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When to get an oil change?

ussfletcher

ussfletcher

Platinum Member
There seems to be a discrepancy between what my car tells me the oil life is, and the sticker they put on my windshield my last oil change, so I'm looking for some advice as to which to believe.

Now, I'll tell you that I do think I need an oil change, and I really want to get one... However I'm a college student and my car is parked in a storage lot off campus, and I only ever drive it home on weekends (i.e when dealerships are usually closed.. or at least the ones here are) So, its been like 5500 miles since my last oil change.

Now, this is like 2500 miles above what the sticker tells me I should have gotten one at, however my car tells me I still have about 44% oil life left.

I suppose my question is then, would the manufacturer really be implying that I can go like 9000 miles between oil changes, or is that really just saying that it will totally breakdown by that point, and I should get them sooner (say 4000 miles)

My car is a 2006 Buick LaCrosse if that makes a difference.
 
With reg oil I would do around 5k and 10k+ with syn and most cars.

But I think most already know that 3k is a joke for current cars and oils.
 
It completely depends on the type of oil/filter you use, and your driving habits.

On my Accord, I typically go 6k-8k between changes running full synthetic and a good filter. I don't drive the car very hard (it stays under 3k RPM 99% of the time). I could probably stretch it out to 10k miles if I wanted to, but oil changes are relatively cheap for the piece of mind they provide.
 
This is a HUGE debate and people have some VERY strong opinions about motor oil. It's a little crazy IMO.

My advice is: Buy quality oil and quality filters, change them both at 5,000 miles or at the start of every quarter, whichever comes first. Use the oil weight recommended by your manufacturer.
 
I'd go by what the oil life monitor says
Unless you do all city driving, short trips and inclimate weather 3000 is inappropriate
 
Actually dealers are pretty much always open on weekends. Probably half their sales are on saturdays
 
JulesMaximus said:
Don't listen to this guy.

Read the owner's manual and follow the recommendations of the manufacturer of your car.
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Actually if you read most owners manuals you would see my numbers are very conserative.
But don;t let a little thing like facts get in the way of your posting.
 
my owner's manual says to follow the oil life meter, so that's what I do. lasts a lot longer on the highway...
 
Go with the OLM. If you're really paranoid, get your used a used oil analysis at 3k, 5k then whatever your oil life monitor says it's due and see the results. As for me, I change my oil every spring and fall which is about 6-7k (OLM goes about 9k). I do it myself and don't want to mess with it in the winter is the only reason I don't go longer.
 
Thanks for the replies.

From what it sounds like, its probably ok for me to keep driving it for a little bit, I'll probably schedule a service for it next Thursday though.

Most of the miles are from Highway, probably close to 5000 of them (a large part being a drive from California to here, driving at like 3k RPM (my car seems to not go below ~2.6k at 80mph, and was loaded down to the max))
 
I usually go 4-5K on full synthetic and even then it's probably overkill. However it's worth it for the piece of mind to know that the engine is getting the protection it needs. That and I have a lead foot.
 
I can weigh in a lot on this topic. Bought my 2003 Sentra SE-R in 03, my buddy got one 3 months before me. I changed my old every 2500 with conventional 10W30 for the first 10000 miles. He used the same oil but changed it every 5000 miles. At the 10000 mile oil change, i switched over to Mobil 1 and continue to change it every 2500 miles with a factory oil filter. Dingleberry (my buddy) changes his every 5K cause he's a automotive technician and he knows it all.

Last month I had the valve cover off my engine to swap one that I had custom painted to match the color of the car. The top of my engine looked like it was still new and was pretty amazing to see it still looking like it does despite having a cold air intake (with a bypass valve for the winter) and having never done anything to clean the throttle body. I have cleaned my intake and filter pretty regularly (every 6 months).

Dingleberry's got about 115K on his ride. He's on his second motor. The first one let go at 80k and the thing looked terrible. It jumped time and trashed the head. The block was fine, but he swapped out the entire motor cause it was easier. There was a sludge on the top of the motor that apparently cause the timing chain to stretch and eventually lose its timing. His new motor he's being more cautious with and changing the oil every 3 months no matter how many miles (as long as it's less than 3000).

For the cost of an oil change (especially since i can change it myself. I get the Nissan Filter for 6 bucks and the 5 quarts of synthetic for $30) it's worth it for me to have the piece of mind I won't get stuck someplace or stuck with a big repair bill.
 
I have a really hard time believing 5k mile oil caused the timing chain to stretch. Just not seeing it at all.
 
