For those that advocate 10K miles OCI

[Gimpy1]

In a port injection engine 10k is fine but with direct injection I'm not too sure 10k is fine I think fuel dilution would be to high especially in colder climated with more stop and go traffic vs hwy. I have no scientific proof and my opinion is worthless. It your own car change the oil when you want to. I just follow the owners manual.

 

[doublebase]

In a port injection engine 10k is fine but with direct injection I'm not too sure 10k is fine I think fuel dilution would be to high especially in colder climated with more stop and go traffic vs hwy. I have no scientific proof and my opinion is worthless. It your own car change the oil when you want to. I just follow the owners manual.

Yeah, I tend to feel the same way. You want to stretch it out to 10,000 miles in a port injected engine? Use a quality oil and filter and you should be ok if you’re doing “easy” driving (highway, no towing, not a lot of stop and go, etc).

But for me in a direct injection engine all bets are off. I’ve owned two. The second one I owned since it was brand new (2018 Silverado). First off it used oil, maybe started around 10,000 miles. A half a quart, to three quarters a quart in my 5,000 mile oil changes. Oil would sometimes smell like fuel. Oil would get very dirty at around 2,500 miles. By the time I’d dump at 5,000 miles that oil was very dark and it’d smell like fuel. And more importantly, GM reduced their oil life monitor to end at 7,500 miles. Before direct injection I believe GM did not cap their oil life monitor systems, now they do. Coincidence? I don’t know.

 

[tolian21]

Those who do 5k might be wasting their money, but those with 10k may pay the ultimate price if things dont go as expected. The choice is yours.

 

[doublebase]

Regarding the Car Care Nut — I like that guy, he has some very useful videos and he tells you like it is as a Toyota tech. Regarding his 10,000 mile interval opinion, he does mention people going OVER or SKIPPING that interval. And he also mentions oil going low, people not checking that level, and going 10k, 12k, more. And THAT being a part of the problem. He also mentions “ideal” driving conditions. How many of us don’t meet those conditions. He’s not exactly wrong about that. And Toyota specifically states the same in their owners manuals.

As for the other video linked (Ford Boss Me). He’s very opinionated. He’s pretty confrontational. I’m not a fan. He may know current info on fords, and I think that’s good/useful, but I wouldn’t let his opinions on oil, filters, general maintenance, carry much weight. IMO.

 

[Baracoa]

After my first few months on BITOG, I realized I was changing the oil too soon, and have gone to longer OCI's.

I have not changed my position and continue to do 5,000 to 6,000 OCI even when I use oil that are marked as being good for up to 10,000 miles or more.

 

[Baracoa]

Those who do 5k might be wasting their money, but those with 10k may pay the ultimate price if things dont go as expected. The choice is yours.

Maybe the happy medium is 7,500 miles OCI.

 

[DuckRyder]

...

As for the other video linked (Ford Boss Me). He’s very opinionated. He’s pretty confrontational. I’m not a fan. He may know current info on fords, and I think that’s good/useful, but I wouldn’t let his opinions on oil, filters, general maintenance, carry much weight. IMO.

Yup, I'm not a fan of him either.

 

[doublebase]

I would say to use your best judgment. It is all personal to each individual. Some feel that it is a waste to change at 5k miles, and prefer to extend to over 10k or 15k. Others want to do it at 3k. I don't think anyone should get criticized for either approach. Just do what makes sense in your scenario.

For those criticizing the youtuber in the original post, you have to keep in mind that he is called "The Car Care Nut" for a reason. He even says that his channel is for DIYers that want to take extreme care of their vehicles. This means the viewers may want to take excessive measures to make sure their cars have clean fluid, etc. to extend the life of their cars. Nothing wrong with being overly vigilant. Bottom line is that he doesn't recommend anything over 5k miles or 6 months.

Here is yet another youtuber that works as a technician and he recommends the same.


I think the opinion of these technicians should hold extra weight, as they actually see (on a daily basis) what happens to our cars with the different maintenance intervals.

But again, do what makes sense for you! Every engine is different. Every driving scenario is different.

