Hogwash?: Oil Change Every 3000 Miles

Hogwash?: Oil Change Every 3000 Miles
It’s easier to convince an Evangelical that Christ was a grifter than to persuade pistonheads to give up their regular oil change. Yea, verily, the maniacal motorists believe in the healing power of regular visits to the Church of St. Pennzoil. And they certainly have the Gospel of Jiffy Lube on their sides: Thou shalt change thy oil every 3k miles or your engine will blow up in an explosion of fire and brimstone. Well I hereby give pistonheads permission to skip their next regularly scheduled motor oil change. And the one after that one. In fact, if you’re not planning to keep your car for all eternity, consider forgetting oil changes altogether.

Many decades ago, when metallurgy, tolerances, manufacturing precision and various aspects of engine controls (as well as the oil itself) were profoundly more primitive, the 3k mile oil change interval had a logical basis. Crude carburetor chokes caused overly rich mixtures, dumping raw gas onto cylinder walls that worked its way down into the crankcase. Poorly fitted rings caused blow-by, which had the same effect with nasty combustion byproducts. And poor tolerances created rapid wear, which released and circulated metal particles throughout the engine. People drove shorter distances, and cars often didn’t warm up enough to burn off contaminants. To travel 100k miles without an engine rebuild was a genuine accomplishment.


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AE86AE86 - 1/15/2007 2:30:16 PM
+2 Boost
Look at the service cycles of many new cars these days. Oil Changes 7500 to 10k are not unheard of. Marketing dictates the 3000 mile mark. Mobil 1 would get you to change at 1500 miles if they could!


MercBasherMercBasher - 1/19/2007 2:54:39 AM
+1 Boost
Just an aside . . . this is really old news, companies in the early 1990s were already able to run vehicles with greater mileage between oil changes.

Thing is companies like Lexus like to have their owners visit the dealership often for oil changes because otherwise the owners wouldn't be seen for years! Lexus needs a way to show owners how good the dealership facilities are.




AE86AE86 - 1/15/2007 2:30:54 PM
+2 Boost
And then they charge quite a bit extra for the 15,000 extended service oil...


chewychewy - 1/15/2007 2:46:25 PM
-1 Boost
European cars (in Europe) have had oil changes at around 15,000 miles for a long time now. 10,000 mile changes are now here as well.


A4ORCEA4ORCE - 1/15/2007 3:08:46 PM
+2 Boost
Let's take a little poll:
What did/do you drive, what motor, and how often did you change your oil and what with?

On my 01 A4 with 1.8T motor, I changed my oil every 5000 miles with Mobil 1 0w-40.

I remember I was on a board a long time ago and this guy had taken his oil in for an oil analysis. The results were such that I thought "I better play it safe and not go past 5000." Of course, this was only one test and there are other factors that should be taken into account, like weather, motors, oil type, etc...


jt716jt716 - 1/15/2007 3:33:44 PM
+2 Boost
i change every 5000 miles


Agent009Agent009 - 1/15/2007 3:49:25 PM
+1 Boost
Every 5000 with Mobile 1 10w-40w


kart1kart1 - 1/15/2007 4:19:52 PM
+2 Boost
On my 1992 Toyota MR2 Toyota still recommends 5000 miles, so I am going to do it every 5000 miles. On my 2005 Acura TSX they recommend 10000 miles, but last time I had it changed at about 8500 miles. I don't know what brand of oil the dealer uses (I have the dealer change it because they do it cheap enough for me not to change it my self - for example I went to Autozone and it would have cost me $21 for oil and filter and the dealer did the change in $25 - For the Toyota but the Acura ran me about $31) but both cars have 5w30 in them.


kart1kart1 - 1/15/2007 4:20:53 PM
+2 Boost
Plus the only other thing that they recommend at Acura for 10k service is a tire rotation. I would have jumped for that but I don't think I am going to keep the car long enough to care about tire wear.


TauronB2GTauronB2G - 1/15/2007 5:03:29 PM
+2 Boost
I reguarly go 10-15 (if not further) in my Honda and I haven't had any problems. The Mercedes only asks for oil every 10-12,000 miles. I'll be damned if I do it every 3000, especially with the Mercedes $50 oil change rule.
T



BimmerFanBimmerFan - 1/15/2007 5:31:07 PM
+1 Boost
I dont worry about this stuff. On all 3 of my Bimmers, the onboard computer tells me when to change the oil, and then BMW does it for free within the first four years on new cars.


BimmerFanBimmerFan - 1/15/2007 5:32:50 PM
+1 Boost
however, on my '06 M Roadster, the dealer wanted to change the oil at the first 1200 miles....then the onboard computer takes over.... so far, all of my BMWs perform flawlessly.


