3000 mile oil change? Not so fast, experts say
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3K is usually excessive for most cars... but I hate how people just automatically tell people it's okay to run their oil for 7000 miles or more. Yeah, a STOCK car that does mostly highway miles and has a modern engine... that I would say extended OCI. But my parents changed the oil on their Suburban w/ 5.7 every 5-7K.... on the modern conventional oil that everyone now says is so indestructible and magical.... and the motor looked like [censored] when I took it apart at 185K.
I don't like all these consumer articles and such brainwashing people into thinking it's okay to neglect their car's maintenance. I can just see all the people out there that forget to change their oil thinking, "Wow, I guess that isn't so bad after all."
I don't like all these consumer articles and such brainwashing people into thinking it's okay to neglect their car's maintenance. I can just see all the people out there that forget to change their oil thinking, "Wow, I guess that isn't so bad after all."
Thanks for the link. I wonder how many guys on BITOG are still doing 3k mile oil changes? Probably not very many.
and if they are, they're sure not learning much while being here...
I saw the video on the 6PM news, what kind of oil is he pouring into that car ?
Originally Posted By: Rachael
3K is usually excessive for most cars... but I hate how people just automatically tell people it's okay to run their oil for 7000 miles or more. Yeah, a STOCK car that does mostly highway miles and has a modern engine... that I would say extended OCI. But my parents changed the oil on their Suburban w/ 5.7 every 5-7K.... on the modern conventional oil that everyone now says is so indestructible and magical.... and the motor looked like [censored] when I took it apart at 185K.
I don't like all these consumer articles and such brainwashing people into thinking it's okay to neglect their car's maintenance. I can just see all the people out there that forget to change their oil thinking, "Wow, I guess that isn't so bad after all."
+1. In any OEM recommendation touting 5k, 7.5k, 10k, etc, there is always a caveat that most people meet, but few pay any attention to: severe service. The OEM almost always advocates a 3k OCI in severe service, yet people meeting this criteria run the 10k OCI there owner's manual "recommends" in blissful ignorance that they are not doing it under the conditions mandated by that recommendation.
Articles like that one and the current "conventional wisdom" that is pushing longer & longer OCIs are just a recipe for trouble. Not for everyone. But it reminds me a little of that silly thread posted recently that any car would be just fine on 15k PYB OCIs.
When I start seeing some million mile cars (that aren't long past dead, like the million mile van) whose owners have done nothing but 10k+ drains, then I'll put a little more stock into the merits of it. Until then, I remain convinced that this is okay for some, but not for most.
-Spyder
3K is usually excessive for most cars... but I hate how people just automatically tell people it's okay to run their oil for 7000 miles or more. Yeah, a STOCK car that does mostly highway miles and has a modern engine... that I would say extended OCI. But my parents changed the oil on their Suburban w/ 5.7 every 5-7K.... on the modern conventional oil that everyone now says is so indestructible and magical.... and the motor looked like [censored] when I took it apart at 185K.
I don't like all these consumer articles and such brainwashing people into thinking it's okay to neglect their car's maintenance. I can just see all the people out there that forget to change their oil thinking, "Wow, I guess that isn't so bad after all."
+1. In any OEM recommendation touting 5k, 7.5k, 10k, etc, there is always a caveat that most people meet, but few pay any attention to: severe service. The OEM almost always advocates a 3k OCI in severe service, yet people meeting this criteria run the 10k OCI there owner's manual "recommends" in blissful ignorance that they are not doing it under the conditions mandated by that recommendation.
Articles like that one and the current "conventional wisdom" that is pushing longer & longer OCIs are just a recipe for trouble. Not for everyone. But it reminds me a little of that silly thread posted recently that any car would be just fine on 15k PYB OCIs.
When I start seeing some million mile cars (that aren't long past dead, like the million mile van) whose owners have done nothing but 10k+ drains, then I'll put a little more stock into the merits of it. Until then, I remain convinced that this is okay for some, but not for most.
-Spyder
I would love to be able to have my OCI's once per year instead of going by the miles. However since I only drive my truck on weekends only 6 months OCI's is good enough for me. Going 12 months may be a fantastic idea assuming the oil filter will go that long.
Durango
Durango
Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
Thanks for the link. I wonder how many guys on BITOG are still doing 3k mile oil changes? Probably not very many.
I am. And on synthetic. And on one of the best oil filters you can buy. But I have very good reasons for doing so, and as I've mentioned them in several other threads, I'll save myself some typing.
-Spyder
Thanks for the link. I wonder how many guys on BITOG are still doing 3k mile oil changes? Probably not very many.
I am. And on synthetic. And on one of the best oil filters you can buy. But I have very good reasons for doing so, and as I've mentioned them in several other threads, I'll save myself some typing.
-Spyder
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
I've seen engines fail - on 3k oci's and 5k oci's. My Dodge 2.7 gets its Amsoil changed at 4-5k intervals - per Amsoil's, Consumer Reports, and Dodge's recommendation. Why did a 5.2 fail at 40k miles with 4-5k oci's? perhaps not every situation calls for extended oci's...
