How far can a car go without an oil change?

Question

I drive a 2005 Kia Spectra. It haven't given it an oil change since I bought it in October, and I've gone on a cross-country drive since. It's gone about 11,150 miles without an oil change. I can't afford one until next week. I just wanted to see if anyone thought it was going to crap out on me in the meantime.

Answer 1

Around 3,000 with regular oil. 5,000 or over with full synthetic. This is for an economy car.

Answer 2

Your cross country trip has probably done the least possible amount of damage to the oil. Tootling around town does most damage to the oil. You are overdue for a change just the same. If there is enough in the engine (check the dipstick) I'd relax for the moment but get it changed soon. Many vehicles depend on hydraulic pressure from the oil to do all sorts of things inside the engine. If the oil is really dirty or low it can jam them up and goodbye engine.

Answer 3

60,000 miles if you have an economical Japanese 4-cylinder normally-aspirated engine and you top off the oil occasionally (other engine have much shorter lives). By then the engine will have to be repaired, at least $2400 worth, and the driver will feel like the car will die any day. It is much better to change the oil and filter every 3 to 4,000 miles (5000 to 7000 if you use synthetic oil). The oil changes would cost $500 to $1000 over 60,000 miles for an I4 in a Japanese compact - even less if you do it yourself. Not only is it economical, it is also environmentally friendly, as the car will not be polluting as much and fuel economy is kept relatively high.

Answer 4

3000 miles is made up by the Oil company's , for instance my 2006 F150 manual recommends every 5000 miles. Diesel engines can go alot further between oil changes due to diesel fuel having a higher lubricant level than gasoline powered engines. You will be just fine changing your oil about every 5000-7000 miles, if you use a quality motor oil & use the specified wt oil

Answer 5

Depends on the year of the car, and make. Usually every 3000 miles is recommended by the dealer. Personal opinion, it depend on how often you use the car and how many mileage you put on the car each day. If you put about 30 miles on the car a day, I recommend each month because the oil get dirty, and wear the engine out. If you change the oil frequently, the life of the engine last longer, and if you don't, the engine become weary and get shorten.

Answer 6

Until it locks up.
As for how long that will be for your car, it is dependent upon how you drive it, what sort of service it usually gets, what kind of oil you use, how much oil is in it, and what condition the engine is in now.
You don't want to go longer than about 3000 miles, but in a pinch, if you are careful, you can double that, but make it up to it the next time around and go for 2000 miles.

Happy Motoring

Answer 7

Well my dad drives a tacoma and he didn't change it for 30000 miles. His truck still runs fine. But again you can expect that with a toyota. So you should be fine. I suggest getting in the habit of changing ever 3-5 thousand. That might sound like a lot of oil, but changing it frequently will result in less maintainence down the road.

Answer 8

"Can" and "should" are two different words. Most manufacturers recommend an oil change every 3 months or three thousand miles. You can, of course, ignore the manufacturer (and void the warranty in the process) and never change the oil. Eventually you'll destroy the ebgine and do serious damage to your wallet as well.

Answer 9

The longer you go the more likely you will damage your engine. Severe duty is in town driving with stop and go traffic. Its recommended to change every 3,000 miles.

Answer 10

your car 'could' go for 30,000 miles or more without changing your oil but going more than 9 or 10 thousand will start to really wear on your engine reducing your cars life expectancy.

Answer 11

Indefinitely, but it's not too good for the car. 3000 miles is about right for oil changes with regular oil, longer (as long as 9000) with synthetic oil.