Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com
 
Vararam
Go Back   Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com > Members Area > General Automotive + Other Cars Discussion


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-29-2012, 09:00 AM   #1
KILLER74Z28
MOD SQUAD
 
KILLER74Z28's Avatar
 
Drives: 2G1FT1EW9A9100666
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 5,782
Exclamation How often do you really need to change motor oil?

How often do you really need to change motor oil?

By Brandy Schaffels, Senior Editor | TrueCar – Tue, Mar 27, 2012 7:43 PM EDT


Do you change your oil every 3,000 miles? The majority of drivers on the road have been bombarded by advertising that recommends changing their car's oil every 3,000 miles, but the truth is that interval is no longer really necessary. Yes, engine oil does get dirty, and when that happens, it can clog engine parts, but if you’re driving a car that’s less than five years old, you’re probably wasting money — and oil — if you change it as frequently as that. Yes, knowing when to change oil is not as simple as some ad campaigns would have you believe.

Changing the oil in your car every 3,000 miles was necessary in the 1970s, when most cars used 10W-40 oil, which tended to wear out within about 3,000 miles. Thanks to improvements in high-quality lubricants and tighter tolerances in the assembly of automotive engines, the 3,000-mile baseline simply does not apply to many cars on the road today; in fact, automakers now recommend you change oil at 5,000, 7,000, 10,000 or even as high as 15,000 miles for newer models under ideal driving conditions. For example, Toyota recommends you change oil at 5,000 miles for a 2005 Tacoma pickup, Honda recommends 7,500 miles for its 2002 Odyssey, General Motors suggests 7,500 miles for its 2007 Chevrolet Malibu, and Ford recommends 10,000 miles for its 2011 Fiesta. A 2008 Porsche Boxster can go 12,000 miles between changes, and a 2010 BMW 3 Series can go up to 15,000 miles before you change oil under ideal conditions; with this kind of complexity, it’s easy for consumers to be confused.

Almost 15 million Californians change their motor oil every 3,000 miles or more often, using more than 150 million gallons of motor oil each year – enough oil to fill 255 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to a recent study by CalRecycle. CalRecycle spokesperson Jeff Danzinger says their studies indicate the state could reduce total motor oil consumption by as much as 10 million gallons per year if motorists were to change oil according to manufacturer recommendations. "If you're changing your oil too soon, you're needlessly creating waste oil and putting a strain on the system and supply," Danzinger explains.

And that’s just California — wonder how much oil is being wasted across the entire United States by people who have fallen victim to advertising and don’t follow the intervals recommended in their owner’s manual? Across the country, reprocessors treat about 1.1 billion gallons of used oil yearly according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Unless you’re driving a car that's more than ten years old, or under super extreme conditions, there’s really no reason to change your oil at 3000 miles anymore. Let’s put that amount into dollars: Changing motor oil according to manufacturer specifications would reduce motor oil demand in California by approximately 10 million gallons per year, and could halve the amount of money those drivers spend on oil changes, which average about $25 at quick-change facilities and can cost significantly more if your vehicle uses long-life synthetic oil. Under normal driving conditions, following the automaker’s recommended intervals will not affect your car’s engine, its performance, or your warranty.

What Is Considered Severe Use?

Severe use involves extensive idling or driving frequently in stop-and-go traffic; operating in cold temperatures below 10 degrees or extreme temperatures above 90 degrees; extreme humidity; repeated short-distance trips of less than five miles; towing a trailer or hauling heavy materials; or using E85 fuel more than 50 percent of the time. If you do drive in any one of these conditions in a typical week, you are driving in severe conditions, and may need to change oil more often.

What Happens if you Don't Change Oil in Your Car?

As Alina Tugend of the New York Times says, "It just gets dirtier and dirtier. It’s like mopping the floor with a bucket of water and detergent. The water starts out clean, but the more you use it, the filthier it gets. Eventually, you’re making the floor dirtier if you don’t change the water." Dirty oil no longer lubricates properly, increasing friction, operating temperature, and causing the engine to wear faster.

Do You Know When to Change Oil?

