What do you guess the average OCI interval is?

[DCRamsey]

I'm guessing 5,000 miles. What do you think the average OCI is?

 

[oilboy123]

I thought I read somewhere it was around 4800 or so......

 

[JHZR2]

I was thinking more like 6500-7500 miles.

People forget, are too busy, can't be bothered, etc.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

i would guess that the american population is still mostly asleep to this topic and 3,000 miles would most likely still be the average.. most friends (offline) i talk oil with think im WAY, WAY, to particular about oil and general maintence..

 

[UNC151]

Still quite a few "old schools" out there, I am guessing 4500 or so.

 

[Oregoonian]

4500 to 5000 for the general public....but here on BITOG it might be 6500 t0 7000.

 

[Chris142]

judging by the ignored oil change stickers , low and coal black oil I see in customers cars I'd say 10k or more average.

 

[Gabe]

Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Still quite a few "old schools" out there, I am guessing 4500 or so.


Lube 'n' Greases July 2012 newsletter states that the average is 4500 miles - 4900 miles for cars with OLM systems.

http://www.lngpublishing.com/LNGmagazine/index.cfm

 

[CBR.worm]

my MIL honestly believes that her 97 Nissan truck engine oil only needs to be changed every 30K. I do it about every 10K for her (w/ PP), which she thinks is silly since it doesn't need it yet. But she lives in my house and I'll be the one replacing her engine if it doesn't get done. What is scary is that I started maintaining her truck after 100K, so now at 250K it has probably had less than 30 oil changes. Good for the environment I guess.

So if you remove her from the above numbers, everything will come down a little.

 

[Noobie]

I would say around 7500 Miles.

But with all these 5 - 10 years warranty on new cars, almost all dealers are forcing customers to do it every 5000KM here or they will void the warranty. (Yes, i said 5000 KILOMETERS)

 

[expat]

My guess,
The average North American does not know how many miles is on the oil in their oil pan.

Maybe, they figure "It's about time I got the oil changed"
if the urge takes them.

 

[sciphi]

GM said the average GM customer with an OLM changes at about 8000 miles. That's about right for my GM car, too.

Overall, I'd say about 6000 miles. Folks are putting off maintenance longer these days.

 

[addyguy]

I'm not suprised it's under 5k. Lots and lots of '3k-ers' out there still....

 

[ruxCYtable]

5k seems reasonable for an average. There are plenty of the 3k old schoolers out there, but I'll bet there are just as many or more who are completely clueless.

When I was in college I did an internship in a bank. We did a loan for a guy and he brought the car back after a year and 15,000 miles because he couldn't afford the payments.

We asked if he'd been maintaining the vehicle (since we would then be selling it).

"Huh?" he replied.

"Have you been changing the oil?"

"I don't know nothin' 'bout changin' no oil. It's a car. You put gas in it and go."

True story. And this was a grown man.

 

[VNTS]

I would say there are so many procrastinaotrs out there, I bet it is close to 7500+, most do it twice a year at best and most drive 15K a year.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I have a friend who is up to 15k. Of course, over the course of the past year I've replaced the oil filter and added about 7 quarts.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

5K is a safe bet... There's lots of "sooner better than laters" and lots of "It doesn't need done"... they likely balance each other out.

Since I recycle all my used oil/trans fluids, I am a sooner than later running very cheaply bought (but up to spec) conventional oils... I change 1/3rd of 10K miles unless highway driving lots.. then it goes to 5K. I will take SynBlend to 5K, and Full Synthetic (not extended performance) to 2/3rds of 10K..

Funny... or not so funny story
Fellow wrench has a 20 some year old girl bring a 1-2year old Toyota to his garage... the engine noise is awful, and it's pouring smoke. She asked him to fix it. He asks when she last had oil the oil serviced or at least checked... "They did that the day my mom and dad bought it!!!"....

Oh boy....

 

[Jocephus]

Originally Posted By: WMSmotorhead

Funny... or not so funny story
Fellow wrench has a 20 some year old girl bring a 1-2year old Toyota to his garage... the engine noise is awful, and it's pouring smoke. She asked him to fix it. He asks when she last had oil the oil serviced or at least checked... "They did that the day my mom and dad bought it!!!"....

Oh boy....


sounds like my blonde ex wife

 

[4x4chevydude]

I would say 4500-5k miles is average...i change alot of ppls oil and I put 3k miles on the sticker because then most will come back by 5k...if I put 5k then they would wait to 10k and likely blow the motor I hardly see any that actually come back at 3k anymore

 

[KCJeep]

I would easily believe the "average" drivers, particularly females, tend to run towards the side of neglect. But there are all kinds. I spend a lot of time on Jeep forums and unlike BITOG'ers 3k oil changers are very, very common.

Just ran into a guy the other day that has been religiously doing 2,500 mile oil changes with Mobil 1! Wow, just wow.