5k mile oil changes in spite of oil life indicator still showing plenty left

[DylanM]

The shop that changes my wife's oil in her Transit Connect ALWAYS puts 3000 miles on the sticker, no matter the vehicle or oil type, but they told me we could do it every 6000 when using synthetic. So why not put 6000 on the sticker??

Because if you adhere to their printed recommended interval, putting 6k on the sticker would mean the shop would only do half as many oil changes and thus get half as much income.

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[MCMXLI]

I did my first oil change ~200 miles. After sitting on the lot for 10+ months it felt criminal to not replace it.

 

[Hootbro]

The shop that changes my wife's oil in her Transit Connect ALWAYS puts 3000 miles on the sticker, no matter the vehicle or oil type, but they told me we could do it every 6000 when using synthetic. So why not put 6000 on the sticker??

Maybe they thought it would be a "Severe Service" schedule since most Transit Connect vans are used commercially.

 

[Lost1wing]

At risk of being labeled the black sheep, I change my oil at every 10k miles. I have 400k motors that still do not burn oil and run fine. I have on Ford 4.6l that was showing some wear issues rthe the timing chain. That was more of an overheat induced from a teenaged driver. I could say that I have half the dry starts than those who change at 5k. That momentary lack of oil pressure is no big deal, but I agree a coating of fresher oil is probably a better choice a this point.

Now if I tow a long distance or go on a long trail ride, I'll change the oil right away, if I'm nowhere near my 10k interval. I go back to the x0,000 on the odometer to keep track.

I don't think of a 5k interval as a waste though. Between my wife and I, we put on 5k miles per month. And with all the other equipment I try to keep up with, 10k intervals keep me busy.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I did my first oil change ~200 miles. After sitting on the lot for 10+ months it felt criminal to not replace it.

Mine sat on the lot for 13 months, then went straight to 10k before the first change.

And another 10 before the next one lol

 

[starrskream]

I changed my oil at 500,1000,3000,5000 then every 4-5,000 or of the life reads 50% or lower(whichever happens first). Oil life indicator has never seen below 40% in the 20k miles I’ve owned it.

cheap insurance to be sure. It also helps my dealer often runs specials where you get several oil changes, rotations and an inspection for around 200$
Currently they have a buy 3 get one for 1$ tire sale, any tire!

 

[whiteglad]

I also go for 5K mile changes with full syn 0-20 that meets MS6395 Mopar spec. I figure that clean oil is better than dirty oil.

 

[Redfour5]

I just can't bring myself to run the oil much over 5k. I just changed it again, with 5,200+/- on it while the oil life indicator was at 41%. Anybody else stuck in this mindset? The whole "it's cheap insurance" thing is something I've subscribed to with all of my vehicles. But in this era of rampant inflation, I"m considering extending service intervals on everything but I seem to have a mental block on this, especially with this particular Jeep.

If you can afford it and you should since you bought it, do it. Whenever you watch or read about these vehicles with hundreds of thousands of miles on them, virtually every time, the people did this kind of maintenance. And what the heck, you need to rotate the tires anyway and if you don't or no longer do your own work (me old the latter) why not? And if you do your own work, 3K.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

If you can afford it and you should since you bought it, do it. Whenever you watch or read about these vehicles with hundreds of thousands of miles on them, virtually every time, the people did this kind of maintenance. And what the heck, you need to rotate the tires anyway and if you don't or no longer do your own work (me old the latter) why not? And if you do your own work, 3K.

Idk, whenever I see someone whining about their cam failing out of warranty, it's always, I changed the oil, every hour with only the finest synthetic unicorn horn infused lubes.

My Ram went 445,000 miles with 10k oil changes and year fuel filters, no other maintenance.

My Grand Cherokee went 285k with 10 oil changes, no other maintenance, and was running fine when I sold it.

My Silverado, 270,000 miles, 10k oil changes, no other maintenance, running fine when I sold it.

