Oil Changes

[Curley4301]

I use the Oil Life indicator on my SS, and change when it gets to around 10-15%. On my other vehicles I go 5000mi because it's easy to remember. It's worked well - my Suburban has 187K with no motor issues.

[AdamEL]

Lots of variables with that question, and the answer is totally dependent on how much you're driving, how hard you drive it, and what oil you use. Even if you drive just a little bit, the time frame of the oil change is still important.

[JCunningham]

my oil Amsoil signature series is rated for 25,000 miles Amsoil filter 15,000. or one year. I change it every year. I put 6k on it this year. but car is new so its been changed 3 times in the 1st 1500

[lbls1]

For my daily driver I change it every 3,000 miles regardless of the oil level. For my stored cars (that never see 3,000 miles in a given year period) about once a year. For my new car it will get an oil change between 700 to 1,000 miles (once it reaches that mileage).

One good thing I've noticed with the GM cars of late, in that in general their oil economy has greatly improved. So far I haven't had to add oil to any car in my current fleet between changes. Before this I would usually change the oil after one quart burned or 3,000 miles...which ever milestone would come first.

[dtruslow]

jd10013,

I agree with you......most of these guys are just pissing away piece of mind. 7500 if synthetic...unless you live on a dirt road.

DT

[Rocky1974]

Originally Posted by JTruckenbrod

This is the first car that I have owned that tells me what % life my oil is at. I just hit 3000 miles on my car and it is still showing greater than 40% oil life.

Here's the question: Do you change your oil based on what the car is telling you % wise or just go by the mileage, IE every 3k, 5k, etc. miles?

I go by the oil life monitor. I figure that's why GM put it there. I had a Grand Am that I always changed the oil when the "Change Oil" light came on. It sometimes would go as long as 15k before it asked for an oil change. It never used any oil and never had any engine problems. I sold it a couple of years ago with 212k on the odometer. I still see it on the road daily. I'm a believer.

I've heard that some of the V6s have timing chain issues. I'm not sure if these problems are oil related or not, but if I had one and thought they were oil related, I might consider more frequent oil changes.

I think by now all the lifter and piston ring problems that come with AFM are well documented, so if I had a L99, I'd be changing my oil at 3k or less. I don't think that will keep the AFM from taking out the rings, but it might delay it for a while.

[yellowrs]

If you using Mobile one every 5K miles should be fine unless you driving the car really hard.
On my Toyota P/U I have 170k miles and change the oil every 5-6k.
Never had ANY! issues with engine.
I would recommend changing your differential and transmission fluid as well on a regular basis.

[AlohaBR]

I go by the oil life indicator and it has hit 0% a couple of times.
Somewhere in here is a lengthy explanation of the oil life indicator.
Typically I go about 7k miles, which is all highway/backroads driving.
All oil changes done at dealer with Dexos, car has 126k+ miles on it. No issues.

[delta6]

I change mine every 5k. Depending on the air quality or condition in your area, you might have to change it every 3k. If you are unable to reach those numbers in a year, you need to change your oil at least once a year...twice would be nice.

[delta6]

Originally Posted by yellowrs

If you using Mobile one every 5K miles should be fine unless you driving the car really hard.
On my Toyota P/U I have 170k miles and change the oil every 5-6k.
Never had ANY! issues with engine.
I would recommend changing your differential and transmission fluid as well on a regular basis.

You don't have to change your differential on a regular basis. You can change it once it hits 80-100k. Transmission fluid should only be replaced regularly if you're racing or driving your car hard...same with your differential fluid.

[Buffman]

Oil Life monitor that is what it is developed for(.)

[RubyCamaro]

You might want to do some reading in the LFX section regarding timing chains stretching. As far as I know this problem has not been resolved in the LFX or LLT and the recommended prevention, though it is still no guarantee for sure, is go with full synthetic & frequent oil changes (ie: every 3 thousand miles). It is even more important for for cars driven largely on short trips & not used as daily drivers. That is what & do now that mine is not a daily driver anymore. And do you have an oil catch can? Very important to protect that engine.

[trashmanssd]

Dido oil catch can should make difference to keeping that extra carbon out of the system.

[suzook]

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

You might want to do some reading in the LFX section regarding timing chains stretching. As far as I know this problem has not been resolved in the LFX or LLT and the recommended prevention, though it is still no guarantee for sure, is go with full synthetic & frequent oil changes (ie: every 3 thousand miles). It is even more important for for cars driven largely on short trips & not used as daily drivers. That is what & do now that mine is not a daily driver anymore. And do you have an oil catch can? Very important to protect that engine.

I dont see how frequent oil changes can help the timing chain stretching....its just a design fault imo.