Oppo How often do you change your oil?

"unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)" (unclevanos) 09/21/2014 at 21:50 • Filed to: None

4

59

Just wanted to know and start a conversation thread. Found out my previous owner left a sludgy engine.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:53

12

Everytime I fill up. #2strokelife

ly2v8-Brian > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:54

3

5 month 5000mi interval because synblend.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:55

0

We change it in my mom's Vue going off the oil life monitor she gets on her monthly OnStar report. It's actually due now.

My dad's Silverado is about ever 8,000 miles. It's overdue by a a couple thousand miles.

The Safari gets done whenever we have time. It's like 15,000 miles past due...

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:55

1

every 3k miles or so. But admittedly this last oil change was 4k but about a year since the last. My ride is a weekend warrior now so it's not driven often or gets many miles. (Full synthetic with Bosch filters )

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:56

3

Depends on the vehicle.

My Miata gets it every 3k to 3500 miles, the winter beater usually goes the whole winter on one change and the beater jeep hasnt been changed since i owned it

Jedidiah > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:57

1

Whenever I get bored mostly.

I buy big 5 gallon jugs of Traveller's.

mcseanerson > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 21:57

2

Depends. On the wife's car it's 5,000 miles. On something I love it's 3,000 miles. On the beater Ford Aspire I bought from my mother in law for $400 it was 30,000 miles because I was kinda trying to break it indirectly.

After I realized I put on 30,000 miles with literally zero maintenance, unlike all these other guys who say zero maintenance and still change their oil, I started to love it for it's

resilience. This wasn't 30k easy miles either. I redlined it as often as possible every day. With a 1.5l and a 3 speed auto that was pretty much required.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 09/21/2014 at 22:00

0

the family Silverado get its oil changed when the cluster says so. I have no problem with it but my dad used to oil changes on his old 87 Silverado every 3k. Its odd for him.

Autofixation > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:00

1

On my 2000 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport and my girlfriend's 2009 Pontiac Vibe AWD, I run Mobil 1 and Mann filters and change every 5,000 miles.

Big Bubba Ray > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:00

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I change it ever 5,000 miles on my Outback.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:01

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Track car gets one before every event, and before going into winter storage. So 4 to 5 per summer. Daily car, I just go by the oil meter, because I can.

Leadbull > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:01

1

When the manual says.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:04

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I don't think '04s have a reminder about the oil needing to be changed, then again, it might...

My dad's a FIRM believer in the whole every 3000 miles thing being a gimmick by those oil change places to get you in more.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > mcseanerson 09/21/2014 at 22:05

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Is the aspire still alive? Or did it get a viking funeral?

Justino6969 > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:06

1

Every 7,000 miles with full synthetic 5W-40, usually adding a quart over those 7,000 miles.

Squid > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:07

1

I use Mobil 1 and I have a Mobil 1 filter on there right now and I'm working towards the 10,000 mile OCI. . . I have about 8,000 miles on this oil so far. . . But I don't drive a whole lot, so I should probably do an oil change soon. . . Maybe I'll wait for the next time I drive the 600 miles to my parents house to do that. . .

tromoly > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:07

1

Oh Britta.......

macanamera > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:07

0

Like once every 5 years. Thats the rule, right?

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 09/21/2014 at 22:09

1

Our Silverado is an 04, the cluster tells you ( I had to reset it). The interval changes I think depend on idle time, load, and trips.

Brewman15 > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:10

1

On the '13 Accord I follow the oil monitor...usually about 7-8k miles.

On the '94 Accord, '93 Volvo, and '98 Dakota....every 3k miles.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:11

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Huh, well, that little screen does more than I thought.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > macanamera 09/21/2014 at 22:13

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If you drive a Cadillac deville only to get groceries and go play bingo at the senior center, then the 5 year interval is fine.

Philbert/Phartnagle > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:14

1

In my 02 Ranger, I change it when the oil gets dirty (dark brown to black). I do that because sometimes/most of the time it sees a lot of short trips which contaminates the oil much faster than long drives where it has time to warm up good and get rid of contaminates. In my wife's 2010 Milan the oil gets changed every 5k miles because it gets more long trips than short ones and the oil stays clean longer.

