how often do I need to change my oil?

Apr 17, 2003
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I own a 2003 Mitsubishi galant w/ 55k miles on it. My dad says I should change the oil every 2k miles (which I have been doing since 2004 when I bought the car), but others tell me its OK to go 3k. I do a LOT of highway driving. I make a trip once a month from the bay area to LA.


TIA
 
Apr 17, 2003
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Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mostly highway? 5,000 miles will be fine.

ZV

:thumbsup:

thank you. I think I'll push it to 3000 miles just to be safe, making the oil change approx once every 3 months.
 

b3av3r

Member
Jan 19, 2007
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it depends on what sort of oil you use but most of todays non-synthetic oil can easily go 3K miles before an oil change and many can go closer to 5K

I run K&N oil filter and mobil 1 full synthetic oil and I got 6K between oil changes and do not have any problems whatsoever

2K is a bit of overkill IMO but it can't hurt anything
 
Oct 9, 1999
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I run on my 2000 ford focus motorcraft oil and filter... 5000 miles between changes.. in mixed driving. I have 142K miles on it.

This last oil change was a bit too long i think, i had a lot of slow bumper to bumper traffic, but in generally if you are on highways only, 3K no probs.. 4K no probs
 

Aimster

Lifer
Jan 5, 2003
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Toyota dealerships put 8k for oil changes for next oil change. Should make you wonder.

Anything under 10k should be fine.
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
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Yep use a good filter (NOT fram) and good oil (like havoline, Motorcraft, etc...) and 5k should be no problem for a non-turbo/modified car. If you are worried make your oil sticker/reminder for 4000miles and give yourself a little room if you need to go over.
 

dustmann

Senior member
Jul 26, 2006
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Every 3,000 miles. If you don't drive much, change it quarterly. It won't hurt anything to change oil more often.
 

Fulcrum

Senior member
May 9, 2002
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I currently don't put very many miles on my car, so I just change my oil every three months like clockwork. I would say whichever comes sooner between every three months or 3,000 to 5,000 miles, depending on your driving habits, is a reasonable guideline for just about any normal vehicle. It can't hurt of course I suppose, but I think that getting an oil change every 2,000 miles is a little too unnecessarily frequent.

Just curious OP, do you use synthetic or just regular oil with your current 2,000 mile oil changes?
 

desy

Diamond Member
Jan 13, 2000
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Since 86 with dino oil I've gone 6K between oil changes mostly HW driving.
I've driven 5 vehicles to over 200K miles with zero engine issues.
I'm now switching to synthetic and going 15K miles between changes .

I'm not an agressive driver rarely drive over 70mph
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
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Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Mostly highway? 5,000 miles will be fine.

ZV

+1
Almost any decent oil today can withstand 5k miles, especially if it's mostly highway.
 

HighPsi50

Member
Aug 15, 2001
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If you run regular dinosaur oil, I wouldn't go any more than 3,000 per change. After that far, it starts breaking down and sludging up and you can't get all that junk out of there no matter how often you change it.

Now if you run part or fully synthetic, I think 7,500 is entirely within reason. Good synthetic oils have been tested up to 10k+ miles with little to no breakdown. You pay more for the oil, but you don't have to change nearly as often.

Whatever you use, just get the quality stuff. I recommend doing it yourself since I've heard so many horror stories with quicky change oil places. But if you can't, at least WATCH them as they put the oil in, so at least you know you are getting what you paid for. If they give you issues about being in view of the change while its happening, go somewhere else.

One other thing, I highly recommend getting an oil filter with anti-backflow valve if available. It keeps the oil in the upper engine from draining back though the filter and into the pan while the car is sitting, and reduces start-up damage. Most of the wear and tear on a engine is right after it starts.
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
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Originally posted by: HighPsi50
If you run regular dinosaur oil, I wouldn't go any more than 3,000 per change. After that far, it starts breaking down and sludging up and you can't get all that junk out of there no matter how often you change it.

Bullsh*t. You can run modern conventional oils 5,000 miles easily. In most cases 7,500. Take your FUD elsewhere, we're not buying it here.

Originally posted by: HighPsi50
One other thing, I highly recommend getting an oil filter with anti-backflow valve if available. It keeps the oil in the upper engine from draining back though the filter and into the pan while the car is sitting, and reduces start-up damage. Most of the wear and tear on a engine is right after it starts.

Every spin-on oil filter that I've ever seen has an anti-drainback valve. I'd love to see where you're finding one that doesn't.

ZV
 

Budmantom

Lifer
Aug 17, 2002
13,103
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Originally posted by: b3av3r
it depends on what sort of oil you use but most of todays non-synthetic oil can easily go 3K miles before an oil change and many can go closer to 5K

I run K&N oil filter and mobil 1 full synthetic oil and I got 6K between oil changes and do not have any problems whatsoever

2K is a bit of overkill IMO but it can't hurt anything


The more often you have your oil changed the higher your chances of someone making a mistake.

 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
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Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Originally posted by: HighPsi50
If you run regular dinosaur oil, I wouldn't go any more than 3,000 per change. After that far, it starts breaking down and sludging up and you can't get all that junk out of there no matter how often you change it.

Bullsh*t. You can run modern conventional oils 5,000 miles easily. In most cases 7,500. Take your FUD elsewhere, we're not buying it here.

Originally posted by: HighPsi50
One other thing, I highly recommend getting an oil filter with anti-backflow valve if available. It keeps the oil in the upper engine from draining back though the filter and into the pan while the car is sitting, and reduces start-up damage. Most of the wear and tear on a engine is right after it starts.

Every spin-on oil filter that I've ever seen has an anti-drainback valve. I'd love to see where you're finding one that doesn't.

ZV

3k on any good conventional is a complete waste unless your driving style and environment is REALLY harsh.

ZV, there are still some filters out there that are without anti-drainback valves. I can't name part numbers off the top of my head but after cuting open MANY brands for analysis, they are still out there, though somewhat of a rarity.
 

Mojoed

Diamond Member
Jul 20, 2004
4,473
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I completely abused my Accord for years. I went 50k+ miles (~2 years) between oil changes. When I finally had my oil changed, it was 3.6 quarts low.

The weird thing about this is the car has run absolutely flawlessly since the day I got it, even with nearly zero oil left in it. It has never broke down or anything. I drove 800 miles recently from Massachusetts to Virginia with a dry dipstick. I'd estimate I've only had the oil changed 6-7 times total since 1993.

People keep telling me I'm crazy. From this point forward I'll probably change the oil every 10k-15k miles or so.

P.S I know it's not smart to do what I've done and I've lucked out my car still runs well. The above should not be taken as advice in any way. :D
 

Zenmervolt

Elite member
Oct 22, 2000
24,512
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Originally posted by: Gillbot
ZV, there are still some filters out there that are without anti-drainback valves. I can't name part numbers off the top of my head but after cuting open MANY brands for analysis, they are still out there, though somewhat of a rarity.

I would imagine that you'd have to be buying your oil filter out of the 49 Cent bin at "Billy-Bob's Awtoe Partz" to find one that didn't have an anti-drainback valve. Hell, even Fram filters have anti-drainback valves.

Bottom line, you'd have to be cutting some serious corners to find one without that.

ZV
 

manowar821

Diamond Member
Mar 1, 2007
6,063
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I run some great synthetic oil and it only needs to be changed out every 10k, technically. I still do it at 5 though.

The thing that needs to be changed that quickly is the oil filter, not the oil itself. Especially when speaking about synthetic oil... It keeps very well.