I generally tend to agree with techs, probably because I am one. And this guy (Ford boss), can be entertaining (personally I find him to be equally as rude and confrontational), but he himself has started going longer on his own oil changes in his personal car. He now reviews various oils and filters for his older Ford. He sends in oil analysis at 5,000 miles (he used to be a 3,000 mile guy, I believe), and they come back fantastic - all saying he could go much further with his interval.

But regarding techs, most of us adhere to shorter intervals. In part because we have seen things, but mostly because it’s so easy and cheap for us to do those oil changes ourselves. Believe it or not, most of the techs I know change their oil every 3,000 miles using synthetic. And believe it or not, most techs I know don’t think/care/discuss oil or filters, EVER. It’s just not somethig techs think about or discuss. They don’t talk about different brands of oil, they just throw whatever they have in there and change it. And change it often. Are we wrong? Might be. It’s just that techs are too busy doing other repairs to care about something that for them, doesn’t have a real importance. They just change it and change it often. I personally know ZERO techs that run anything past a 5,000 mile interval. None. Zip. Nada. Are they wrong? They might be. And they’ll be the first to say, oil is cheap, engines aren’t. And then at lunch we’ll all talk about how we almost never work on engines anymore. Well, that is until oil consumption, rings, direct injection came along, BUT does/will frequent oil changes PREVENT THAT? I think that’s a real good question. Because it’s not just the 7,500-10,000 mile people that experienced worn rings on their Honda, or GM, or Kia. It was EVERYBODY. Short interval/long interval. It was design flaws. Oil didn’t save anyone.

I’m going to attempt a few 10,000 mile intervals on my 2016 Avalon, see how it goes. Maybe it’s a mistake. I don’t know. But I’ll find out, and once I do I think I’ll have a whole new perspective on oil, oil intervals and what does cause engine failure.

 

[carviewsonic]

I have not changed my position and continue to do 5,000 to 6,000 OCI even when I use oil that are marked as being good for up to 10,000 miles or more.

We're not too different..
I used to do 4000 to 5000 OCI's, but now it's 6000 to 7000 mile OCI's (or max two years). Driving style includes highway trips once a week or so. I use M1 bought on sale and a new filter every OC.

 

[BHopkins]

. . . As for the other video linked (Ford Boss Me). He’s very opinionated. He’s pretty confrontational. I’m not a fan. He may know current info on fords, and I think that’s good/useful, but I wouldn’t let his opinions on oil, filters, general maintenance, carry much weight. IMO.

The attached video was the first I have watched of his. Based upon it, it is very unlikely that I will watch more of his. His "See it my way, or you are wrong" type attitude is a big turn off to me.

I lean to those with enough self confidence to invite other opinions. Guys like Paul Herrell and Pan the Organizer.

 

[Kjmack]

The attached video was the first I have watched of his. Based upon it, it is very unlikely that I will watch more of his. His "See it my way, or you are wrong" type attitude is a big turn off to me.

I lean to those with enough self confidence to invite other opinions. Guys like Paul Herrell and Pan the Organizer.

If you look at any of his comments to anyone that has a different view other than his he basically challenges them to a fight . He is the type of guy that gets locked up several times before he might learn his lesson .

 

[loneryder]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I was trying to say that. There is a time, distance and how you use your vehicle. Time and distance usually takes care of that. But if you have towing or use in dusty conditions, then yes, look at a shorter OCI.

Being in heavy suburban/urban traffic is considered severe service if you read the find print.

 

[tolian21]

After all this, what is wrong with 5k OCI other than extra expenses?

 

[loneryder]

I’m torn on this whole debate, I’ve only run 5,000 mile oil changes for the last 10 years on synthetic, and prior to that it was 3,000 miles on conventional. I did deviate from that slightly for a short time, and went running 7,500-8,000 mile intervals for a year or so on my Lexus LS460. And then I experienced oil consumption. Everything was going just great until I decided to try THAT, BUT this also coincided with a higher mileage point. No oil usage before 100,000 miles. Then it increased a little bit at 115,000, more at 125,000, until finally it was drinking a quart every 1,000 miles at around the 150,000 mile mark. Did “extended“ drains do THAT? I don’t know, I’m not sure. Maybe it would have happened regardless? I will say that I drove a car to 289,000 miles doing only 3,000 mile intervals with conventional 5w30 and at 289,000 miles that thing started drinking oil too (1 quart every 1,000 miles). No extended drains, ever. Still the motor was guzzling oil and stalling at 289,000 miles. My shorter intervals didn’t prevent that, and then half the car was rotted out anyway.

