some cars sold in America have synthetic oil as a factory fill and they have trouble getting customers to follow a simple specification, use this Mobil 1 5w-30 and nothing else. Someone pops up and says, "you can't make me do that, it's agains the law". So the car gets 10w-30 something or other. Then on top of that the car gets a filter that's no better than a leaf rake.

If engines are to be sold that use better quality oil with extended drain intervals, then people have to keep using the better oil or something equal.

The final step might be specs for oil filters. Right now the price for the same application filter can go from $1.99 Wal-Mart to $11.00 from Mobil or Amsoil. Many will buy the two buck filter because they can't see the difference and worse yet, many quick lube places and mechanics use that two buck filter, too. It fits, right? Oh, by the way, we weighed 10 filters, same part number at a quick lube place. There was a 30% swing in weight from the highest to lowest in weight.

And the auto service industry in America is not moving toward quality. Castrol went from synthetic stock to Group III stock for Syntec. Mobil is going the same way with their Tri-Synthetic Mobil 1. As they sell more of the stuff they look for ways to make more profit and it does not improve the product. Oil filters that were made in America are now made in Mexico and China and who knows what you're getting. Then there's Wal-Mart. Guess what they are doing, lowering prices and beating down other retailers on price, price and price. Do you think they are saying, 'lets move our Super-Tec oil to Group III or synthetic stocks', not.

And one final thought. I looked at the 55gal drum, being used in the same quick lube place near my home for all new cars, of which there were 3 waiting, none over 3 years old. On the drum was a tag that said, '30WD HD'. Those three cars sould not go for a 12.5k OCI.

 

[tp0908]

Got my new 2004 SR5 4Runner V6. I plan to do my own oil change. I will install Sure Drain (SD3) so that I drain my oil straight to the can (No more oil drain pan!). I'm using Fram SureDrain for my other car - it is convenient and no mess, except changing oil filter because you can't help spilling the oil when you replace the filter. On 4Runner V6, is that the oil filter beside the oil filling cap? And, it even have it's own pan to catch the drip. That's a pretty cool design. For my oil, I use Mobil-1 synthetic

 

[Steph-runner]

5000 km or 3-4 month on pennzoil oil

very short trip ,i live 7km from work and in winter time the engine has bearly time to get warm.Rather be safe than sorry

 

[iFORCE]

Oil Change Interval: 10,000MILES/16,000KM
Oil Change Fluids: Mobile1 5W30 Full Synthetic
Oil Filter Change Interval: 5000MILES/8000KM


Reason for the 2:1 oil change vs. filter change is that the problem is not that the oil gets dirty.. its the filter.. and when the filter gets dirty and clogged.... your oil gets dirty and clogged.

 

[Jim_Chow]

The interval I use depends on how I drive (whether or not 1K or 2K of those miles is long distance driving on road trips), the oil I'm using (synthetic or dino), and environmental factors (namely, dust storms here in the desert). It's really the silica content (sand/dust) in your oil that wears engine components, I believe. Also, if you run short trips, like 1 mile to the grocery store, you'll use up the additives faster, so your TBN will drop (eg, additives used up to neutralize the acid created from the water in the oil due to the oil not being sufficiently hot to evaporate it). The sure way is to have your oil tested every 3K mi or so, but at $25 or so per test, I'd rather just change the oil!

 

[ROOFGOOF]

Get your oil tested and you should gain some great knowledge of what your engine is doing to your oil. This should give you an idea when to change your oil and what type to use.

Good luck.

I do this for my diesel and I am glad I do it.

www.blackstone-labs.com

 

[Thai]

This article is being discussed in the bobistheoilguy
forum. Written by a Texaco oil engineer.

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article105.html

So....the net of this long article are:

1. Change oil (and oil filter) frequently, especially if your
car runs at low speeds or idles much.
2. It does not really matter what kind of conventional oils
you use; they are more or less the same.
3. Use synthetic oils is better (except for the first 12,000 miles
or so).

The oil itself never degrades over time; it's the degradation of
the additives, unburned gas leaking into the oil, and particulate
matters that kill the oil. So doing (1) or (3) would protect
your engine.