Your vehicle’s owners manual will tell you how often you need to change your oil. If you drive a newer model, the car may just tell you when you need to change your oil. Since 2003, General Motors has equipped nearly its entire North American lineup with the GM Oil Life System; in fact, since the 2010 model year, nearly half of American carmakers now offer Oil Life Monitoring Systems to tell drivers when their car actually needs its oil changed, including Acura, BMW, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Mini. These Oil Life Monitoring systems automatically monitor engine characteristics, driving habits, cold starts, short-distance trips, and the climate in which the vehicle is operated, and then notify the driver when it is time to get an engine oil change with an signal on the dash indicating it's time for service.

If you are an extremely low-mileage driver you should change oil at least once a year. Otherwise, if your vehicle is equipped with an oil life monitoring system, you can trust the info/alert in your dashboard to tell you more accurately when you need a change. Don’t have an Oil Life Monitoring System? Consult your owner’s manual, your auto manufacturer’s official website, or authorized dealer for more information. Curious about your car right now but don’t have an owner’s manual handy? You can find suggested oil change intervals for many makes and models all the way back to the 2000 model year on the nifty widget at www.checkyournumber.org.

Tired Of Changing Your Oil Every 3,000 Miles?

Then trade in that beat-up 1970's jalopy for something newer! Consider these new models that boast 10,000 to 15,000 oil change intervals:

All 2012 Audi models suggest you change oil at 10,000 miles
All 2012 BMW models suggest you change oil at 15,000 miles
2012 Ford Fiesta, Flex, Focus, and Mustang models suggest you change oil at 10,000 miles
All 2012 Jaguar models suggest you change oil at 10,000 miles
2012 Lincoln MKT and MKX models suggest you change oil at 10,000 miles
All 2012 Mercedes-Benz models suggest you change oil at 12,000 miles
All 2012 Mini Cooper models suggest you change oil at 12,000 miles
All 2012 Porsche models suggest you change oil at 10,000 miles, though some can go as far as 12,000 miles between oil changes
Nearly all 2012 Toyota models go 10,000 miles between oil changes
All Volkswagen models can go 10,000 miles between oil changes
__________________

Who cares about the Blue Oval crowd and their little Ponys? We're getting our Camaro back-and it'll be Supercharged!-MDAII
Team LS3
KILLER74Z28 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 09:06 AM   #2
Busy_Boi
SoCal C5 Family Member
 
Busy_Boi's Avatar
 
Drives: RJT 2010 camaro 2SS
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 1,016
Send a message via Yahoo to Busy_Boi
__________________
Busy_Boi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 09:07 AM   #3
Camaro21


 
Drives: SOLD - 2013 M6 ZL1
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Texas
Posts: 5,041
5,000 miles
Camaro21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 09:09 AM   #4
Indy Bumble Bee
 
Indy Bumble Bee's Avatar
 
Drives: Beest
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Indy
Posts: 660
Love it... great post!
Indy Bumble Bee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 09:09 AM   #5
PQ
Booooosted.
 
PQ's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 Supercharged SS
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Mobile, AL
Posts: 36,716
Send a message via Yahoo to PQ
My car had me over 10k miles once. I didn't like it. I'm just going every 5k right now.

But doesn't the oil life indication system have to be reset when the oil is changed or does it automatically do it?


(When I say it had me over 10k I mean it alerted me so close to 10k that I ended up going over before I got the chance to change)
__________________
PQ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 09:10 AM   #6
DaBears
 
Drives: 2014 Subaru Forester, 2010 Equinox
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: South Bend, IN
Posts: 560
we do 5,000 miles on our Equinox. The local chevy dealer offers 9.99 oil changes, cant beat that.
__________________
DaBears is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 10:09 AM   #7
PAUL SS
The Mark of Excellence
 
PAUL SS's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 ABM 1SS RS LS3
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Smallest State in the Union
Posts: 8,690
Quote:
Originally Posted by PQ View Post
My car had me over 10k miles once. I didn't like it. I'm just going every 5k right now.

But doesn't the oil life indication system have to be reset when the oil is changed or does it automatically do it?
(When I say it had me over 10k I mean it alerted me so close to 10k that I ended up going over before I got the chance to change)
You have to reset it yourself, the engine can't tell when fresh oil has been put in the crankcase, yet.
__________________
BMR, CAI, DynoMax, Elite Eng., Hurst, Jannetty, Clear Image Headers & Hi Flow cats, Jet Hot, LSR, TSW, VMax, Vredestein
PAUL SS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 10:28 AM   #8
PQ
Booooosted.
 
