How Often Should an Oil Service Be Performed? Our Thoughts…

I had a 2012 Charger 5.7 hemi. After buying it I heard and read hundreds of stories about how the engine would rattle, eat cams, lifters oil pumps. I changed the oil every 6,000 miles using 5-20 synthetic Pennzoil. I used the Wix oil filter every change. Unfortunately the car was totaled by another vehicle. It had 176,488 miles on it. The quietest engine I ever had. No rattling, knocking or oil consumption issues. I did the changes myself! Trust issues. You maintain them and they will last.

Personally, I don't agree with the 7K interval. I have 4 Toyotas to maintain, I change the oil in them every 4,000 miles. That may be a bit early, but I go by the belief that oil and filters are relatively cheap, engines are not.

"Let's not go overboard and change every 3,000" That's me! I love a good oil change haha

Many newer car models are now turbocharged. These turbos spin at 80k to 100k rpm. The turbo's bearings are lubricated using the same oil from the car's engine. You don't need a crystal ball to predict what will be happening in the future when customers follow extended oil change intervals.

I agree 100%. I usually go half of the factory recommended mileage. The car I have now now is 10,000, I go 5,000. I consider the extra cost of the oil will be far less then the repairs you will do otherwise.

Agreed. I have been servicing my own cars for 25 years. And everything you said is true.

My 2007 Toyota Camry has over 411,000 miles on it. Always changed oil and filter every 5,000 miles and haven’t ever changed the transmission oil. It’s my daily driver putting 600 miles a week on it. Still going strong and might use half quart of oil between oil changes. Best car I’ve ever owned.

Great video. I am an aircraft mechanic and doing my own oil changes. ( on airplane you have to change on 50 hours….) I just follow the logic.

I prescribe to the 5k / 6months on full synthetic. I do this work for a living and see what happens to engines day in and day out for people who try and extend the oil service interval. I might enjoy putting motors in other peoples vehicles, but not mine!

i like the saying 'oil is cheap engines are not'

Here’s part of the ton of replies you predicted. I totally agree with you. Top quality, and top quality oil. One point you didn’t touch in, was turbocharged engines. They seem to be harder on oil, and should have oil changes done more frequently than for non-turbo engines. The turbo chargers stress the oil, mainly with heat. The Oil-Life Monitor on my 2.7L V6 Edge requests oil,changes at about the 5,000 interval. I comply with full synthetic oil.

I agree. Proper oil, wix filter every 5000. It’s not a guarantee on the motor but it’s the cheapest and easiest action we can take to get a good long lasting outcome.

I'm a non-pro DIY'er and I believe 5,000 is the absolute max I'll go on my fleet of about 12 cars (Family included). I do believe in high quality oil and filters as well, WIX is great and I also go to the dealer for OEM filters.I don't care what anyone else does, but I don't want gunk building in my family and friends engines. I want them to last 300, 000 or more miles, and they do. Thanks

I am 71. Yeah, old. I get it. I change my oil every six months. I buy the cheapest oil on sale. I sometimes buy more than I need if the price is really low. I been doing this for going on 55 years now. I am old. All my engines runs great. With the money I save, I take my honey out for a movie and a meal. Sometimes I take my wife!😅

This is one of the most controversial issues concerning car owners. You ask 10 owners when they should change their oil, and you'll get 10 different answers. Years ago, I was on an airplane flight and sitting next to me was an engineer who helped design one of the engines Ford uses. I asked him his opinion about this very subject. His answer was this: Follow the manufacturers maintenance schedule for your vehicle. He said, we designed the engine. We test oils, parts and have laboratories that specifically do this. He said to use the oil (weight and Brand) that we recommend. He said issues arise when people use off brands of oil, cheap oil filters and then start adding additives to the oil. Ever since then, I have been following his recommendation. I admit, my manual says to not let the engine oil change go past 10,000 miles. I do change it around 7500 miles and use the brand of oil the manual says to use. So far, so good. Thanks for the video!

I personally think it’s engine dependent. The ford f150 5.0 is a normally aspirated engine with close to 9qt oil capacity. I would be comfortable going 7,500-10,000 miles with full synthetic. On my Raptor I have a 3.5 eco boost with a 6qt capacity. I change the oil every 3,000 miles with AMSOIL 100% synthetic. I know that’s probably a waste of money but that’s what I like to do. I just feel a twin turbo engine with a smaller oil capacity should have the oil changed sooner than a NA V8 with a large capacity oil capacity.

I'm from Spain and last weekend did my Audi A7 3.0 TDI oil service. Manufacturer sais to do It every one year or 15k kms (9k miles) un fix intervals or 30k kms (18k miles) un longlife intervals. I do it every year and this year, with only 4k miles. Using Mann filter and Amsoil 5w30 LS European Car Formula. If You're take Care of your Car, your Car will take care of you and your pocket

Great discussion Wiz. Fully agree that these intervals are ridiculous. I sat in on a GDI class this weekend that talked manufacturer credits toward their epa scores based on cost of maintenance. By having further in-between intervals the "cost" of maintenance is lower so they can get more credits for not X amount of mpg's required by EPA

An absolutely superlative video. I own a 2008 SAAB 9-5, bought new for $17,000 in 2012 as a leftover after GM cut them loose. It now has 135,000 miles. I live in Manhattan and do a lot of stop and go driving. Since new I change my Mobil 1 0w-40 and Mann filter every 3000-4000 miles. I buy my filters in bulk. They run about $6.00 each. I buy my oil at Walmart for $22.97...and more often than not with a $10.00 rebate. I bring the oil and filter to my indy SAAB Master Tech, and he charges $25.00 to do the change. So I basically pay--at the most--$220 a year for oil changes. Per 3000-3500 miles, I don't burn any oil whatsoever, and that's on a turbocharged engine. On a side note, since new, with parts, labor, preventative maintenance, fluids, tires, suspension and exhaust, I've spent $5,300...or $378 per year. That's pretty good over 14 years. So even if a major repair happens, I will still pay to have it fixed. A timing chain job is about $700. Turbocharger is $750. Rebuilt transmission is $1,400. Sure beats buying a new car for $40,000.

I built a Chevy 350 engine 36 years ago. It has hundreds of thousands of hard miles on it today and still works perfect. I change the oil once a year and use Mobile One synthetic.