OT Who changes their motor oil at 3000 miles?

All the oil change places still put 3000 in the window sticker.

Reply to
Metspitzer
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Hmmm, I do every 10K Kms.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

My truck has a built in feature that puts a message up on the dash readout when it's time to change oil. The owners manual says that the message is based on a lot of things, including length of trips, temperature, and driving habits, and to change oil when I get the message, or at 7000 miles, whichever is sooner. The message typically pops up at around 6000-7500 miles.

The factory dealer's service department still puts on the 3000 mile sticker, though.

Reply to
ed_h

The manual for our '02 Chrysler 300M has two maintenance schedules:

7500-mile oil changes for "normal" driving, 3000 miles when trips are mostly short.

We've always aimed at 3000-mile oil changes, but we don't get too concerned if the intervals are somewhat longer. I don't think we've ever reached 4000 miles between changes.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

Haven't seen you in rec.autos.makers.chrysler in ages. What gives?

Reply to
Home Guy

Follow the $$.

If the manual says 7500 why do anything else?

Reply to
LouB

Recently, the guy I use started putting the stickers for 500 miles. I change at 7000 to 7500 though, just like the book says. Maybe in mid winter I'll go earlier, but at least half my driving is highway and 25+ miles trips.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Metspitzer wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I change mine every 3K-4K. And that's with Mobil 1.

Reply to
Tegger

Because if you don't change the oil more frequently if you do city/in-town driving only consisting of short trips where the engine oil doesn't get up to operating temperature for a good length of time, it breaks down much faster and does not do its job properly...

Not only does engine oil lubricate the engine's moving parts, it also acts as a medium to transmit heat from parts of the engine which are not near the coolant tubes...

It has nothing to do with the engine oil change military industrial complex wanting to stiff consumers out of money for more frequent oil changes at all... It is whether you want to have to pay for costly engine repairs or even replacement because you had broken down oil in your engine for about 1/2 it's operating life because you went twice as long between changes given your type of driving and any environmental conditions... You would want to change the oil at the 3,000 mile frequency if your driving environment is primarily desert or beach landscapes as you would want to rid the engine of any grit that gets past the air intake filter and not allow it to remain inside the engine to wet sand the parts and destroy things like oil seals and piston rings...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

I drive so little any more, I do it as much by time as miles- about every 8-10 months works out to every 4-5 k miles. Of course, the current two cars are the first ones where I am not adding a quart every month or so (knock on wood)- if you have a car that leaks or burns and keep adding fresh oil, you can stretch it a bit. 3k miles is 'because that is the way we have always done it' and a profit center, IMHO. Even Click and Clack say 3k is too often, with modern oil and engine systems, and unleaded gas. I do make sure to drive long enough and fast enough to get the engines fully heated up, at least once a week.

Reply to
aemeijers

"Evan" wrote

B S While you are correct for severe service, the oil change places just put that 3000 mile sticker on the car as they have been for 50 years. Under normal conditions, you can easily go 5000 to 7500 miles and not do any damage. Oils and engines have changed since 1960. I remember it was common to do rings and bearings on an engine at 50,000 miles. Those days are long gone.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Just a week or two back I posted there to advise somebody against buying a used Sebring if it had the same or similar Mitsushitty motor that was in our old Stratus ES. Other than that, there hasn't been much to write about there.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

Always changed oil on recommended schedule, not 3000 miles. Result NEVER had an engine problem, let alone failure, due to wear, or heat. Used car for commuting and around town. Oh yeah my experience is limited since I am only 71. Yes I would have changed oil more in tough environments, but most folks do not have that issue so most folks can ignore 3,000 mile BS.

Reply to
LouB

Manual will probably say change in so many miles/months. As a retiree who drives less than half the suggested miles in the time alloted, I usually change mine every 3,000 miles or 6 months. I recently had a situation where I asked for reimbursement of a known problem after the warranty period and all service records outside the dealer were requested. I don't save receipts but I do keep a service log book and my claim was allowed.

Reply to
Frank

On Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:02:32 -0400, Metspitzer wrote Re OT Who changes their motor oil at 3000 miles?:

I've been changing oil + filter every 5000 miles for the past 40 years on all cars in the family. Never had a problem. I've always used store-brand oil.

Reply to
Caesar Romano

I usually wait for my SUV (Saturn a.k.a. GM) to tell me its time (about

15,000 km) but the dealer puts a 5000 km sticker in the window (WTF)?

I was given 3 years bumper to bumper when I bought it, so the oil changes have been free. I plan on waiting until around 7000 km (about

1000 km before my B2B expires) to have it change before relieving on the oil life sensor again.
Reply to
Ned Flanders

Same with my Durango. Oil change light has been coming on around 7000 miles for the past three years. This last time, it came on at 3000. Driving patterns haven't changed - mostly highway. Wonder if one of the factors is total mileage on the vehicle? Doing it at 3000 gets expensive and unnecessary when you use a full synthetic.

Reply to
Robert Neville

Our '02 Chrysler 300M tells me when an oil change is due, but the interval can be set by the user for either 3000 miles or 7,500 miles. We always have it set for 3000.

Perce

Reply to
Percival P. Cassidy

Ok, now I have a different result. The last time I got my oil changed at Walmart they put a 3750 mile sticker on. That is the factory recommended interval for regular driving. If the driving is mostly highway it can go to 7500 miles. The car is a 2007 Nissan.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Gill

Uh, I think the oil gets to operating temperature in about twenty seconds.

I may exaggerate, but if I move the car - after being parked overnight - to the area where I'd like to change the oil, the oil draining from the pan is hotter than a biscuit.

Reply to
HeyBub

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