Oil changes and driving

[KillerCharlie]

So I've driven about 2350 miles since my last oil change (just drove across the country) and have been too busy to get it changed. I was going to go somewhere tomorrow (about 40 miles of driven) but just realized that I had driven so much. How bad is it to drive 400 miles after the recommended oil change time? Should I not even go tomorrow on the drive?

I don't know much about cars

 

[EyeMWing]

Uhhhhhh. "Recommended" is 3000 miles. Not 2000. Even the most agressive oil-change services don't recommend less than 3000 miles.

And changing at 3000 miles is usually wholly unneccessary. My oil lasts 5000+ miles (thank god).

 

[Shortcut]

best to check your user's manual to confirm. the interval depends on what car you drive. for hondas, i think the manufacturer recommends changing the oil every 5-7k miles.

 

[tvbi]

used to do at 3k ..now 4.5k-5k

 

[DaWhim]

you should factor how hard you drive on those oil. cross coutnry is nothing...

 

[altonb1]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you should factor how hard you drive on those oil. cross coutnry is nothing...

Most of the recommendations are at 3k miles. HOWEVER, if you drive on long trips (over 10 miles, I think) when you drive the car and do very little stop/start conditions, you can stretch it to 7500 miles.

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

Who told you that you needed to do 2000 mile oil changes?

You're good to go for 5k on dino oil with any modern car, and even longer if you're doing mostly highway driving (and I assume you didn't cross the country on back roads).

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: altonb1

Originally posted by: DaWhim
you should factor how hard you drive on those oil. cross coutnry is nothing...

Most of the recommendations are at 3k miles. HOWEVER, if you drive on long trips (over 10 miles, I think) when you drive the car and do very little stop/start conditions, you can stretch it to 7500 miles.

Manufacturers haven't recommended 3,000 mile changes in decades. Hell, back in '88 the manual for my old Accord specified 7,500 mile change intervals. That said, I still use a 3,000 mile interval on my older cars. The Mustang gets a 5,000 mile interval because it has free oil changes for life from the dealership at that interval (which is also the interval specified in the manual).

The 3,000 mile oil change interval is overkill, but it can't hurt anything and it's cheap insurance.

ZV

 

[KillerCharlie]

Typo - it's been 3350 miles. A lot of it was through the mountains, so some of it was pretty hard. It's a 99 Taurus with the regular/cheap oil.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
Typo - it's been 3350 miles. A lot of it was through the mountains, so some of it was pretty hard. It's a 99 Taurus with the regular/cheap oil.

Don't worry about it. It's no big deal.

ZV

 

[Stonesoldier]

LOL 3000 mile thing is a gimick to get you to change your oil more often

5k-7k miles is about right or 3 times a year if you drive very little
just make sure to check the fluid level to make sure its toped off

my last toyota (91 pickup ) had 400K on the engine before i sold it
still ran great did oil changes around 7000 miles
never had a single problem

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
Typo - it's been 3350 miles. A lot of it was through the mountains, so some of it was pretty hard. It's a 99 Taurus with the regular/cheap oil.

Through the mountains is harder than flatlands highway cruising, but it's still MUCH easier on the engine than city driving.

You'd almost certainly be fine with 5k intervals...so don't sweat 3.3k.

 

[RGN]

check your user manual, it should give the intraval in there. If it doesn't 3K is the norm and you are not close yet.

 

[Eli]

You can, of course, do whatever you want.. But remember that a solid highway trip like that is the easiest on your engine/oil.

It's not necessary.

 

[TG2]

I always do 5000 mile changes in the cars and motorcycles, I take the used oil out of the car (Mobil 1) and put it in the lawn mower or snowblower depending on time of year.
- call me crazy !

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: TG2
I always do 5000 mile changes in the cars and motorcycles, I take the used oil out of the car (Mobil 1) and put it in the lawn mower or snowblower depending on time of year.
- call me crazy !

Uh, that's the most retarded thing I've ever heard.

Small engines like the type found on lawnmowers are much, much harder on your oil than the typical automobile engine.

Then again, 5,000 miles may be conservative, so the oil could have a good bit of life left in it.. but still, that's just silly.

A mower takes less than a quart of oil, and that quart of oil will last the season. No such guarentees with used oil.

 

[Svnla]

I change my oil and filter around 5K miles. It is easier to remember. If you don't drive in stop and go conditions and short mileage <10 miles, then 5K schedule is good enough.

A high quality filter and good oil are better than change the oil more often IMO <if your driving conditions are as stated above>.

 

[I Saw OJ]

That whole 3000 mile thing has been around since way back when some cars didnt have oil filters and you NEEDED to change the oil that often. 5000 or 6000 miles on a modern engine is not a problem at all. Hell I got around 4500-5000 miles between changes in my Cobra and when I do change it, its still just about as clean as fresh oil when it comes out.

 

[DivideBYZero]

The M3 goes for between 10 and 15 thousand before a change based upon driving style. Even my GF's service indicator says 'service in 17,536 miles', but then her car is 244HP short of mine...

 

[Captante]

I change the oil in my current car (Corolla) approx every 5000 miles & thats the way i've been doing it for quite awhile, however my 1986 Toyota pickup used to go 12-15k all the time between changes & the engine ran perfectly for about 250,000 miles, at which point I sold it for $500... only replaced the clutch on it once too.

The body on the other hand was a disaster... the entire outside of that truck looked like crumpled tin-foil & the front body parts were held together with duct-tape! (Used as a NYC package delivery vehicle)

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
The M3 goes for between 10 and 15 thousand before a change based upon driving style. Even my GF's service indicator says 'service in 17,536 miles', but then her car is 244HP short of mine...

Your M3 also comes with synthetic oil from the factory, IIRC

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: TheLonelyPhoenix

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
The M3 goes for between 10 and 15 thousand before a change based upon driving style. Even my GF's service indicator says 'service in 17,536 miles', but then her car is 244HP short of mine...

Your M3 also comes with synthetic oil from the factory, IIRC

Well, it has a running in fluid for the first 1200, then long life fully syn at every change. It is cheaper to run than my Impreza was, which is funny.

 

[B00ne]

What is it with the US and oil changes?

Here oil change intervals are usually 1 year or 10k miles (sometimes even 19k miles). And the engines here certainly have to endure more wear than the average engine in the US...

I understand changing it more often is better than changing too late - 3000 miles however, sounds very frequent. If you change that often you definately dont need expensive oil...

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
So I've driven about 2350 miles since my last oil change (just drove across the country) and have been too busy to get it changed. I was going to go somewhere tomorrow (about 40 miles of driven) but just realized that I had driven so much. How bad is it to drive 400 miles after the recommended oil change time? Should I not even go tomorrow on the drive?

I don't know much about cars

I am currently at about 5,200 miles after my last oil change. My car probably hates me.

Who knows, maybe they recommend 3,000 when the actual figure is 7,000 - but research shows that people will go 2-3,000 miles over the recommended figure no matter what. So saying 3K miles just makes sure that people won't do 10K miles without a change.

Small engines like the type found on lawnmowers are much, much harder on your oil than the typical automobile engine.

Heh, yeah. The manuals on some of that stuff recommends changing the oil like every 50 hours of use. The gasoline generator here recommends checking the oil every.....think it's every 5 hours.




B00ne - interesting to hear that. Is that opinion widespread in Europe?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: B00ne
What is it with the US and oil changes?

Here oil change intervals are usually 1 year or 10k miles (sometimes even 19k miles). And the engines here certainly have to endure more wear than the average engine in the US...

More wear? How so?