Thursday, January 7, 2010

How often should you change your car's engine oil?

I know someone that changes it every 3 months no matter how many miles she drives. Even after 1000 miles, she'll change it. Is she wasting her money? She drives conservatively, mild weather, normal driving conditions, etc.





Thanks.How often should you change your car's engine oil?
Oil starts breaking down @ 1700 miles, but breaks down a lot faster if not driven because moisture contaminates the oil and since not driven ( to remove contamination) the oil only gets worse. So no she is not wasting money, plus you cannot change your oil too much. Your are only protecting the engine that much more.How often should you change your car's engine oil?
The old rule of thumb has been every 3 months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes FIRST.


however, recent studies have shown that you can easily go 5,000 miles, with no time restraint and be absolutely fine.





I always go by the mileage, and have owned my car for 5 years with no major problems (and put 130,000 miles on it)
every 6 months or 3000 miles (which ever comes first) and the filter has to be changed every other oil change.
Which ever comes last. 12/9 I was suppose to change my oil but I have only used 1,500 miles. I spoke with my dad who was a manager of goodyear and he said that I do not need to change it until I hit 3,000 miles or even 4,000. Just always make sure there is oil in your car. That is the important part.
With modern cars and modern oil the 3,000 oil change is not necessary. I still do it on the cars I have that were built in the '70s but on newer cars I follow the manufacturers recommendations. For my '94 Honda it is 7500 miles.
The oil changing period is determined in part by where and how you drive. If the vehicle is used for only short trips and never gets warmed up then sludge will occur and you need to change it sooner. If you drive a distance where the engine gets fully warmed up and on the highway the oil burns off impurities and lasts alot longer. That said oil is cheap insurance for an expensive part of your car, the motor. If you can't always change it when you should, it's better to buy synthetic base oil when you do change it
3000 or 6 months..is fine,,,3 months is a waste of $...i change my oil every 5000...
here is what I do. I use mobile 1 and fram filters, I change the oil and filter lets say at 50k then at 55k I change the filter and add a quart of new mobile 1 then at 60k I do a complete oil and filter change. I keep doing this as long as I have the car, so far I have 131k on the engine and it runs fine in fact I will be leaving on a 2k trip with it next month. Ask your dad or grandpa how often they changed oil in the 50's no one changed oil like they do now and some of those old engines are still running. The oil co's love all you oil changers. All I can say is it works for me.
every 3 months r 3000 miles
Your owners manual will have the info.


Many cars it's like 6 or 7k miles.


Environmentally speaking, you should change it according to your owners manual.


For me, when 3k pass, i try to remember to get in for an oil change.


And like an earlier poster mentioned, be sure to keep the oil levels in the safe zone.
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