How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?

I know garages often go by mileage, what do you all do?How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?3 months or 3,000 miles which ever comes first but if you have synthetic oil 5 months or 5,000 milesHow often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?No need until you hit about 75oo miles, thats when oil begins to change. Dateline NBC tested 10 NY Taxi`s and found that the oil lasted until about the 7500 mile mark!



Unfortunately, there are market forces that have a vested interest in convincing vehicle owners to change their oil more often than necessary. The legal prey of these market forces have become convinced that they are purchasing %26quot;cheap insurance%26quot; or %26quot;peace of mind%26quot; by changing their oil more often than necessary. Complicating things is the fact that doing oil changes is one of the few do-it-yourself maintenance tasks that is still within the ability of the backyard mechanic to perform.





The 3000 mile oil change interval has been pounded into people's heads for decades. It had a scientific basis when engines used non-multi-weight, non-detergent oil. It no longer has any scientific basis, but it is still being promoted by certain entities, most notably the oil change industry in the United States. This myth is also sometimes known as the %26quot;Cheap Insurance Myth.%26quot;



The 3000 Mile Fact

There are still vehicles that need 3K oil changes, but it's not because the oil goes bad after 3K miles. One example is the Saturn S series. These vehicles have a timing chain system that is very sensitive to clean oil because oil pressure is used as hydraulic fluid to ratchet up the timing chain tensioner. If varnish forms in the timing chain tensioner bore then this system can fail and the chain will become loose and eventually break. Dealers have gone as far as tearing out the normal service schedule (6000 miles) and leaving only the severe service schedule. If your engine is destroyed (under warranty) by a failed timing chain then the dealer will legitimately request evidence of oil changes. Unfortunately this problem usually won't manifest itself during the warranty period.



The Dark Oil Myth

Dark oil does not indicate the need for an oil change. The way modern detergent motor oil works is that minute particles of soot are suspended in the oil. These minute particles pose no danger to your engine, but they cause the oil to darken. A non-detergent oil would stay clearer than a detergent oil because all the soot would be left on the internal engine parts and would create sludge. If you never changed your oil, eventually the oil would no longer be able to suspend any more particles in the oil and sludge would form. Fortunately, by following the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval, you are changing your oil long before the oil has become saturated. Remember, a good oil should get dirty as it does it's work cleaning out the engine. The dispersant should stop all the gunk from depositing in the oil pan.



The only real way to determine whether oil is truly in need of changing is to have an oil analysis performed. Since most people don't want to bother with this, it's acceptable to err heavily on the safe side and simply follow the manufacturer's recommended change interval for severe service. There are still a few cars that specify 3K intervals for severe service, but not many. If you look at countries other than the U.S., the oil recommended change interval is much higher than even the normal interval specified by vehicle manufacturers in the U.S.









Filter Change Interval

Back in the days of 3000 mile oil changes many manufacturers recommended filter changes only half as often because the filter did not become clogged with dirt at only 3000 miles. This was good advice back then, especially because with non-detergent motor oils a lot of the sludge remained stuck to internal engine parts rather than being carried in the oil to the filter. Nowadays the filter should be changed at every oil change.





Quick-Lube (and dealer) Problems to Watch Out For



1. SAE30 oil. Some quick-lube places have been known to offer advertised specials that use SAE 30 oil, as opposed to 5W30 or 10W30. Pay the extra for the proper oil, or better yet avoid merchants that try to pull this kind of thing because it's an indicator that they are less than honest.



2. Trying to use the wrong oil because it's what they have in bulk. Insist on the oil that is specified on your filler cap and in your manual.



3. Pumping the oil out through the dipstick hole instead of removing the drain plug. I came across this gem when I asked if I needed to bring my own copper drain plug gasket. They said that they didn't remove the drain plug to drain the old oil. This was the Oil Changer location at Kifer %26amp; Wolfe in Sunnyvale, California. Pumping the oil out through the dipstick hole is a terrible way to get the old oil out because it leaves a lot of junk in the bottom of the oil pan. This was a long time ago and maybe they've changed their ways since then.



4. Selling unneeded and overpriced services such as engine flushes.



5. Selling overpriced, and often low quality, parts such as wiper blades and washer fluid, PCV valves, thermostats, etc. Never let a quick-lube place do any mechanical work on your vehicle.. They do no use journeyman mechanics.



6. Using poor quality filters. You really want to bring your own filter, from the dealer, with you when you go to a quick-lube place. They may take $1 or $2 off the price if you do this but don't count on it.



7. If you have a vehicle that actually still has Zerk fittings to lubricate then be sure that they actually lubricate these fitting. Most cars no longer require lubrication but some trucks still do.



8. Do not let a quick-lube place change or add any fluids other than oil. No transmission fluid, no brake fluid, no power steering fluid, no antifreeze, no oil additives, no fuel additives. It is just too easy for them to use the wrong fluid and cause permanent damage to your vehicle.



For some horror stories about Jiffy Lube see: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotiv . I think I'll pass on them!



Virtually all new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. use either 5W30 or 10W30 oil. The difference between the two is that the 5W30 flows better when cold, so if you live in a cold climate or operate your vehicle in a cold climate during the winter months, you should use 5W30 if it is the preferred oil for your vehicle. If you live in a sub-tropical climate and don't operate your vehicle in cold climates, then 10W30 is acceptable as long as the manufacturer specifies that it is permissible to use it.



Synthetic oil was originally developed for high performance racing engines. Mobil tried to popularize synthetic oil for passenger vehicles back in the early 1970's. At the time, Mobil was promoting 20K or 25K oil changes with synthetic, but they soon backed down from this. Synthetic oil is a good choice if you have a vehicle with a high performance engine (in fact synthetic is required for many of these engines). It is also a good choice if your vehicle is operated in extremely cold climates. It has higher resistance to breakdown caused by heat and it flows better in extreme cold. Unfortunately for the synthetic oil industry there is virtually no advantage to using synthetic oil in a non-high performance engine that is operated in moderate climates. You probably could go a bit longer between oil changes with a synthetic, i.e. following the normal service schedule even if you fall into the severe service category, but I wouldn't advise this. In short, synthetic may give you the peace of mind of knowing that you are using an oil that is far better than necessary for your vehicle, but it won't reduce wear or extend the life of the engine. The mistake some people make it to wrongly extrapolate these benefits onto normal engines operated in mild climates, with the ultimate lack of any knowledge being manifested with statements such as %26quot;synthetics provide 'Peace of Mind,' or 'Cheap Insurance,'%26quot; or other such nonsense.How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?i do 3 months or by mileage when i travel farHow often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?i change mine every 3,000 miles if i can. sometimes i run broke and can't do it until 4,000 miles though.How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?when u car stops working than good iead to do oil chabnge How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?I have an 'Oil Life' setting on my car that tells me when it's time to change it. It gets low (around 10-15 percent life left) very close to 3,100 miles every time. How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?Every 3 months or 3000 miles. Also if its been sitting for a while or if im going to take a tripHow often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?3000 miles or 3 months, which ever one is sooner.How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?Every 3000 miles is the recommended rate. I usually go a little over that before I end up getting my oil changed, though. If you're close to that mark and your car feels like it isn't running as well, you should probably change the oil right away. It might not help, but it wouldn't hurt to do so, at least. Once you get more than 100,000 miles you might want to change your oil a little more often.How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?You should change oil and filter once every 3000 miles. On an average I drive about 6000 miles each year so I just change oil every 6 months.How often is it necessary to get your car in for an oil change?I say not to long or too short is every 5000 miles using a good oil and filter brand.