Do you really have to change your oil every 3,000 - 5,000 miles? I heard that with todays newer vehicles you could go up to 7,000 and be fine. Does anyone know what the exact recommendations are?
2006-07-20 08:34:53 · 25 answers · asked by Erowe 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Check your Vehicle manual and change the oil according to its mileage or time. Yes the newer vehicles (like prado) has a limit of 8000 kms.
2006-07-20 08:43:41 · answer #1 · answered by alexdsouza40 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You haven't said whether you have new car or not. If you have one, read the owner's manual. It will tell you. If you're thinking about getting a new car, then ask the dealer what the auto maker recommends. This is different than what the dealer will tell you. The dealer will want to see you as often as possible in order to make as much of a profit as possible. I've had a number of new cars and, in spite of everything everyone else told me, some of the manuals said the oil could be changed at mileages as high as 12,000 miles while others recommended 5,000 to 7,500. Use all of the info you get here as a starting point to finding the right answer. Don't take anything here as Gospel. Even experienced mechanics will give you different numbers. Get old of the auto makers recommendations and follow them. That's my best answer.
2006-07-20 15:44:03 · answer #2 · answered by quietwalker 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The exact recommendation from your manufacturer will be in your owners manual. I can tell you as someone who works in the automotive field, I like an oil change every 5,000 or once per year. I drive about that much on my cars and have had no problems. When Toyota had all their "sludge" engines, the main common denominator between all the customers "affected", they didn't change their oil very frequently. Some of the people were changing it every 15,000 miles. The people that changed it every 3 - 5,000 had no sludge concerns... something to think about.
2006-07-20 15:40:30 · answer #3 · answered by ubet426 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends which cars. well what I mean is all new cars could go 7,000 miles without changing the oil, and even used once can, but if you want your car to last longer I would change it at least every 5,000. we bought a new dodge caravan 2 years ago and the manual says to change oil every 4-5,000 but I have been changing it as soon as it hits 3,000 miles.Don't push your luck with 7,000.
2006-07-20 17:48:28 · answer #4 · answered by serb423 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends.
- on your driving application (normal or severe, eg taxi, frequent towing, etc)
- length of time the engine operates at normal temperature (to evaporate water from crankcase)
- maximum temperature range your car will experience in summer (cooler is better)
- current mileage of car
- does the car use mineral (regular) or synthetic oil
Check your owner's manual.
Most cars now can tolerate 3000-5000 miles between oil changes (normal driving, average temps, less than 75K miles, mineral oil.)
Switching to synthetic, you could easily go 7500 to 10,000 miles.
My B-323 uses Mobil 1 synthetic. The engine computer monitors driving conditions (RPM, temperature, etc.) and indicates oil changes at 12-15,000 mile intervals. So far so good - 91K miles.
In any case - always replace the oil filter whenever the oil is changed. If you regularly change the oil every 3-7K miles, and don't abuse your engine, you should expect to drive 150-250 K miles on almost any modern car without any internal engine problems.
Oil and filters are really cheap engine insurance.
2006-07-20 16:36:46 · answer #5 · answered by Tom-SJ 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's recommended every 3000 miles, but test were done with new york city cab drivers and I'm not exactly sure how far they drove before NEEDING an oil change but it far exceeded the 3000 - 5000 mark...You can easily get away with 6,000 or 7000, but for my own peace of mind, I do 5000 miles...if you have a new car, I wouldn't do less then 5000, there is no need to do every 3000 miles
2006-07-20 15:39:46 · answer #6 · answered by Maestro 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the car and the way and in what environment its driven in .Its not unusual for vehicles with synthetic oil to go up to 10,000 miles between oil changes.Read your hand book if in doubt ring a main dealer,Some cars now count the number of cold starts and other information fed to your vech electronic engine management system and decide when your vec is due for an oil change.Regards Mick
2006-07-20 16:24:05 · answer #7 · answered by mick 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Always follow what the manufacture recommends. If they say 3,000 to 5,000 miles do it. If you don't and you have an oil related problem the dealership could refuse to warranty your vehicle.
2006-07-20 15:41:00 · answer #8 · answered by EmEsBee 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your car manual should have a section on changing oil. The rule of thumb has always been to change oil every 3K-5K miles, or every 3 months (if you drove around 3-5K in 3 months). If your car manual says it's ok to change oil up to 7K, then try to change oil as soon as it reaches 7K. You need to pay attention to this so you'll have a car that can take you from one point to the next reliably.
2006-07-20 15:44:22 · answer #9 · answered by virtualyfunny 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If most of your driving is in town, I would change it every 3,000. If most of your driving is highway, you can go 5,000 to 7,000 with a high quality oil and filter.
2006-07-20 15:40:23 · answer #10 · answered by Gordon S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