I guess my point is, I’m going to try extended drains using a certified oil that meets my vehicle’s requirements. I own a Toyota that recommends 10,000 OCI’s. I have never done that, I’ve always done 5,000 miles. I’m going to go the 10,000 miles and try it. Worst that can happen is my car is rusted out at 200,000 miles and consuming a lot of oil. Either way I don’t think doing twice as many oil changes is going to change much of any of that. So here I go...10,000 miles here I come.

Why not just go with the oil life monitor?

 

[tolian21]

Why not just go with the oil life monitor?

The one in toyota is just 10k mark regardless of driving kind

 

[Malo83]

After all this, what is wrong with 5k OCI other than extra expenses?

Nothing wrong with 5K OCI's and to me it's not extra expenses, just the mentality of the Bitog clan.

 

[UG_Passat]

This video keeps on popping up as a new thread.

For context, the engine made it past 200,000 miles, which is a key piece of information often ignored.

so for most people that don't plan to keep their cars for over 200,000 miles, I would say 10,000 mile OCI's are fine.

Also, food for thought, TGMO tends to have a robust AW/EP package (in a Group III base), so, what if the replacement OTC oils used doesn't have the same levels of AW/EP additives as TGMO, but with a "superior" basestock (or blend), like a primarily Group IV oil?

What am I doing on my 2021 HiHy? 5,000 mile OCI with TGMO 0w16, for the duration of the warranty... then after that, if I can find a reasonably priced relative to TGMO Group IV/V oil with similar AW/EP additives, I may go with that.

 

[ollie]

You can find a situation that supports almost any position. BFD. It always seems to come down to what an individual believes will work well for them.

I've not seen (at least I cannot recall) anyone being swayed from their position regarding OCIs by any arguments contrary to their position and belief made in any of these threads.

Has anyone changed their position on OCIs for their situation by what they've read here?

Absolutely not and I'm with you 100%. I have changed my oil every 3,000 miles, Bi annual brake fluid/coolant and other fluids since I was a teen. No one here on a forum is going to convince me to change my routine. I'm all about keeping up with technology. OTOH, no matter how effective oil and other fluids get, I'm not going to extend my service intervals.

I take pride in all my vehicles and it shows.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

My bmw made it to 241k miles with 15k manufacturer service intervals and is still going strong . Always driven hard, 90/100 mph daily commute for 50 miles.

At 241k it now had 15 oil changes. If it would be done at 5k intervals it would be 49 times.
15 x 6,5 qt = 97.5 qt oil used
49 x 6,5 qt = 318,4 qt oil used

Do what ever you want but yes i think changing oil extremely early is a waste of natural resources.

Engines that are known to be **** fail even with short oci's, engines that are known to be reliable have no problems with normal intervals.

Would only advise to do short oci's on cars that are driven only really short distances.

 

[carviewsonic]

My bmw made it to 241k miles with 15k manufacturer service intervals and is still going strong . Always driven hard, 90/100 mph daily commute for 50 miles.

At 241k it now had 15 oil changes. If it would be done at 5k intervals it would be 49 times.
15 x 6,5 qt = 97.5 qt oil used
49 x 6,5 qt = 318,4 qt oil used

Do what ever you want but yes i think changing oil extremely early is a waste of natural resources.

Engines that are known to be **** fail even with short oci's, engines that are known to be reliable have no problems with normal intervals.

Would only advise to do short oci's on cars that are driven only really short distances.

Posts like this are a good data point, since not too many on this site run OCI's this long. It shows that under the right conditions extended OCI's can be done successfully. Also shows that for many of us the OCI we are using is very conservative.