Steve in Manhattan > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:15

1

On my '87 300D is was every 3K (later every 5K) on Mobil 1, excessive. On my '97 SHO it was every 7.5K on Mobil 1. Nowadays they say you can go 10K between changes with a synthetic and a good filter. I am not sure I'd do that if I still owned a car.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Little Black Coupe Turned Silver 09/21/2014 at 22:21

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Is it true to overfill the oil a bit before a track day? I heard about it, but I don't know how it doesn't blow the rear main seal.

Little Black Coupe Turned Silver > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:25

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I run about an extra half quart from normal, which puts me at the very top of the acceptable range on the dipstick.

Bad Idea Hat > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:30

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The xB manual says regular 5w30 every 5,000 miles. I went a step towards changing that this weekend by switching over to synthetic blend.

twochevrons > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:31

2

I tend to go by the factory intervals, unless I'm driving it hard. I'm fairly confident that they have that kind of thing fairly well figured-out, but I tend to err on the side of caution.

On the Volvo, I use Shell Rotella T6 5W40 every 5000 miles. It's designed for diesels, but loads of people seem to swear by it for turbocharged petrol engines – it's fully synthetic, and high in detergents, so it's supposed to help keep things clean in there, and its high heat tolerance makes it good for turbochargers.

I change the MG's oil at the start of the driving season, and every 3000 miles thereafter, using just whatever 10W40 is cheap or on hand, with a hefty serving of ZDDP and viscosity additives. The BMC 1600 is a tough old thing, and I imagine that anything available today is better than what it was designed for.

The Golf hasn't been up for an oil change since we've owned it, but I think that the change interval is 10,000 miles, and it requires some magic VW-certified oil that I'm sure is made out of unicorn tears and priced accordingly. Not really looking forward to that one.

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:43

1

Usually every five thousand miles is recommended for my Mach. I actually got the first oil change done two months ago. Then the second one a few weeks later because after hearing some noises we discovered oil was leaking. Not a lot, nothing dripped to the ground yet but it needed new seals and gaskets. So all the oil had to be drained and the new oil change was covered under warranty. I just couldn't wait a few weeks...

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > twochevrons 09/21/2014 at 22:47

1

I use rotella 15w-40, the v8 tends to run hotter than domestic v8s. It cleaned a bit of sludge when I did the first oil change. Its a good oil for the price. Try to cross reference the vw oil type so you don't have to buy the dealer overpriced oil.

twochevrons > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:54

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I'm getting a fair bit of sludge out of the Volvo. The previous owner didn't change the oil himself, and looking at the various receipts that came with the car, the various Jiffy-Lube-type places that he took it to usually just put in semi-synthetic.

The MG had been sitting for 30 years before I got it started last summer. The oil that had been sitting in there came out in goopy chunks. I proceeded to change it every 100 miles until it got the worst of the muck out. Not a fun exercise – it uses a cartridge-type filter, and you have almost no clearance between the engine and the frame rail to get it out. There's no hope of doing it without spilling oil everywhere, and it's even harder to get the spring-loaded filter assembly back in place.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 22:56

1

For both of my Mercedes I either go by the indicator, once a year, or when I'm bored. So anywhere from 3-10k miles, only using Mobil1 and OE filters. When I've owned other cars, mostly antiquated 80's and 90's stuff, every 3k. Most everything from about '00 should be fine going 5000-7500 especially if it gets synthetic. Older stuff using dinosaurs, and diesels, should be around 3k usually.

mcseanerson > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 23:13

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First sign of trouble and I dumped it. Just timing issues and now I regret it.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 23:24

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Every 2-3k for the 2k2

Every 5k for the Man Van (97 Dodge)

I like to use a refined technique much like the one above.

SirRaoulDuke > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 23:25

1

5k miles, Valvoline DuraBlend. Never had an issue with it, so I stick with it.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Bad Idea Hat 09/21/2014 at 23:27

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5k on synthetic is a reasonable interval, better than the 7k or 15k new cars have.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > twochevrons 09/21/2014 at 23:30

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There are horror stories of jizzy-lube overfilling, underfilling, wrong filter, stripping the drain plug or forgetting the drain plug. Atleast your MG has some rust proofing on the frame rail lol.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 09/21/2014 at 23:40

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The M10 must be happy with that interval.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 23:42

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She really is. Just did one last week.

gc8foreva > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/21/2014 at 23:55

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I usually change it out every 3,000/3 months due to SoCal traffic and my own spirited driving. I'm fairly religious about my overall maintenance.