My Fj Cruiser, 210,000 miles, 10k oil changes, no other maintenance, running fine when I sold it, although I had to block the guy who bought it from the dealer I traded it at, because he was an anxious wiener.

There's absolutely no evidence that changing oil early for funsies, prevents any problems.

 

[Riverdog]

These things take oil? I thought they ran on gas.


This argument never gets old. I used to work on motorcycles in the 90's and we always said using cheap oil every 2500 miles was better than fancy oil and running it 5k miles. But that was more about getting debris out of your oil. I'll admit that now that everything runs synthetic and costs so much more I'll go 5k on jeeps, 10k on my Mercedes diesel van, Motorcycles I change every spring regardless of miles and then again in the summer if I do at least 10k miles on that bike.

You can say it's not necessary and show an example of a car that ran for 100k on the same oil, and you can find cases where it helps. Bottom line it doesn't hurt (except maybe your wallet and the environment) I don't trust anything the dash computer tells me.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

You can say it's not necessary and show an example of a car that ran for 100k on the same oil, and you can find cases where it helps.

You literally can't find any case that it helps.

There are no scientific studies on this.

No, dozen identical engines run in differing conditions with differing oil and maintenance to determine which last longer.

It's 100% people basing off their feelings. "I don't trust that there brain box making decisions for me"

 

[Riverdog]

Then don't change your oil bro. It's all up to you.

 

[Gizmo]

I do once a year which is about 3500 miles 45% OL and rotate tires same time using Wix filter and PUP motor oil

 

[Redfour5]

Idk, whenever I see someone whining about their cam failing out of warranty, it's always, I changed the oil, every hour with only the finest synthetic unicorn horn infused lubes.

My Ram went 445,000 miles with 10k oil changes and year fuel filters, no other maintenance.

My Grand Cherokee went 285k with 10 oil changes, no other maintenance, and was running fine when I sold it.

My Silverado, 270,000 miles, 10k oil changes, no other maintenance, running fine when I sold it.

My Fj Cruiser, 210,000 miles, 10k oil changes, no other maintenance, running fine when I sold it, although I had to block the guy who bought it from the dealer I traded it at, because he was an anxious wiener.

There's absolutely no evidence that changing oil early for funsies, prevents any problems.

" There's absolutely no evidence that changing oil early for funsies, prevents any problems."

I agree changing oil every hour is NOT necessary. But when is? I prefer and can afford to change it more often than my handy dandy oil change monitor says in my Jeeps and Rams. I can afford it. FiveK is usually the ballpark for changes along with tire rotation, but I"m not obsessive about it.

It can't hurt. And for every one of your examples there are examples after tear downs where the mechanics note lack of maintenance including oil changes...even in newer engines... Those electronic things aren't God's either. Good engine preventive maintenance is shown to improve performance and longevity of engines if only by the examples of poor maintenance and failure as a generalization.

One sight state's: "It’s a popular belief that frequent oil changes are necessary to maintain your car’s engine. However true this may be, “frequent” is a relative term that depends on individual factors such as vehicle usage, driving habits, and environment. Contrary to popular belief, no one-size-fits-all number of miles for an oil change exists. Rather, it’s best to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for oil change intervals, which are tailored to each specific vehicle, and understand your own personal driving habits, the climate and geographic area you live in, and the type of oil you use."

I do this but it works out for me since I'm there anyway for tire rotation to do it.

 

[Charles 236]

Back in '86, I bought a new Silverado with the 305 4bbl. engine. I traded a '77 PowerWagon with a 440 in on it, so there was a huge difference in power. When I realized how weak the 305 was, I came up with a solution: kill the 305, then have my friend at the dealership swap in a 400. I drove the break in oil over 10K miles, occasionally running the truck at full throttle in first for a couple of miles. With the high gears, that was over 60 mph. I TRIED to kill it, neglecting the oil changes for over 10k miles, beating it like a red headed step child. It wasn't strong enough to break itself, and it refused to have a lubrication related failure. If I had wanted it to never fail, it would have died the first time I missed that 3,000 mile oil change.

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