Oil Change on Brand New Car...when?

[heavyhitter]

I just bought a brand new 09 Frontier Crew Cab V6. I just hit 500 miles and I think I will change the oil this weekend. After that I plan on 4-5k OCI with conventional oil using Wix and PureOnes.

Two of the last 5 new cars I bought I did the first oil change @3k. The other three cars I did the first oil changes @ 500 miles.

I could tell no percievable difference in the performance or logetivity of the ones I did @ 3k and the ones I did @ 500 miles.

I'd like to see what the other BITOG'ers are doing.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Congrats on the new truck. I think 1000 miles is a good number.

 

[addyguy]

Never bought a brand-new car, but I wouldn't do the first change until about 3k. You want to let the first batch of oil take as much of the break-in material as you can. IMO, 500 miles is to early - if you really can't do 3k or so, I'd go at least 1.5-2k miles.

JMO

 

[PT1]

I always do 1000 miles. Then again at 5000. Then every 5000

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
You want to let the first batch of oil take as much of the break-in material as you can.
JMO


Uh, I want the initial break in garbage out ASAP. Since an engine sheds about 75% of any break in material in about the first 1000 miles that is why I change. A differential sheds 95% in 500 miles. Those numbers come from GM & Dana.

 

[ADFD1]

This has been gone over before and the reviews are always mixed. Dad always dropped the oil and filter at around 500 miles, refilled with conventional oil ran that another 1500 miles then switched to synthetic oil (optional) at around 2000 miles on the clock. As a side note, none of his new vehicles used any special break-in oils.

His logic was no matter how clean the engine building process was, the new engine was shedding metal and he wanted it out of the engine.

He followed mfg severe service OCI's and used the suggested grade oil. Once out of warranty he used the suggested grade oil, but extended OCI's based somewhere between severe and normal use.

AD

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: PT1
I always do 1000 miles. Then again at 5000. Then every 5000


Personally I change at the 1000 mile (1,500 km) mark, then again at 3000 mile mark (5,000).

 

[stang5]

When I first got my mustang I changed the oil at 500 then at 1000K miles with MC 5w20 and then switch to Mobil 1 5w20. Now thinking about it what a waste of oil. If I were to do it again I would just change it at the first 1K miles and then follow the manufacturer's OCI..

 

[ViragoBry]

I did my 2006 Frontier at 500, and again at 3000 with a switch to Mobil 1 at that point. Have fun with the factory installed filter. If you have a pet gorilla, have him help you with it.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: ADFD1

His logic was no matter how clean the engine building process was, the new engine was shedding metal and he wanted it out of the engine.


He is correct...I don't care if you have a Rolls Royce or Ferarri hand built engine (actually Ferrari changes out the initial fill after factory burst dyno testing) it is shedding metal, maybe some assembly contamination, casting garbage etc.

 

[PT1]

Originally Posted By: ViragoBry
Have fun with the factory installed filter. If you have a pet gorilla, have him help you with it.


Can't be any worse than my RX330 factory filter. I had to use a breaker bar to get it off.

 

[Eddie]

I do 2,500 then 6,000,12,000 and do a used oil analysis The 18,000 miles used oil analysis is aways good. My new cars come with an oil filter to protect my engine. PP or Mobil 1 and a OEM or WIX filter at the first oil change.

 

[Boomer]

I have a 2007 Frontier V-6. Changed the oil at 1100 miles or so to Mobil 1 5w30, then again at about 4000 miles. Now, because of the warranty, I do it every 5000 miles or 6 months. I like the NAPA Gold filter better than the OEM Nissan. Seeems to start up quieter. I have 17,000 miles on the truck now and it runs very nicely.

 

[hate2work]

I don't think it makes one bit of difference when you dump the FF. I've never heard of an engine that was hurt at all by running the FF til 5k.

Dumping the FF early is a feel good move. If it makes you feel good, then you should do it. When I buy a new rig, I dump the FF around 1000 miles. Why? Because it makes me feel good

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
I don't think it makes one bit of difference when you dump the FF. I've never heard of an engine that was hurt at all by running the FF til 5k.

Dumping the FF early is a feel good move. If it makes you feel good, then you should do it.

That's basically my take on it, too. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation, but if it makes you sleep better at night, do it sooner.

 

[Patman]

I think people worry too much about doing an early oil change, thinking that the excess wear metals are going to somehow ruin their engine. If you were to do a survey of everyone that has 200,000+ miles on their engine and ask them if they did an early oil change I'd be willing to bet less than 5% of those people said that they did. So in the long run I highly doubt that you're going to shorten the life of your engine by doing the first oil change somewhere in the 3 to 5k mark.

If I bought a new car that ran on conventional oil I would probably do the first oil change at 3000 miles and then do it every 5000 miles from that point on. If I bought a new Corvette (which uses synthetic) I would wait until the oil life monitor said 50% (which would end up being around 5000 miles with my driving style) before I did the first oil change, and then would start following the oil life monitor completely (letting it hit 0%) after that point. I would double check (and possibly re-evaluate my thoughts) with used oil analysis too.

 

[JHZR2]

what does the owner's manual say??? Some state to do an early change... In the case of a recent new subaru that belongs to my wife's best friend, it is 1750 miles, IIRC. On my wife's new rabbit, it is 5000 miles. The standard interval for the subary was 3500, and the rabbit is 10k.

It seems, though I do not have a large data set, that the first change recommendation - if made to do it early, is roughly half that of the standard change recommendation.

If a special oil is used, as is sometimes the case, Id probably stick with the recommendation. If not, I doubt it hurts to do it even earlier... but Id still stick to the recommended schedule too... as I dont see much of a need for varying from the mfr's recommendations long-term.

 

[montero1]

Originally Posted By: hate2work
I don't think it makes one bit of difference when you dump the FF. I've never heard of an engine that was hurt at all by running the FF til 5k.

Dumping the FF early is a feel good move. If it makes you feel good, then you should do it. When I buy a new rig, I dump the FF around 1000 miles. Why? Because it makes me feel good

+1

 

[heathenbrewing]

I got my first brand new car in '07.

I dropped the FF at 500mi, then again 1500mi later before switching over to syn.

FYI - Some cars have some sort of additive, so if yours does, you probably want to leave it in until the manual tells you to change it.

 

[1 SX]

When we got the Xg350L New in 05, we waited till about 3K miles... Then took it in, and every 3K miles after that till about 25K miles, then i started doing the oil changes, and went to synthetic, and change every 5-6K miles..