Oil Change Interval

[jerseyguy123]

I'm confused. My 2010 Caddy CTS 3.0 liter got a Mobil change last November. I thought we were supposed to change it once a year regardless
of miles. At the one year mark it will only have 6K. The oil looks good. What do I do? Thanks guys and be safe.

 

[Linctex]

Oil doesn't "go old".

what I would do: (in my order of preference):
1) Follow the Oil Life Monitor if your car has one
2) Run it to 5,000 or 6,000 miles (short trips need sooner changes)
3) Change it because I like to waste money and good oil

 

[RadioMannnn]

I am presently at 8300 miles and I do not know exactly what oil the shop used.. then again, they replaced the engine in my car. 8400 miles by the end of the day. The oil still looks good, but that is two unknowns. Unknown oil. Unknown engine.

At least 80% highway driving, but plenty, PLENTY WOT pulls.

I really should have it changed, but will likely wait until I can do it myself, then it's a 10k OCI and changed "before winter" if everything goes right (although you can use the same oil both winter and summer, dont be fooled.)

OP, unbeknownst to the naked eye, the oil may be starting to get acidic. My oil even looks good, it is a nice shade, and I can see through it, it's not even that dark yet, maybe like a touch darker than some maple syrup, however, I have at least two check marks that I should change it. And then there is the mileage. Everything points to that it should be fine since it went in sometime earlier this year, after April.. so could get everything I need to do so for less than a fleecing at VOIC, where you pay a princely sum for them to mess up your otherwise princely chariot (would you take a Benz there?...) so I will likely wait, even though I should change it. Then OCD would set in and I would want to spend money on oil and filters and do something with it every month. Extremes.

 

[nicholas]

What kind of driving do you do?
If its mostly city change it at the year mark.

 

[Convert]

In my case my two vehicles the oil is changed by time.
Neither vehicle never meets the mileage mark .
So it aprox every 6 month time frame, late March-and in October.
That way I'm ready for summer driving and winter driving.

Motorcycle gets changed late fall just before winter storage.

2006 Volvo Xc90 AWD Turbo

2013 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 Access Cab auto trans
1976 Moto Guzzi Convert

Convert

Tom B.

 

[40w8]

No worries. I ran my Mazda RX8 for 7 years and 7700 miles with Mobil 1 0w40.

I didn't tell Blackstone the age, and they suggested I could run some longer.......

 

[Duffyjr]

I'm confused. My 2010 Caddy CTS 3.0 liter got a Mobil change last November. I thought we were supposed to change it once a year regardless
of miles. At the one year mark it will only have 6K. The oil looks good. What do I do? Thanks guys and be safe.

Your owners manual says to never go over a year regardless of miles or what the OLM says, my Lucerne is the same way. Most on here will tell you you can't tell whether oil is bad or good by looking at it. Personally I would change it.

 

[RooflessVW]

I change the oil in my Atlas at 5k/1yr. Since the rona it does more sitting than anything else. Maybe gets a tank of gas once a month. 10,500 miles since purchase on Jan 5 2019.

I'm sure I could go by miles alone but that's not what the owner's manual says. Fresh oil once a year certainly isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[Trav]

I'm confused. My 2010 Caddy CTS 3.0 liter got a Mobil change last November. I thought we were supposed to change it once a year regardless
of miles. At the one year mark it will only have 6K. The oil looks good. What do I do? Thanks guys and be safe.

The LF1 engine has a pretty elaborate cam chain setup that tends to be hard on oil, combine that with fuel dilution from DI and you have perfect argument for shorter OCI. In fact GM reduced the OCI on the 3.6 due to chain wear issues.
1 year or 5-6K max with a synthetic oil is what I would feel comfortable with, forget the OLM the thing has proven overly optimistic on these GM cars.
You cannot compare one engine against another eg the rotary the previos poster mentioned you have to compare apples to apples and that includes driving habits.

Edit: This is the chain arrangement. IMHO it is much easier to change the oil a little more frequently than deal with replacing the chain and related parts. Penny wise dollar foolish IMO.

Technical Video: GM 3.0/3.6L Timing Replacement, Cloyes 9-0753S

This video covers the removal and installation the timing drive system in General Motor’s HFV6 (High-Feature) engine utilizing Cloyes aftermarket replacement kit: 9-0753S

www.cloyes.com

 

[Malo83]

5K for sure.

 

[40w8]

The LF1 engine has a pretty elaborate cam chain setup that tends to be hard on oil, combine that with fuel dilution from DI and you have perfect argument for shorter OCI. In fact GM reduced the OCI on the 3.6 due to chain wear issues.
1 year or 5-6K max with a synthetic oil is what I would feel comfortable with, forget the OLM the thing has proven overly optimistic on these GM cars.
You cannot compare one engine against another eg the rotary the previos poster mentioned you have to compare apples to apples and that includes driving habits.

Edit: This is the chain arrangement. IMHO it is much easier to change the oil a little more frequently than deal with replacing the chain and related parts. Penny wise dollar foolish IMO.

Technical Video: GM 3.0/3.6L Timing Replacement, Cloyes 9-0753S

This video covers the removal and installation the timing drive system in General Motor’s HFV6 (High-Feature) engine utilizing Cloyes aftermarket replacement kit: 9-0753S

www.cloyes.com

Good catch. My rotary doesn't have that cam shaft area where oil can cook at 300+ deg F, and it was mostly driven on major long trips to the track. No driving remotely related to stop and go. Some cars are known sludge monsters that destroy oil. Just know which kind you have. I have sold lots of oil and knew that 1 year thing was overkill. Most people drive at least 10k miles/year, so that thought never comes to try for over a year.

 

[gfh77665]

.. then again, they replaced the engine in my car.

At least 80% highway driving, but plenty, PLENTY WOT pulls.

Did the PLENTY WOT pulls blow it?