My brother does 8-9k OCIs in his 2008 Honda Accord coupe. He has 50,000 miles on the car and the engine shows clean metal under the fill cap. I think the stealership he goes to uses genuine Honda oil (Exxon 5w20). He does mostly highway/rural driving.
I can't bring myself to go over 5k with my Saturn.
I can't bring myself to go over 5k with my Saturn.
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
Your math is flawed if you believe 95% of the vehicles on the road don't meet any severe service criteria that would necessitate shortening the OCI.
Reverse the figure and you'd be closer. Unless 95% of the population is now living in some remote suburban Utopia, right next to the freeway on ramp, that takes them directly where they're going. And this Utopia never experiences any kind of extreme temperatures or fluctuations. Never tow. etc.
Not that some of the above = severe service, but if stop & go driving and/or short trips is a part of your regular routine, and you live in place that gets either very hot or very cold, you meet at least some severe service criteria. The degree depends on the specifics. The first is true of any urban dweller who drives. The second of anyone in the lower states, the colder states, and most of Canada.
Hardly 5% of the North American driving population.
-Spyder
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
Your math is flawed if you believe 95% of the vehicles on the road don't meet any severe service criteria that would necessitate shortening the OCI.
Reverse the figure and you'd be closer. Unless 95% of the population is now living in some remote suburban Utopia, right next to the freeway on ramp, that takes them directly where they're going. And this Utopia never experiences any kind of extreme temperatures or fluctuations. Never tow. etc.
Not that some of the above = severe service, but if stop & go driving and/or short trips is a part of your regular routine, and you live in place that gets either very hot or very cold, you meet at least some severe service criteria. The degree depends on the specifics. The first is true of any urban dweller who drives. The second of anyone in the lower states, the colder states, and most of Canada.
Hardly 5% of the North American driving population.
-Spyder
Originally Posted By: Spyder7
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
Your math is flawed if you believe 95% of the vehicles on the road don't meet any severe service criteria that would necessitate shortening the OCI.
Reverse the figure and you'd be closer. Unless 95% of the population is now living in some remote suburban Utopia, right next to the freeway on ramp, that takes them directly where they're going. And this Utopia never experiences any kind of extreme temperatures or fluctuations. Never tow. etc.
Not that some of the above = severe service, but if stop & go driving and/or short trips is a part of your regular routine, and you live in place that gets either very hot or very cold, you meet at least some severe service criteria. The degree depends on the specifics. The first is true of any urban dweller who drives. The second of anyone in the lower states, the colder states, and most of Canada.
Hardly 5% of the North American driving population.
-Spyder
Yea some...and most of them are probably bary scratching the surface of SS. i stand by my coment.
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
Your math is flawed if you believe 95% of the vehicles on the road don't meet any severe service criteria that would necessitate shortening the OCI.
Reverse the figure and you'd be closer. Unless 95% of the population is now living in some remote suburban Utopia, right next to the freeway on ramp, that takes them directly where they're going. And this Utopia never experiences any kind of extreme temperatures or fluctuations. Never tow. etc.
Not that some of the above = severe service, but if stop & go driving and/or short trips is a part of your regular routine, and you live in place that gets either very hot or very cold, you meet at least some severe service criteria. The degree depends on the specifics. The first is true of any urban dweller who drives. The second of anyone in the lower states, the colder states, and most of Canada.
Hardly 5% of the North American driving population.
-Spyder
Yea some...and most of them are probably bary scratching the surface of SS. i stand by my coment.
Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: Spyder7
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
Your math is flawed if you believe 95% of the vehicles on the road don't meet any severe service criteria that would necessitate shortening the OCI.
Reverse the figure and you'd be closer. Unless 95% of the population is now living in some remote suburban Utopia, right next to the freeway on ramp, that takes them directly where they're going. And this Utopia never experiences any kind of extreme temperatures or fluctuations. Never tow. etc.
Not that some of the above = severe service, but if stop & go driving and/or short trips is a part of your regular routine, and you live in place that gets either very hot or very cold, you meet at least some severe service criteria. The degree depends on the specifics. The first is true of any urban dweller who drives. The second of anyone in the lower states, the colder states, and most of Canada.
Hardly 5% of the North American driving population.
-Spyder
Yea some...and most of them are probably bary scratching the surface of SS. i stand by my coment.
Doesn't mean its correct
Though I'll meet you half way and agree that 3k is excessive if blindly adhered to just because...
-Spyder
Originally Posted By: Spyder7
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
Your math is flawed if you believe 95% of the vehicles on the road don't meet any severe service criteria that would necessitate shortening the OCI.
Reverse the figure and you'd be closer. Unless 95% of the population is now living in some remote suburban Utopia, right next to the freeway on ramp, that takes them directly where they're going. And this Utopia never experiences any kind of extreme temperatures or fluctuations. Never tow. etc.
