How often should you get a car's oil changed?

Question

I have a 2003 Toyota Corolla. It has about 48,000 miles on it. How often as the car gets older is it necessary to get the car's oil changed?

In the past, I have been trying to get the oil changed every 3,500 miles or so.

I do both highway and city driving. Lately, its been mostly highway because I drive 60 miles roundtrip to/ from work and its all highway.

Answer 1

Stick with your 3500. Personally i use synthetic (personal preference - a little better for the engine up to about 80k miles or so) I am very religoins abou changing every 3,000. you cant to damage changin too often, but you can but not doing it enough.

update: i just saw ed's post below. i would assume he gos through a lot of cars... or sells them

Answer 2

Look, what matters is the amount of oil in the engine more than when it was last changed The wear from old oil is nothing compared to what happens when it runs low. So if you do nothing else just topping up the oil will avoid a breakdown (never trust the oil warning light but if it comes on, ****!) I change the oil about once a year which is always a good feeling To save money I don't bother changing the oil filter. My theory is if the engine's that bad then a new oil filter won't do any good ;) Checking the gearbox oil is worth doing on a new car or after repairs in the drivetrain. So if you miss oil change is nothing, as long as level is enough in the engine. Change every 6,000 miles or every year, costs £10 / $20 to do this yourself

Answer 3

it depends on the driving conditions
how many miles you have on the engine
new vehicles should go 5,000-7,000 miles before the first oil change
after that i would go 5,000 everytime until it gets older and higher mileage then maybe 3,000 miles

what is the main purpose of the vehicle
racing
mud bogging
everyday stuff like grorcery shopping , dropping kids off at day care, taking kids to school , going to work

well like you said though mostly highway driving
thats better than city driving it is easier on the vehicle.

but, i would say every 5,000 miles.

Answer 4

With the age and low mileage on your car, apparently you are doing it right. 3500 is ok as long as you check it every 1000 miles or so. Many manuals indicate 5-6000 is ok, but if you do that be sure you change your filter each time. At 3,000 filter change every other time is fine. Great car, take care of it and you can pdut 200000 miles on it.

Answer 5

around 3500 miles is good. Unless you beat up your car and drive long distance a lot, then 3000 miles should be good. You can't go wrong changing your oil between 3000-4000 max miles.

Answer 6

Keep with your current interval 3 months or 3,000 miles has always been the norm. If you use synthetic oils you can do 5 months 5,000 miles. But once you go synthetic you have to stick with it

Answer 7

Dont believe the 3K miles hype. I had a 90 Ranger, and I would regularly go 5K,6K even upto 9K miles per change. I have over 170K miles on it and it runs great(other than my power steering seized up and the truck is currently down).It starts up first try, idles great,....well wait, I do have a leak in the oil pan...so I am constantly putting in new qt. of oil every week or two...so i guess it does get an oil change in a sort of way....anyways...the newer synthetic oils hold up better than older oils...now it is every 7K miles they say to change your oil.

Answer 8

Check the owner's booklet. Follow the schedule there. Changing the oil too often can damage an engine too. Today's oils have detergents in them to keep the engine cleaner. Changing too often cam erode seals and other perts inside the engine.

Answer 9

Stick with the 3500 schedule, oil is cheaper then cars.

Answer 10

oil is like gas , you dont have to put more in untill you run out