My Saab manual recommends changing the oil every 10,000 miles with semi-synthetic oil. Good advice?

Question

Just bought a 2000 Saab 9-5 SE with 95K and I drive mostly highway miles. Will I harm the engine if I follow the Saab Manual advice to change filter and oil every 10K? Seems a bit long. I've seen many postings on the web from auto technicians recommending changing oil every 4K and I'm wondering if semi-synthetic last longer than regular motor oil.

Also, the manual calls for fully synthetic or semi-synthetic oil, would regular oil be okay if I change it every 4,000 miles?

Answer 1

yes,,that s about right ,,i own a repair shop and a customer of mine has one,,and we change his around 9-10 thousand miles,and it does real good,,with synthetic oil,,you can run it a long time,,he runs his ,usually around ten thousand miles ,,and has never had any problems from it,,we only use Mobil one synthetic oil in it though,,that's one reason its doing so well from it,,but its OK to run it that long,,it wont hurt it,,good luck i hope this help,s.

Answer 2

I have a 1999 9-3 with about 85k on it and I have been changing it every 5000 miles since I purchased it without a problem. 10000 is just too much to risk regardless of what the manual says or what synthetic oil is capable of.

Keep it around 5k max between every change and you wont have to stress at all. This seems to be the general view of most saab owners and mechanics/technicians I have talked too. You bought a high performance car and you want to get high performance out of it so treat it nice.

Plus these things can be expensive to fix compared to the average vehicle so the more preventative maintenance you do the better off you will be in the long run.

Answer 3

Saab Oil

Answer 4

I have my doubts about this.

Last year I checked the oil in an Audi with 45k miles on it. This car also has a 10k change interval and was half-way between changes.

It was 2.5 quarts low on oil!

Oil changes are cheap. Doing it say, every 5k ain't gonna hurt nothing.

Another reason I have for doubting such long intervals is that even though modern synthetic oils have a long life before breakdown, they still get dirty just as fast.

Answer 5

When you first buy a NEW car, use normal oil. After 2 oil changes, use full synthetic and never look back.

Synthetic oil lubricates better, keeps the engine cooler, increases power, increases gas mileage, and never ever breaks down in your engine....regular oil can turn into water over time.

But with new cars, the engine needs to be "broken in"

You'll be okay with regular oil, but don't use it. Your car will run better, last longer, and you'll save money.

The FAA allows plane owners to change the oil half as often if they use full synthetic.

BUT!

Change your oil filter every 4,000. If you do that, you may not ever need to change synthetic oil, but you still should every 10,000 as the manual states, or at least every 15,000.

as far as a car getting "low" on oil...you're not supposed to JUST change it, you're supposed to add oil when it gets low.

Answer 6

Regular oil with the same weight should be just fine if you change it every 3-4k. The synthetics just hold up longer, but if you change dinosaur juice at a shorter interval, it should all be fine. I actually prefer to change more often because any particulates in the oil get flushed out more often.

Answer 7

yes, the synthetic lasts longer. make sure you change the filter each time you change the oil. and yes regular oil is okay if you change it every 4,000 miles.

Answer 8

Synthetic or regular you still have to change at same intervals, both get contaminated equally. With synthetics they protect better in extreme conditions, won't break down and flow better, especially in cold weather start ups.

Answer 9

Better go with every 2000 miles weather it needs it or not.