Not that some of the above = severe service, but if stop & go driving and/or short trips is a part of your regular routine, and you live in place that gets either very hot or very cold, you meet at least some severe service criteria. The degree depends on the specifics. The first is true of any urban dweller who drives. The second of anyone in the lower states, the colder states, and most of Canada.
Hardly 5% of the North American driving population.
-Spyder
Yea some...and most of them are probably bary scratching the surface of SS. i stand by my coment.
Doesn't mean its correct
Though I'll meet you half way and agree that 3k is excessive if blindly adhered to just because...
-Spyder
I surely do not do 3000 mile o/c in my cars, but don't be critical of those who do. They're protecting their investments, and, it does not hurt their engines. Those who do extended o/c or who follow the oil change sensor may be putting their cars at risk. 3k guys aren't.
This is partly why I like timed intervals. Mileage alone does not account for all the short trip driving. 3000 miles can be a 1000 short trips! If you go by time instead, that accounts both for short trippers and highway cruisers.
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
I'm not sure that I agree with this. Most places that work on cars will tell you that there's no money in changing oil. The place I work at is no different.
While I disagree with the arbitrary 3k changes that my boss so emphatically recommends (he does it for the "wrong" reasons), I believe it's beneficial to our customers in the end because it means they're at our garage where we can monitor their fluid levels and inspect the rest of their cars and warn them of potential issues before they get to be a danger to the driver or the cause an expensive repair.
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
I'm not sure that I agree with this. Most places that work on cars will tell you that there's no money in changing oil. The place I work at is no different.
While I disagree with the arbitrary 3k changes that my boss so emphatically recommends (he does it for the "wrong" reasons), I believe it's beneficial to our customers in the end because it means they're at our garage where we can monitor their fluid levels and inspect the rest of their cars and warn them of potential issues before they get to be a danger to the driver or the cause an expensive repair.
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
I'm not sure that I agree with this. Most places that work on cars will tell you that there's no money in changing oil. The place I work at is no different.
While I disagree with the arbitrary 3k changes that my boss so emphatically recommends (he does it for the "wrong" reasons), I believe it's beneficial to our customers in the end because it means they're at our garage where we can monitor their fluid levels and inspect the rest of their cars and warn them of potential issues before they get to be a danger to the driver or the cause an expensive repair.
In too many cases this is also the only time the oil level is checked. After showing a co-worker a few weeks ago how to check her oil, she mentioned the other night that her oil light came on and she didn't know what to do with it (she continued on to work knowing only the light was oil related).
I asked if she had checked the oil level, she answered she (still) doesn't know how. I mentioned her '07 Aveo probably has an oil service minder, and asked if it was that. She didn't know. I asked her if she'd looked through the manual at all since buying it new three years ago. She answered no.
I wound up checking it for her (it was fine) and trying to explain again how to check the level and the importance of doing it every fill up. She gave me a blank look. I explained the light was just the minder telling her it was time to get it changed. She made the appointment.
She may be a minority of car owners, but if she is I doubt its a very small one. We take so much for granted here, but we are the very small minority of car owners.
Edit: my last two gf's also didn't know how to check their oil. At best it was checked periodically when they visited their parents and their dad (who'd been doing it for them since they learned how to drive) would do it. I refused to do it.
-Spyder
Originally Posted By: daman
The main reason 3k is still being pushed to this day is marketing,to sell oil and filters.
if you have severe service or a sluger then yea maybe but 95% of the vehicles on the road it's a waist.
20,000?? dunno about that one tho
I'm not sure that I agree with this. Most places that work on cars will tell you that there's no money in changing oil. The place I work at is no different.
While I disagree with the arbitrary 3k changes that my boss so emphatically recommends (he does it for the "wrong" reasons), I believe it's beneficial to our customers in the end because it means they're at our garage where we can monitor their fluid levels and inspect the rest of their cars and warn them of potential issues before they get to be a danger to the driver or the cause an expensive repair.
In too many cases this is also the only time the oil level is checked. After showing a co-worker a few weeks ago how to check her oil, she mentioned the other night that her oil light came on and she didn't know what to do with it (she continued on to work knowing only the light was oil related).
I asked if she had checked the oil level, she answered she (still) doesn't know how. I mentioned her '07 Aveo probably has an oil service minder, and asked if it was that. She didn't know. I asked her if she'd looked through the manual at all since buying it new three years ago. She answered no.
I wound up checking it for her (it was fine) and trying to explain again how to check the level and the importance of doing it every fill up. She gave me a blank look. I explained the light was just the minder telling her it was time to get it changed. She made the appointment.
She may be a minority of car owners, but if she is I doubt its a very small one. We take so much for granted here, but we are the very small minority of car owners.
Edit: my last two gf's also didn't know how to check their oil. At best it was checked periodically when they visited their parents and their dad (who'd been doing it for them since they learned how to drive) would do it. I refused to do it.
-Spyder
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I do mine every 3 months regardless of mileage,whether I`m using synth or dino.
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