Oil change every 3000 mi excessive?

Question

I have a 2006 Altima 2006 3.5SE and the owner's manual recommends oil changes every 3000 miles but also says that every 7500 miles is ok under some driving conditions. I put around 9000 miles a year on the car mostly in slow rush hour traffic. Do I need to get the oil changed every 3000 miles or is 7500 ok?

I'll add another question to this one. The owner's manual also recommends premium fuel. Is regular or midgrade good enougn?

Answer 1

Since slow rush-hour traffic creates a ton of gunk, go for the 3000 mile change...it'll extend the life of your nice car. The "some driving conditions" mentioned for the 7500-mile oil change must be on another planet--or gentle interstate cruising perhaps. Invest now or pay later, that's the Word of The Automotive Gods.

Answer 2

No it isn't,,i own a repair shop ,,and we do all the oil changes around 3-3500 miles unless it,s synthetic oil,,on that stuff you can easily go 6-7000 miles,,it is recommended that you run it at least that long,,but then it cost more too,,but 3000 is a good point to change it at,if you was to go over a little it wont hurt it as long as it is full,,and don't get too bad dirty,if you live on a dusty road you need to change it every 3000,,because engines have to breath,,and they can take in dust,,we do at least 15 -20 changes a day here,,and we try to remind people to keep track of there mileage,,i hope his help,s.

Answer 3

The automakers put a short mileage cycle on oil changes in hopes of keeping the engine running well without problems.

A couple of years ago, Consumer Reports did a test on oils for their magazine. They made a deal with a NYC taxi firm which operated all V-6 Chevrolet Caprice taxis. Each taxi had its engine torn down and carefully rebuilt to start the tests of the various oils. Oil changes were performed with different oils and varying mileage intervals to obtain validated results.

I was surprised at the results. When all the test vehicles had their engines dismantled to check for wear, it was found that ANY oil brand meeting the specifications worked well, and that precious little wear occurred on ANY of the engines unless their oil change interval exceeded 7500 miles.

That's the result from some of the most severe driving conditions available.

Make your decision from there.

Answer 4

Slow rush hour traffic is very hard on the car and engine. I would change every 3k as recommended, especially if it is still under warranty.

Under normal driving conditions (highway, suburban, or rural driving), 3k mile oil changes can be excessive. The proper way to determine if it is excessive, is to send to oil in for analysis. There are several different criteria for the oil to reach the end of its life.

Regarding premiun fuel: Would you mind a slight loss of power? Using regular or midgrade will force the engine to use a less agressive timing table, reducing the amount of power available. It does this to prevent engine damaging detonation.

Answer 5

I think you could push your LOF to every 7500 miles if you stick with high quality synthetic motor oils like AMSOIL or Mobile 1 but stick to the octane grade recommended by your owner's manual. Octane grade is a function of the your engine's compression. The higher the compression ratio, the higher the Octane needed to support proper fuel mixture combustion.

Answer 6

My suggestion is that if you want the engine to last a long time change the oil every 2,000 miles and use valveline milti-grade 10-30 detergent.And use a machanics trick by putting a magnet on the oil pan by the drain hole plug and it will hold any metal shaving to that area of the plug until you change the oil.But remember to remove it and then put it back on each time the oil is changed.

Answer 7

you can go past the 3 k limit with the oil changes if most of its city driving,or not in dusty or dirty conditions,and the car should run exceptionally well on mid grade or maybe even regular,but on the oil id suggest changing it at least every 4500 miles,and it will be fine,today's oils hold up a lot better than the oil you could buy ten years ago they have spent a lot of money on research to make it last longer,good luck with it hope this helps.

Answer 8

Oil is the lifeblood of your engine. 3,000 mile oil changes is not excessive in my opinion. Don't forget the filter. My cars are always accepted as good "trade-ins" because the engines always check out perfect...and that's after 150,000 miles. I use "regular" and have never had a problem. I change my fuel filter every 50,000 miles to avoid fuel problems. I change my air filter when it gets dirty. Do these maintenance things regularly and your engine will last longer than you will.

Answer 9

Although 9k miles a year is not much, the type of driving you do is hard on a car. I'd stay close to the 3k mile intervals suggested.
Try regular grade gas - if there is no pinging or engine knock, it's fine.

Answer 10

I have a Honda and the dealership only recommends oil changes every 5,000 miles. I have gone 8,000 miles with no problems also.