Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The 3,000 mile myth? (car oil change interval)

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Topic: The 3,000 mile myth? (car oil change interval)

Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 09-16-2013 02:43 PM

The 3k change is pure bull shit, the engine oil manufacturers in the same ad will tell you how great their product is, then say it should be dumped ever 3,ooo and then say follow vehicle manufacturers suggested intervals.

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Marco Giustini
Film God

Posts: 2713
From: Reading, UK
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 09-16-2013 04:55 PM

What VW usually do is charge you an arm and a leg when the car is under warranty (you cannot take your car elsewhere or you'll lose the warranty) and then when the warranty has expired they'll come up with some special offer and ask you a reasonable amount of money.

I also know someone who went to VW for servicing, and refused the absurd quotation. At that point the service guy came up with a special discount reducing the price of something like 50%.

Personally I remember asking them not to fit the pollen filter, and they reduced the Service price by 50 quid. Now, an original filter costs £7 to me at VW. Replacing it is a matter of 45 seconds, which is something like £0.80 considering £50 per hour. What about the remaining £49.20? [Smile]

Sorry a bit OT!

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 09-16-2013 08:56 PM

When I purchased my current car (2008 Civic EX) I took it in at just over 3000 miles for the oil change. They would not change it. They told me to get the eff out of there, not to let the door hit my ass on the way out and come back when the oil change indicator lights. It seems to only light up at over 6000 miles after the most frequent reset. There is a percentage meter and it lights up at 15%.

Meanwhile my fiance in her same-year Nissan Altima routinely changes her oil ever 3 months or 3000 miles, whichever comes first. I guess if they come at the same time she has to change it twice on the same day.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 09-16-2013 10:28 PM

You guys pay HOW MUCH for an oil change? *boggle*

I only change the oil in my vehicle once per year since I drive so little (between 2 and 3000 km per year in total), but the last time I had the oil changed in my old Ford Ranger it cost me $43.44 plus taxes for a grand total of $47.64, which includes labour, the oil, oil filter and a refill of windshield washer fluid.

I haven't yet taken my new Ford Escape in for an oil change, but I don't imagine it will cost a lot more than that.

I always have the work done at an authorized Ford dealership, too, not a shade-tree mechanic shop.

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Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 09-17-2013 01:49 PM

Even with the 25,000 mile changes that Amsoil suggests the oil still get a slow turnover. Every engine out there will need a quart by 5 0r 6 thousand, then they still say to change the filter at manufacturers intervals, that means another quart. So by 25,000 miles the oil has probably been exchanged twice one quart at a time.

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Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 09-17-2013 04:35 PM

quote: Brad Miller
You forgot to address one critical component, her car was a Toyota. What was yours that you changed the oil in every 15K miles?

Currently, I also own a 2000 Mustang convertible and a 2003 Jeep Liberty. The only reason I took the Toyota is that it was free, and it gets more than double the gas mileage of my other cars. I figured I would use it to commute until it finally died, but it is now 3 years later and it is still running great.

After this Jeep, I will NEVER own a Chrysler product again. Poorly designed, poorly built, stylish but overpriced garbage. Among many other problems, it was recalled last January, and my dealer still can't obtain the part required from Chrysler. Never Again.

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Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 09-19-2013 06:52 AM

The 3000 mile thing for modern engines/oil is complete BS. General Motors has an oil monitoring system that has been used for many years. It monitors the engine temp, RPM and whatever other parameters contribute to oil degradation and tells you when to change the oil.

They did years of research and testing to make it accurate. They actually say it is conservative on when it tells you to change it. I have a 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche with this system. It uses non-sythetic oil. It has never told me it needed an oil change at less than 7000 miles. The one caveat is that they say to change it yearly at minimum regardless of the calculations since the oil ages. I have over 160,000 miles on the vehicle and it runs perfectly.

As for the dusty environment, change the air filter more often. Dust particles shouldn't really be getting through and any that make it into the oil should get filtered out by the oil filter.

