How often should I change my oil?

Question

I've always been told 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first, but my new car has onstar and it sends me diagnostics every month. It is saying at the rate I am driving, I will not need to change the oil until 9,500 miles. Could this possibly be correct? I purchased the car in April (new) and now have almost 4,000 miles on it. Any suggestions or comments would be great! Thanks

Answer 1

Newer cars run more efficiently and therefore manufactures claim that the oil doesn't need to be changed as often. I know of some cars that the owner's manual instructs the oil to be changed every 10,000 miles. By the same token, newer oils don't break down as easily and can be run longer.

Personally I go with the old school approach and change the oil every 3000 miles, rain or shine. It is up to you to decide. You cannot hurt your car by changing the oil too often. You can hurt it by not changing it enough.

Don't pay any attention to the 3 month thing. That comes from places like Jiffy Lube who want you to change the oil more often. Oil can sit in an engine for about a year before it needs to be changed.

Answer 2

As has already been said, when in doubt, change it. Too often will not hurt your engine, only your bank account. A good place to start is the owner's manual to see what is recommended for your particular vehicle. A good rule of thumb is go a little less than that to be safe.
Every bit as important as oil is the filter. Don't go buy those cheap $1.50 filters at walmart or autozone or anywhere like that. If you insist on buying those, change the oil no more than 3,000 miles. Get a good quality filter with "high capacity". That means they will hold more contaminants and not let them recirculate through the engine. Just paying more for a filter doesn't mean it's better. Do some research. The dealers will tell you their's is the best. They are good but not the best. Wix is one of the best and fairly easy to find. Napa stores carry their Napa Gold filter that is made by Wix. A dealer's brand of filter is a good substitute.
I use synthetic oil and a Wix filter and change my oil at about 10,000 miles.

Answer 3

Changing oil has become a real question, should I do it every 3-6-what.
Well hereis a little insite that you mostlikly dident know
The quickey oil marts( jeffy lug just lub) started that crap. These places started it and now got the hole place beleaving that crap.
The best thing is when the car maker says to. If your onstar says 9,500 thy should know. As you drive that figer might change, but for now it is the right thing to do.

Most car makers say 5-7000 depending on your driving condiction. If you live in a dusty place more often in less of a dusty place less often. In anycase check your mantaince book in the glove box if you have a new car and if the book is missing check with the dealer.
The only thing about the fast oil places that is good is thy do it for you and thy will get rich on your fears.
Trust the car maker not some lub joint

Answer 4

If you plan on keeping the car any length of time then I strongly reccomend what it says in the Drivers Manual. Its often a different number and less than what the dealer reccomemds (usually 3000 - 5000). Personally, I'm very religious about every 3000 miles, even if the manual says different. Oil breaks down through heat cycles and over time, in other words, it consistantly gets worse.

If you run synthetic you might be able to go longer but i wont get into that. I run synthetic and still change every 3000

Answer 5

Most manufacturers will tell you every 7,500 to 10,000 miles. But mechanics, whose judgment (if not ethics) I trust a whole lot more than the people who are in the business of SELLING you a new car (you know...when the old one breaks down because you didn't change the oil often enough?), say you should do it every 3,000 miles. I have always done this every 3,000 miles and I have a 10 year old Camry with 194K miles on it that is still going strong.

Answer 6

you should pull out the owners manual that normally comes with a new car. towards the back there should be a maintenance chart to tell you how often certain things need to done (oil, air filter, transmission fuild, etc.). while the car is under your factory warranty, you should follow all the recommended intervals of changing to insure that if something were to go wrong, your warranty will cover it because if they feel you neglected the recommended they can nulify your warranty. follow what the manual says at least while under the factory warranty!!!

more than likely, it calls for your oil & oil filter to be changed at 3,000 miles or 3 months. or maybe a higher mileage (like 6,000 miles) if alot of highway miles in a non-dusty/dirty environment.

Answer 7

Newer model cars can go longer and more miles between oil changes. How fast your oil's viscosity (the stuff that makes oil do what it does) breaks down depends on how much and how hard you drive your car. If the car's computer says 9,500 miles, then that's what i would do. Of course if you are more comfortable changing it more often, then that's not going to hurt anything either.

Answer 8

Those 9000 miles are for perfect driving conditions! Guess what? No one drives in perfect conditions. So change it every 3 months or 3000 miles

Answer 9

Many new cars have oil quality sensors, than enable more accurate service scheduling. Combined with synthetic oil, long service intervals are possible. Consult your owner's manual or your dealer for confirmation. 3/3000 is safe, but results in a lot of wasted oil.

Answer 10

Change the oil every 3000 miles unless you have synthetic oil in the vehicle. Oil is the life of the engine. I have a 94 chevy pu with 268,000 miles on it and no problems. Change the oil