99gs40099gs400 - 1/15/2007 6:20:21 PM
+1 Boost
My 99 Gs400 with 27k change oil every 3k with mobil 1 5w30.


jgibson3252jgibson3252 - 1/15/2007 7:39:22 PM
0 Boost
I have 2004 Maximum with 65k on it now had it since summer 2003. Went to dealer ship every 3000-4000 missed oil change a couple of times now have little engine noise and Nissian wont do anything and said I voided the warranty. Its been doing it since 40K


BMWreplicatBMWreplicat - 1/15/2007 11:37:49 PM
0 Boost
Mobil 1 every 6K


MarkMark - 1/16/2007 8:22:40 AM
+2 Boost
Poor boy here with his Ford - every 5000 miles with Castrol (or that which my mech uses).


MarkMark - 1/16/2007 8:23:54 AM
+2 Boost
[The wife with the nicer car] gets Mobil 1 every 7000 or so when the computer says "change it please".


rockerrocker - 1/16/2007 9:31:25 AM
0 Boost
Oil change once a year no matter how low the mileage(average 7k per year on each vehicle). We live in Texas where you must have a state inspection once a year so I kill 2 birds with one stone. And Mobil 1.


rockerrocker - 1/16/2007 3:51:48 PM
0 Boost
Two but we live close to work and if you look at a map of Texas we are at the very southern tip. All significant areas of interest(malls, food, etc) are extremely close. Closest major city is Corpus Christi(2 hour drive) and then San Antonio(4 hr) and houston is 7 hours away. Plus we have a beach on an Island and Mexico is 10 minutes away.


ElSparquitoElSparquito - 1/16/2007 12:26:22 PM
+2 Boost
Stupid question, but is Mobil 1 that much better than the other brands?


MercBasherMercBasher - 1/19/2007 2:51:23 AM
+1 Boost
Probably yes for most vehicles.


DiamondJimDiamondJim - 1/16/2007 5:44:23 PM
+2 Boost
for those of you who don't know, Mobil 1 recently changed their "synthetic" PAO based Group 4 oil, to a Group 3 oil which means it's not really a synthetic, it's just a hyrdrocracked version and isn't truly a synthetic lab based oil anymore. Neither is Castrol Syntec, the one they make here in the US, really a synthetic. google "castrol mobil arbitration" to find out more.

Group 4 oil is a TRUE SYNTHETIC and ever since i found that out, i've been using Castrol Syntec 0-w30, but not the US version, the one that says, "Made in Germany" on the back and you can only find those at Autozone. you can also google "German Castrol" to see how people love it. that's essentially the true syntetic you can pick up at a store because the rest you have to order online like redline, motul, amsoil.

here is a FAQ on German Castrol:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=711450&an=0&page=0#Post711450

im doing my oil change intervals OCI at 7500 just to be safe.



DiamondJimDiamondJim - 1/16/2007 5:48:37 PM
+2 Boost
i also stick a magnet to my oil filter to capture particle smaller than 10 microns from recirculating into the engine.

DO NOT USE ANY MAGNET, i use the magnets found in hard drives because they are the STRONGEST magnets out there, or buy a oil filter magnet online, they really do catch particles and will extend the life of your engine.


A4ORCEA4ORCE - 1/18/2007 6:28:06 PM
+1 Boost
Augh! I was afraid this would happen... I guess Mobil finally cracked. The reason I stuck with M1 was because it was a "true" synthetic. Castrol just ruined it all for us when they redefined "synthetic." The worst part was that they didn't even lower the price when they just started using their new crap! I heard rumors of Mobil changing their formula around 04, but I didn't think it'd actually happen.

Do you know when it happened? Is their entire product line group 3 now? What are the other group 4 oils? They should make a regulation to label the products as such if the companies aren't doing so already.


99gs40099gs400 - 1/17/2007 11:00:44 AM
0 Boost
amsoil is the best oil money can buy, mobil 1 close second.


993Turbo993Turbo - 1/19/2007 6:55:44 AM
+1 Boost
How come my Lexus LS400 requires every 5,000 if that's the case?


A4ORCEA4ORCE - 1/19/2007 1:13:00 PM
+1 Boost
Email excerpt from Mobil:

To meet the demanding requirements of today's specifications (and our customers' expectations) Mobil 1 uses high-performance synthetic fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAO) which is the group IV basestock, along with a proprietary system of additives. In fact, each Mobil 1viscosity grade uses a specific combination of synthetic fluids and selected additives in order to tailor the viscosity grade to its unique requirement.

Mobil1 is 100% synthetic utilizing only synthetic basestocks.
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