How Long Between Synthetic Oil Changes? (Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR)

[Maranatha4u]

I just wondered what the overall consensus was on the amount of time between synthetic oil changes on my
2010 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR which has 78,470 miles on it.

 

[mbell1968]

If using premium synthetic oil, mobil 1, Pennzoil platinum, Valvoline, Castrol, etc and a quality filter, then u should be good somewhere between 7500-10000 miles or 1 year. 7500 if combination driving, 10k if alot of highway driving.

 

[atikovi]

Mileage is the key denominator in frequency of oil changes. No way to answer that without knowing how many miles you will put on it as well. If this is a show car you only drive 500 miles a year, you can go two or three years between changes. If you drive it 5,000 miles a year, probably every 6 to 12 months depending how it's driven. Short trips in cold weather, or longer drives where the engine gets fully warmed up at least 20 minutes.

 

[OilUzer]

Oil companies say their "10K/20K/25K miles" oil expire in 1 year. I think they want to sell more.

Milk nowadays lasts longer than that. I recently bought some with the expiration date of late Aug!? What's up with that? Milk used to go bad in 7 days. I think they add vm (vii) to milk these days to withstand the heat. No?

 

[joekingcorvette]

I wouldn't go past 7,500 miles or 1 year if you want it to last a long time. Just my 2 cents but many would go 10,000 miles or more. Oil is cheap.

 

[RyanY]

Oil companies say their "10K/20K/25K miles" oil expire in 1 year. I think they want to sell more.

Milk nowadays lasts longer than that. I recently bought some with the expiration date of late Aug!? What's up with that? Milk used to go bad in 7 days. I think they add vm (vii) to milk these days to withstand the heat. No?

Only organic milk lasts that long. Store brand or other regular milk usually lasts a week or two, often expiring before the expiration date. Maybe the cheap brands (Great Value) remove the vm and save it for their 20k Supertech oil (???)
Jk

 

[GR_CoB]

I own 3 cars, but I maintain a bunch more for family. In all cars I keep it at 5000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first.

There are a few exceptions though. If it's a B15 1.8L Sentra with a 2.9qt oil capacity, or a 1st gen 3.3L Xterra with 3.5qt oil capacity, or any generation VQ engine, then I do 3000 miles or 6 months.

P.S. How do shops and dealerships get away with charging a customer $200-$250 per labor hour these days?!?

 

[brandon9715]

I use Amsoil and have a yearly UOA. I don't go anywhere near 25k miles in a year, but changing yearly makes things easy and my engine runs strong.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Too many unanswered questions. Like how you drive it - how often, distance per trip, and weather. Are you DIY or pay someone (cost / benefit)

The 2.0 is DI correct? If so, I would err on the side of more often.

Is it the CVT as well? If so you should do a fill and spill once in a while also.

 

[nomas]

" Overall consensus .." That's funny .

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

I just wondered what the overall was on the amount of time between synthetic oil changes on my 2010 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR which has 78,470 miles on it.

It would appear you're driving roughly 5600 miles a year if you are the original owner. If you do your own oil changes just pick a nice day and once a year should be just fine!

 

[Elkins45]

My Nissan truck manual says every six months. I forget what the mileage recommendation is because I never meet it.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Plenty of Nissans in our family tree. Do 5k OCIs if you plan on keeping the vehicle a long-long time

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

If not driving a lot of miles, I think the timeframe depends on driving habits and climate. If you short trip and live somewhere humid, 6 mo to 1 yr. If you don’t short trip and live somewhere dry, 2 yr is fine.

 

[Bill7]

I just wondered what the overall consensus was on the amount of time between synthetic oil changes on my
2010 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR which has 78,470 miles on it.

Any low priced full synthetic should be able to handle 5,000 mile / 6 month OCI without incident.
The 6 month time limit is very important if car is short tripped in cold weather.
This causes moisture in the oil to form sludge in your engine, which over time can clog oil passages and lower your oil pressure.
Lower oil pressure can cause more engine wear.

 

[kschachn]

A few previous threads on this popular topic that may be of interest. Some are specific to synthetic oil:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/time-not-mileage-between-oil-changes.163741/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/changing-oil-based-on-engine-hours.2608/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-time-interval.309329/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/does-the-time-between-oil-changes-matter.223387/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-long-between-oil-changes-timewise.63992/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-interval-with-low-mileage.375845/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/last-oil-change-was-almost-2-years-ago.323404/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/garage-queen-how-often-to-change-the-oil.357207/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/time-vs-miles.313985/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/short-trip-oil-changes.8662/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/low-yearly-mileage-synthetic-oil-change-interval.111353/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/manufacturer-recommended-oil-change-intervals.111835/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...-after-one-year-regardless-of-mileage.307499/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/just-how-important-is-time-factor-in-oil-changes.231144/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-many-months-can-a-synthetic-oil-last.283597/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-intervals-for-stored-vehicles.68180/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/low-milegage-but-long-time-when-to-change.182988/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/how-long-between-oil-changes-with-low-miles.130745/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/time-based-oil-changes.229763/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-interval-time-vs-mileage-low-mileage.114320/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-interval-for-low-use-vechicles.224445/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...ot-mileage-interval-between-oil-changes.8960/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-interval-based-on-months-in-engine.216453/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/old-oil-low-miles-the-truth-please.381732/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/change-oil-after-one-year-regardless-of-mileage.164895/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...estion-about-length-of-time-not-miles.380059/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/oil-change-interval-for-seldom-used-sedan.357041/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...ally-if-driven-only-1000-miles-a-year.379423/
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/change-oil-filter-every-year-regardless-of-mileage.373404/

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Didn't the Nissans of that era have a very small sump capacity? Like 2 quarts?

 

[OilUzer]

" Overall consensus .." That's funny .

The reason we may not have an overall consensus on this subject is mainly because most everyone is held up in "Thick v Thin" meeting!

 

[Fahrvergnügen]

Didn't the Nissans of that era have a very small sump capacity? Like 2 quarts?

Older Nissans were 4.2 quarts

 

[f355spider]

Oil companies say their "10K/20K/25K miles" oil expire in 1 year. I think they want to sell more.

Milk nowadays lasts longer than that. I recently bought some with the expiration date of late Aug!? What's up with that? Milk used to go bad in 7 days. I think they add vm (vii) to milk these days to withstand the heat. No?

Look at the milk label, its called "ultrapasturization". It allows for longer storage times, unopened. But even opened, the milk will typically still be good for 10 to 14 days.