PQ's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 Supercharged SS
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Mobile, AL
Posts: 36,716
Send a message via Yahoo to PQ
Quote:
Originally Posted by PAUL SS View Post
You have to reset it yourself, the engine can't tell when fresh oil has been put in the crankcase, yet.
Ah. Ok, I figured as much. Last I had it changed I did it at Jiffy Lube. Because, believe it or not, one of the dealers here refuse to touch my car even to do an oil change. Not sure if they reset the oil indicator.

And the other dealer is awesome but it takes them all day to do an oil change because they are just busy. But they too are NOT fans of engine mods.
__________________
PQ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 10:48 AM   #9
willhe64

 
willhe64's Avatar
 
Drives: 2012 45th Vert, 2011 4x4, 9sec Vega
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,188
Until they make an air filter that does not let any dirt through I'm going to keep changing mine every 3,000 miles.
Remember, those recommendations are from people who want you to buy a new car every 5 years.
willhe64 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 01:03 PM   #10
Scrappy Doo


 
Scrappy Doo's Avatar
 
Drives: Callaway Rogue
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: W8n 4 Snow, Minnesota
Posts: 4,738
My f150 manual says 7,500 miles. That's about what I put on a year, so I change all the cars every 6 months or so. LOL
Scrappy Doo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 01:09 PM   #11
justa25thTA

 
justa25thTA's Avatar
 
Drives: 2011 Camaro SS/RS LS3
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,632
Quote:
Originally Posted by willhe64 View Post
Until they make an air filter that does not let any dirt through I'm going to keep changing mine every 3,000 miles.
Remember, those recommendations are from people who want you to buy a new car every 5 years.

and the 3000 mile change was pushed by the oil manufacturers who want to sell oil. I believe the guy who is warrantying my motor.
__________________
Yeah, I'll get around to it...
justa25thTA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 01:36 PM   #12
scrming
Red Brick of Vengeance!
 
scrming's Avatar
 
Drives: 12 Second Brick
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: at my pulpit
Posts: 7,745
Look into the LLT timing chain issues in vehicles like my wife's old Acadia... Wife followed the Oil Life Monitor (which at one point GM changed and reduced the miles) and ended up having the timing chains replaced TWICE in 80,000 miles! Dumped the Acadia after the timing chains were fixed the second time... I know handle the oil changes in her Flex.. full synthetic every 5,000.... cheap insurance!
scrming is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 01:47 PM   #13
truth411

 
Drives: police interceptor
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Austin, tx
Posts: 1,291
I average 8500 miles a year, so I change my oil twice a year regardless of miles. Every 6 months full synthetic.
truth411 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2012, 03:45 PM   #14
Rogue Leader
Iatefiberglassinsulation
 
Rogue Leader's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 Camaro 2SS M6
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Long Island
Posts: 3,601
Quote:
Originally Posted by willhe64 View Post
Until they make an air filter that does not let any dirt through I'm going to keep changing mine every 3,000 miles.
Remember, those recommendations are from people who want you to buy a new car every 5 years.
You do realize that if dirt got through your air filter and somehow made it to your oil, you have far larger problems than changing the oil.

Quote:
Originally Posted by justa25thTA View Post
and the 3000 mile change was pushed by the oil manufacturers who want to sell oil. I believe the guy who is warrantying my motor.
Exactly.
__________________
2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS - was daily driver, now toy
2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio - Daily Driver
2017 Mercedes Benz GLE 350 - Wifes Car
2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD LT 6.0 - Tow Vehicle
1991 Alfa Romeo 164S - Project Car
1994 Volkswagen Golf - Race Car

"Like" my race team on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/farfrumwinnin
Rogue Leader is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
8500 mile oil change interval (5w-30) oil (not synthetic oil) 2001ragtop General Automotive + Other Cars Discussion 0 01-18-2012 09:06 AM
Okay to use ramps on V6 for oil change? philipdistefano Camaro V6 LLT Engine, Exhaust, and Bolt-Ons 10 01-19-2010 03:05 PM
Ok so had the car for a week... Where are you putting your spare change?! JDBeck23 5th Gen Camaro SS LS LT General Discussions 49 10-08-2009 03:05 AM
Too late to change at event 3000 ? scottc Camaro Price | Ordering | Tracking | Dealers Discussions 10 08-03-2009 05:20 PM
ORDER CHANGE @ 1100 Autobot Camaro Price | Ordering | Tracking | Dealers Discussions 4 07-24-2009 10:21 AM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:50 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.