McMike > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 07:26

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Whatever this says, or once a year. Whichever comes first.

jkm7680 > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 07:32

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Sometimes. Or whatever the manual tells me to do.

Rocklobster > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 09:11

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The Beauty of owning Wankel powered cars. They continuously change their own oil...you just have to keep up with them.

thebigbossyboss > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 09:21

1

You can use that california oil change website to figure out when it actually needs to be changed.

Because my 2003 Car has an engine from 1995, I change it every 3K miles. I also live where the temperature gets very cold. We have entire weeks below -5F.

http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/UsedOil/OilCha…

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > thebigbossyboss 09/22/2014 at 09:54

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Very useful link thanks.

Bunsandroses > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 11:18

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I change mine every 3k miles, but that's because I own an oil-burning Saturn S-series. Well, okay, I'm lucky to own 2 whose oil burning is nearly nil to maybe half a quart every 1k miles. I don't want to push it, so every 3k, they get fresh Mobil 1 and a filter.

and 100 more > ly2v8-Brian 09/22/2014 at 12:59

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I see people swear by dino, I see people swear by synthetic, but I never see anyone talk about using blend. What's the benefit, if any?

Stiiles > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 13:10

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'13 fit sport: when the oil life monitor hits 15%, as recommended by Honda. 1st oil change @ 10,546 miles (lots of all day interstate driving), 2nd oil change at 18,233 miles, 3rd oil change almost here at 26,020 miles - @ 20% life now.

'05 Ram 2500 cummins diesel - oil and filter changed annually or every 10K miles, whichever comes first. All highway use, severe duty service interval is 7500 miles, non severe schedule is every 15,000 miles so I split the difference. Takes 12 qts oil.

The Stig's Rustbelt Cousin > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/22/2014 at 13:57

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I change mine every 3750 miles, or thereabout. The factory interval is 7500 (I think), but I do it more frequently because it had a bit of an oil consumption issue when I bought it (at 135,000 miles), and I wanted to do what I could to improve it (through use of high-mileage formula oil), and because it's just cheap insurance to me. I do it myself, I get OEM filters at a discount, and a 5qt jug of Castrol GTX high-mileage is $17 at my local mega-mart.

ly2v8-Brian > and 100 more 09/22/2014 at 14:14

1

A compromise in a good way I feel. In a standard DD car from before 2010 (outside of german) I would say get blend or normal oil, unless you are really hard on it. Syn for modern and performance applications. It's all about what those additives will do for you and whether or not you need them.

Captain_Spadaro > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/23/2014 at 17:40

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Every 5k miles or so. Currently a little over that because low on funds until next Friday.

OneFairlyCarefulOwner > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/23/2014 at 18:01

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Every 5,000kms. 1989 mx5.

The Compromiser > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/23/2014 at 23:00

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Never. I pay someone to do it for me. ; P

Sally O'Broder > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/25/2014 at 09:48

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... Change the oil?!

special_k_side > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/26/2014 at 11:00

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Every 4970.97 miles. Seems odd doesn't it? But that is how 8000km works out. :) Even more odd, 0-20 synth oil. Thanks Mazda, appreciate that. :)

georgiahomeboy > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/28/2014 at 14:23

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I do once a year, which comes out to 1-2k on my Miata, and 5k on my daily '11 Focus. Mobil 1 synthetic. All my parents' cars get the standard 7.5k.

Shifty > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/28/2014 at 15:09

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Every 3k, regardless of what my DIC says. (Amsoil) is cheap (by comparison), engines aren't.

masteroftubesocks > macanamera 09/28/2014 at 18:33

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That is about the interval in my old pickup with 300k on the odometer, there comes a point where economically speaking why bother. Same reason I don't fill up the gas tank either.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 09/29/2014 at 09:04

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I still do 3000 3 months. Despite using synblend or synthetic. That way if I'm a couple weeks late its not a big deal