Follow your manual. It will have a section for severe/mild usage and respective intervals.

I drive the piss out of my car and just follow the manual every 7.5k.

Hell, my old miata said 7.5k on CONVENTIONAL oil. You'll be fine.
 
mrsentraser said:
I can weigh in a lot on this topic. Bought my 2003 Sentra SE-R in 03, my buddy got one 3 months before me. I changed my old every 2500 with conventional 10W30 for the first 10000 miles. He used the same oil but changed it every 5000 miles. At the 10000 mile oil change, i switched over to Mobil 1 and continue to change it every 2500 miles with a factory oil filter. Dingleberry (my buddy) changes his every 5K cause he's a automotive technician and he knows it all.

Last month I had the valve cover off my engine to swap one that I had custom painted to match the color of the car. The top of my engine looked like it was still new and was pretty amazing to see it still looking like it does despite having a cold air intake (with a bypass valve for the winter) and having never done anything to clean the throttle body. I have cleaned my intake and filter pretty regularly (every 6 months).

Dingleberry's got about 115K on his ride. He's on his second motor. The first one let go at 80k and the thing looked terrible. It jumped time and trashed the head. The block was fine, but he swapped out the entire motor cause it was easier. There was a sludge on the top of the motor that apparently cause the timing chain to stretch and eventually lose its timing. His new motor he's being more cautious with and changing the oil every 3 months no matter how many miles (as long as it's less than 3000).

For the cost of an oil change (especially since i can change it myself. I get the Nissan Filter for 6 bucks and the 5 quarts of synthetic for $30) it's worth it for me to have the piece of mind I won't get stuck someplace or stuck with a big repair bill.
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So by your logic, the oil change interval HAD to have been the culprit here. There's a lot of other things way more likely to be at fault. Mechanical over-rev comes to mind...

Sorry I'm with JLee. I HIGHLY doubt that was the case.
 
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This has been long debated and there are two main sides. Those who say do every 3k and those who say go by the manual. One side is pathetically wrong (the first) and one side not (the second). 3k recommendation is for newbs and suckers and people who make money selling you oil changes. That's it. Forget that sticker, it means nothing.
 
mrsentraser said:
I can weigh in a lot on this topic. Bought my 2003 Sentra SE-R in 03, my buddy got one 3 months before me. I changed my old every 2500 with conventional 10W30 for the first 10000 miles. He used the same oil but changed it every 5000 miles. At the 10000 mile oil change, i switched over to Mobil 1 and continue to change it every 2500 miles with a factory oil filter. Dingleberry (my buddy) changes his every 5K cause he's a automotive technician and he knows it all.

Last month I had the valve cover off my engine to swap one that I had custom painted to match the color of the car. The top of my engine looked like it was still new and was pretty amazing to see it still looking like it does despite having a cold air intake (with a bypass valve for the winter) and having never done anything to clean the throttle body. I have cleaned my intake and filter pretty regularly (every 6 months).

Dingleberry's got about 115K on his ride. He's on his second motor. The first one let go at 80k and the thing looked terrible. It jumped time and trashed the head. The block was fine, but he swapped out the entire motor cause it was easier. There was a sludge on the top of the motor that apparently cause the timing chain to stretch and eventually lose its timing. His new motor he's being more cautious with and changing the oil every 3 months no matter how many miles (as long as it's less than 3000).

For the cost of an oil change (especially since i can change it myself. I get the Nissan Filter for 6 bucks and the 5 quarts of synthetic for $30) it's worth it for me to have the piece of mind I won't get stuck someplace or stuck with a big repair bill.
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This is just a single example. Statistically it means nothing, I'm afraid. If the engines really liked oil changes that soon I'm sure Nissan would say to do it. I have a Nissan engine, BTW, it's got 132k on it and I change with Mobil 1 every 7500 and it is beautiful. Notwithstanding the new sound coming from the engine bay the last few weeks but I don't know that that's the engine yet and not exhaust 😉
 
Marlin1975 said:
With reg oil I would do around 5k and 10k+ with syn and most cars.
But I think most already know that 3k is a joke for current cars and oils.
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That also depends over how long a period you put on those miles, eg. over say 6 months vs. 2 years.
I generally do two oil changes a year (unless for some reason I'm piling on the miles) since I don't drive that much (~5-6k/year). Switch my oil to 0W20 in Nov and 5W20 in late Apr.
 
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Change the oil whatever the manual interval says. Also use synthetic oil since it's not that much more expensive, you find them on specials everywhere. If you don't hit the interval in 6 months time change it anyways.
 
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