battle between hubby and wife:Does needing the oil change have anything to do with gas milage?

Question

Me and my hubby are back and forth on this, he needs a oil change on his car it's about 300 miles over from when he should of gotten one, he says the gas milage is bad because he hasn't gotten the oil changed yet, i say the oil change has nothing to do with gas milage...who is right?.....

If it has nothing to do with the oil what else could be causing his car to have low gas milage?..it's a small effeciant car, doesn't hold much gas...but it used to have better gas milage..any suggestions on how to help increase the gas?

Answer 1

Sorry can't help on this - I have never driven a car!
Just to say though - you seem to have a great relationship and those little arguments are fine -honest : it will "oil" the realtionship (ha ha - but *really*!).

Answer 2

there is nothing sacred about oil change intervals. I've read that 5,000 miles is tops for longevity on regular oil, it loses it's good qualities after that much. Again, much may depend on the type and age of car which can affect the oil.
Just because the car is over 300 miles past the "recommended" change interval, doesn't mean the gas mileage is just suddenly going to drop off. On the other hand, some vehicle engines have VERY tight clearances, and do require a rigid maintenance schedule. So depending on the car, it COULD be losing mileage by being past the manufacturer recommended interval.
Personally, you'd have to prove it to me with some mileage runs, before and after an oil change, as to whether it could affect it enough to notice it that much. I'd say only 1 or 2 mpg would suffer for most cars. It could STILL suffer damage, and if the engine is lagging due to poor lubrication, it could suffer bad gas mileage as a result. So, best thing you could do to resolve this is do an internet search on your make/model of car, and gas mileage based on maintenance issues. Good luck!
- The Gremlin Guy -

Answer 3

You are on this one....Oil change really has very little to do with gas mileage. Unless you've never changed the oil and the engine is all gummed up with sludge. A couple hundred miles over will make no difference. For better gas mileage, try a fuel system cleaner additive ( I like Sea Foam brand) to clean the fuel injectors. If the car has more than 75,000 miles on it, changing the spark plugs could help (the electrodes do wear away and the gap of the plug becomes greater over time). Higher mileage than 75k.... I would also change the spark plug wires. Properly inflated tires, and running them 4-5psi over recommended pressure will also increase mileage, because it reduces the rolling resistance of the tires.

Answer 4

thats kinda tricky. If we are talking about this one oil change then the answer is no.
Now a lifetime of going over 5000 mi (3000mi if youre in stop go traffic all the time) that will start to wear down the motor which will affect your mileage.
If his car has just recently started getting poor mileage I'd start with checking the tire pressure. That is the biggest culpret ... next he might consider his air filter is getting old and probably his fuel filter as well.
Once again friction from oil losing its viscosity isn't going to cause a noticeable drop in fuel mileage over the distance of one tank of fuel (300 mi) But that isn't to say that oil changes aren't important.

Answer 5

It's a microscopic difference at best. Dirty oil increases internal engine friction, which forces you to mash the pedal further. But the damage that dirty, broken-down oil does to your engine far outpaces the microscopic decrease in fuel mileage. If he ignores oil changes, I would bet he also ignores tire pressure, spark plugs, spark plug wires, and the air filter as well. A dirty air filter can kill your mileage, the same way stuffing a dirty sock in your mouth and making you run a mile will make you pass out. Low air pressure does the same thing to your car that dragging a 90 pound bag of sand does to you. Bad plugs and wires give you a weak spark, which doesn't ignite the fuel properly, and you end up dumping less-than-completely-burned fuel out the exhaust. Those are the things that kill your mileage, not a late oil change. Late oil changes are what kill the motor.

Answer 6

Yes, changing oil can help gas mileage, because a well maintained engine runs better than a gummed up one. Although I don't think going 300 miles past the due date is going to effect performance enough to matter. I'm as fanatic as anyone about changing oil on time (every 2000 miles is my goal), but I work, so I overshoot on occasion, and sometimes by a helluva lot more than 300 miles!

Answer 7

in extreme cases when you go a long time(maybe 12K or more), YES. when most people, wrongfully have the idea that you need to change the oil every 3 or 4 thousand mile. Going over 300 miles is not bad at all. Oil changes are really only needed about every 7K. The 3K or three month thing is an oil and auto industry scam. Even auto industry kinda admits it when they set their oil life computers in cars to 7K.

Answer 8

You are, in Europe their very efficient small cars go 15,000 km between oil changes, thats almost 10,000 miles. Regular oil changes help to prolong the engine life but have little to do with gas mileage. Using synthetic oil might give you 4-7% better mileage, thats about it.

Answer 9

The car doesn't know it is 300 miles past due an oil change, but your husband does.
Unless the oil has been in there for 50,000 miles and is more like sludge than oil, it shouldn't make a difference.

Answer 10

The reason for oil change is the same when you change the filters on your aircon or water purifier. Dirt in the engine will slow the pistons and affect the combustion. This will lead to lower gas mileage. An oil change forces one to check on the oil lubricating the engine. One lady I know who did not bother to check almost run dry of engine oil!

Answer 11

if you are only 300 miles over then no it doesn't effect the gas mileage. However if you don't get it changed for ever and your oil is to thick and dark it can cause your engine to be slugish and then cause it to get bad gas mileage because the lubrication is causing your motor to work harder.