Is an early oil change a good idea?

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Feb 19, 2024
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Hello, I just hit 1500 miles since buying a new to me 2020 Subaru Impreza with 48k miles, I believe the previous owner was doing extended oci because after only 1500 miles the new oil I put in is already black, on my 2017 Outback and 2004 Forester the oil is clean even after 5k miles, would flushing out the current oil and maybe using an engine flush be a good idea?
 
Yes and the same with the rest of oil lubed parts. That being said how long or / miles do you keep vehicles?
 
I say, whenever you get a new-to-you car, get yourself to your comfortable baseline. If that means a couple of short OCI, then so be it. Then move forward with whatever OCI you are comfortable with.
 
In my opinion yes. When you remove the OEM filter, cut it and you want believe how much metal and gasket material you'll find in it.
 
If it turns black in just 1500 miles, def. do a couple of shorter changes. That is a very short mileage for modern oil to darken.
 
My opinion is yes.

This is the advice I got in early 2007 when I bought a new BMW with a N54. And my logic was M cars have a sticker to change the oil at 1000 Km. Even though I have no sticker , should I?

The svc mgr said do you own, or lease this car? If lease, who cares. If own, I would.

Then I said can I get discounted oil changes? And he put me in the computer for $68. In March 2007 that was cheap. Greenwich CT was $130. I paid and did an oil change in between the free one. Around year 5 I started DIY.
 
Just bought a Honda lawn mower. The recommendation in the manual was to change the oil after one month. I don't recall ever seeing that recommendation in a manual before but many people say it should be done and it does seem like a good idea. This mower doesn't have an oil filter so it seems like a doubly good idea. And yes I intend to keep the mower for 20+ years. Whether I last that long is a different question.

I once got into a little bit of trouble for changing the oil on a new Federal Government car after only 1500 miles. Our accounting people seemed to think I was wasting government money. "Well I am a mechanical engineer..." ended that discussion.
 
Just bought a Honda lawn mower. The recommendation in the manual was to change the oil after one month. I don't recall ever seeing that recommendation in a manual before but many people say it should be done and it does seem like a good idea. This mower doesn't have an oil filter so it seems like a doubly good idea. And yes I intend to keep the mower for 20+ years. Whether I last that long is a different question.

I once got into a little bit of trouble for changing the oil on a new Federal Government car after only 1500 miles. Our accounting people seemed to think I was wasting government money. "Well I am a mechanical engineer..." ended that discussion.
You still wasted money ... ;)
 
Just bought a Honda lawn mower. The recommendation in the manual was to change the oil after one month. I don't recall ever seeing that recommendation in a manual before but many people say it should be done and it does seem like a good idea. This mower doesn't have an oil filter so it seems like a doubly good idea. And yes I intend to keep the mower for 20+ years. Whether I last that long is a different question.

I once got into a little bit of trouble for changing the oil on a new Federal Government car after only 1500 miles. Our accounting people seemed to think I was wasting government money. "Well I am a mechanical engineer..." ended that discussion.
Reminds me I need to change the oil in my Honda. Only 3rd time.

Accounting sometimes gets a bad rap undeservedly.

Our co had a theft of a vehicle and all kinds of charges were racked up on Verizon. So the mgr said not paying the $1080.

Problem? Vehicle stolen Dec 2023. Charges April 2024. Even though they never reported it, adamant, not paying.

So it made the account past due and because of this short pay of $1080, the account due to be suspended. So 4000+ lines get suspended as a result of one guy refusing to pay.

I walked over to accounting and they said give us the invoice we’ll charge it to overhead.

Edit Imagine the co pilots having no cell service and ceo not being able to call either for an important flight. This happens when a co has explosive growth. Policies aren’t in place. Even if the mgr refused to pay the overall co needs to be kept running
 
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I remember my motorcycle (first mode of transportation) said change oil at 500 miles and again at 1000 miles. I been paranoid about short oil changes everything since. but idk how a motorcycle relates to a car. so I could be off topic.

🤷🏽‍♂️

basically tho, my takeaway should be go by the book.
 
I say, whenever you get a new-to-you car, get yourself to your comfortable baseline.
Plus 1. Just bought a 2019 Chevy Silverado with 69,000 miles. The oil that drained out looked new but I changed it to Valvoline RP and a AC PF30 oil filter and changed the air and cabin filter as well. I have a gallon of Mobil Delvac1 75w90 on the shelf for the diff and am planning on a transmission fluid change soon. A pic of the old cabin filter. :oops:

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You know it would bother you if you dont change the oil early so if it was my vehicle, I would change it early and sleep well Enjoy your new ride
 
Whenever I buy a used car I always change the oil as soon as possible as I don’t know for certain when it was previously done, nor do I know if they used a quality synthetic or just some bulk conventional. As a self proclaimed oil nerd I just can’t be driving a car that I own and not knowing what oil is in there 🤣
 
I would put the car on a diet of short changes, but not 1500 short. I'd do 3k for three changes, unless after the second the oil looked clean like you expect. No flushes.
 
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