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Marco Giustini
Film God

Posts: 2713
From: Reading, UK
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 09-19-2013 09:06 AM

I'm a bit puzzled though. I though that nowadays all the manufacturers required oil change every 10-20.000 miles. I can't remember last time I heard anybody replacing the oil in their car after less then 10k intervals.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-19-2013 11:38 AM

The oil change interval is determined depending on what manufacturer(s) you're dealing with. Oil companies of course want you to change oil as often as possible. Car manufacturers want to sell you on "low maintenance costs" and therefore will say you can go long periods between changes. But the dealers, who also have service departments (which is their top profit center) are caught in the middle.

I personally have been using a 5,000 mile interval for many years. I live in a dusty small town though, and almost all of my driving is trips under 2 miles ... if I was doing a lot of highway commuting I would probably go 7,000 miles or 10,000.

The "Car Talk" guys made a good point about this. They said that a lot of shady mechanics will point out that your oil is "dirty" after a few thousand miles and use that to encourage you to change it. But, if the oil looks dirty it's because it is doing its job and suspending particles of crud. And just because it looks dirty, doesn't mean it still can't hold more particles. If your oil has a couple thousand miles on it and still looks "clean" then you're either using the wrong oil, or you have lousy oil.

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 09-19-2013 01:26 PM

Yes, but. . . .

I once had an 1962 Buick Special with V6 aluminum block. The guy before me had NEVER changed the oil, only added. Starting at 60,000 miles, I changed the oil at 500 miles using cheap oil, After 4-6 changes, the oil started to look cleaner so I went to 1000 miles and better oil. Soon the valve lifters stopped making noise. Then 5000 miles. I put another 100k on that car. (The aluminum block had a bad reputation.) Louis

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Marco Giustini
Film God

Posts: 2713
From: Reading, UK
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 09-19-2013 02:15 PM

I've always thought that oil would get "dirty" after a short while, particularly on diesel engines. I don't think that is a reason to change it.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-19-2013 03:11 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
a lot of shady mechanics will point out that your oil is "dirty" after a few thousand miles and use that to encourage you to change it. But, if the oil looks dirty it's because it is doing its job and suspending particles of crud.

Right, that's why I said this:

quote: Mike Blakesley
a lot of shady mechanics will point out that your oil is "dirty" after a few thousand miles and use that to encourage you to change it. But, if the oil looks dirty it's because it is doing its job and suspending particles of crud. And just because it looks dirty, doesn't mean it still can't hold more particles. If your oil has a couple thousand miles on it and still looks "clean" then you're either using the wrong oil, or you have lousy oil.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-19-2013 05:37 PM

quote: Louis Bornwasser
I once had an 1962 Buick Special with V6 aluminum block. The guy before me had NEVER changed the oil, only added. Starting at 60,000 miles...

When I was a student in the early '90s, one of the people I shared a house with had a Volvo of late 1970s vintage, which her mother had owned from new and then passed on to her. Driving home for Christmas, it lost power suddenly, and she pulled over to the side of the road. She then smelt smoke, and got out ... just in time, because a few seconds later the thing went up like the Hindenburg and was completely destroyed.

The insurance company subsequently refused the claim, on the not unreasonable grounds that the car had never been serviced. My housemate's mother divorced her father shortly after the vehicle had been bought new. Prior to that, the father had taken care of car issues. The mother simply didn't know that cars needed regular maintenance (apart from putting fuel in it): she thought they were like fridges, i.e. you bought it and then used it until it died. It never had so much as an oil change ... in fact, as far as my housemate was aware, the hood had literally never been opened at any point between the times the car was bought and burned, apart from when it had its MOTs, all of which it passed with flying colours. Yet despite this, it lasted for 15 years and well over 100k miles. I guess they don't nickname Volvos Swedish tanks for nothing...

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-19-2013 06:32 PM

I just realized my post above makes no sense since I quoted myself twice. Just ignore the first quote and it'll make sense. This is what I get for Film-Teching while I'm supposed to be office-working.

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Joe Elliott
Master Film Handler

Posts: 497
From: Port Orange, Fl USA
Registered: Oct 2006

posted 09-19-2013 09:56 PM

I agree with Brad, it depends on the car. And also, moreso, the engine. It will be more tollerant if it engine is a iron block, vs an aluminum block. If you allow an aluminum block to endure too much heat, either from oil, bad timing, or improper cooling, its going to give you problems. You can abuse an iron block engine far more with out as many problems.

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