"Stop Changing Your Oil"

[fishnowworknever]

Copied from edmunds

Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you'd never know it from the quick-change behavior of American car owners. Driven by an outdated 3,000-mile oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of dollars and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil.

Although the average car's oil change interval is around 7,800 miles — and as high as 20,000 miles in some cars — this wasteful cycle continues largely because the automotive service industry, while fully aware of the technological advances, continues to preach the 3,000-mile gospel as a way to keep the service bays busy. As a result, even the most cautious owners are dumping their engine oil twice as often as their service manuals recommend.

After interviews with oil experts, mechanics and automakers, one thing is clear: The 3,000-mile oil change is a myth that should be laid to rest. Failing to heed the service interval in your owner's manual wastes oil and money, while compounding the environmental impact of illicit waste-oil dumping.

Scared Into Needless Service

Part of the blame for this over-servicing lies in our insecurities about increasingly complicated engines that are all but inaccessible to the average driver. Pop open the hood of a modern car, and a mass of plastic covers wall off the engine. On some vehicles, the only thing an owner can easily access is the oil cap.

"Vehicles are so sophisticated that oil is one of the last things that customers can have a direct influence over," said Matt Snider, project engineer in GM's Fuels and Lubricants Group. "There's maybe some feeling that they're taking care of their vehicle if they change their oil more often."

The 3,000-mile myth is also promoted by the quick lube industry's "convenient reminder" windshield sticker. It is a surprisingly effective tool that prompts us to continue following a dictate that our fathers (or grandfathers) drummed into our heads: It's your duty to change your oil every 3,000 miles — or your car will pay the price. But as former service advisor David Langness put it, the 3,000-mile oil change is "a marketing tactic that dealers use to get you into the service bay on a regular basis. Unless you go to the drag strip on weekends, you don't need it."

Because busy car owners seldom read their owner's manuals, most have no idea of the actual oil change interval for their cars. And so they blindly follow the windshield reminder sticker, whether it's an accurate indicator of the need for an oil change or not. "I just go by the sticker in the windshield," one well-to-do, educated Denver Lexus owner said. "Otherwise, how would I know when to change it?"

A career Navy mechanic who bought an Edmunds.com long-term car just shrugged when he was told that the vehicle had safely gone 13,000 miles between oil changes. "I'll just keep changing the oil every 5,000 miles," he said. "It's worked well for me in the past."

Our oil change addiction also comes from the erroneous argument that nearly all cars should be serviced under the "severe" schedule found in the owner's manual. In fact, a quiz on the Web site maintained by Jiffy Lube International Inc. (owned by petrochemical giant Shell Oil Company) recommends the severe maintenance schedule for virtually every kind of driving pattern.

The argument that most people drive under severe conditions is losing its footing, however. A number of automakers, including Ford and GM, have contacted Edmunds data editors to request that the maintenance section of Edmunds' site substitute the normal maintenance schedule for the severe schedule that had been displayed.

About the only ones that really need a 3,000-mile oil change are the quick-lube outlets and dealership service departments. In their internal industry communications, they're frank about how oil changes bring in customers. "Many people...know when to have their oil changed but don't pay that much attention to it," said an article in the National Oil and Lube News online newsletter. "Take advantage of that by using a window sticker system [and] customers will be making their way back to you in a few short months."

Another National Oil and Lube News article tied the frequency of oil changes to success in pushing related products and services. For a midsize SUV, the stepped-up oil change intervals will bring in $1,800 over the life of the car, the article says. "A few extra services [or oil changes] can go a long way toward increasing the amount of money a customer will spend during the lifespan we estimated here," the article concludes.

Today's Oil Goes the Distance

While the car-servicing industry is clear about its reasons for believing in the 3,000-mile oil change, customers cling to it only because they're largely unaware of advances in automotive technology. Among 2010 models, the average recommended oil change interval, based on a normal service schedule, is about 7,800 miles — more than double the traditional 3,000-mile interval. The longest oil change interval is 20,000 miles, for all Porsches. The shortest oil change interval is 5,000 miles in some late-model Toyotas, but the carmaker has begun shifting its fleet to 10,000-mile oil change intervals using synthetic oil.

"Oil has changed quite a bit and most of that isn't transparent to the average consuming public," said Robert Sutherland, principal scientist at Pennzoil Passenger Car Engine Lubricants. Synthetic oils, such as the popular Mobil 1, are stretching oil change intervals, leaving the 3,000-mile mark in the dust. "The great majority of new vehicles today have a recommended oil change interval greater than 3,000 miles," said Mobil spokeswoman Kristen A. Hellmer. The company's most advanced synthetic product (Mobil 1 Extended Performance) is guaranteed for 15,000 miles.

Today's longer oil change intervals are due to:

Improved "robustness" of today's oils, with their ability to protect engines from wear and heat and still deliver good fuel economy with low emissions

Tighter tolerances (the gap between metal moving parts) of modern engines

The introduction of oil life monitoring systems, which notify the driver when an oil change is required and are based on the way the car is driven and the conditions it encounters

For 2010 vehicles, 14 of 35 carmakers are now using oil life monitoring systems. One GM car driven by Edmunds went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change. We sent a sample of that oil to a lab for analysis. The results showed the oil could have safely delivered at least another 2,000 miles of service.

Oil experts and car manufacturers are solidly on the side of the less-frequent oil changes that these formulation changes make possible. "If customers always just stayed with the 3,000-mile recommendation, there'd be these great strides in the robustness of oil that oil companies have made [that] wouldn't be utilized," said GM's Matt Snider. Consumers, he said, would be "throwing away good oil."

Chris Risdon, a product education specialist for Toyota agreed, adding that oil technology advances that permit fewer changes are a tool to protect the environment. "If you're doing it half as much, that's 5 quarts of oil times 1.7 million vehicles a year — that's a tremendous amount of waste oil that's not being circulated into the environment."

Waste oil is a problem exacerbated by too-frequent oil changes, according to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, which has campaigned against the 3,000-mile dictate. The agency says that 153.5 million gallons of used oil is generated in California annually, but only 59 percent of it is recycled.

Our Fit Gets Taken for a Ride

To see what might happen to the average car owner, we took a 2007 Honda Fit to Jiffy Lube for an oil change. The car has an oil life monitoring system, and the system has recommended the past two oil change intervals at 5,500 miles and 7,600 miles on non-synthetic oil. In both cases, an engine oil analysis revealed that the oil could have provided at least another 2,000 miles of service.

On this occasion, we told the Jiffy Lube service advisor we were considering synthetic Mobil 1 because we heard it could extend our oil change intervals. The service advisor said the synthetic oil could enable the Fit to go 4,000 or 5,000 miles before the oil "burned out." The Mobil 1 oil change had a price tag of $92.39. The technician also took the opportunity to upsell us, recommending a cabin air filter for $49.99. The total for our visit, after a $15 coupon, was $132.72.

When the car was returned to us, the sticker in the window called for an oil change in 3,000 miles, not the 4,000 or 5,000 miles the service advisor had promised.

If we were foolish enough to follow Jiffy Lube's 3,000-mile change schedule (which is essentially the advice given by all quick oil change outlets and dealership service departments), the Fit would undergo four unnecessary oil changes per year (assuming 15,000 miles per year of driving), wasting $369 and 15.2 quarts of perfectly good oil. Over five years of the car's life and 60,000 miles of driving, this would amount to $1,847 and 125 quarts of wasted oil. This does not include other "upselling" items at each visit, such as cabin air filters.

Defending the 3,000-Mile Interval

The quick oil change industry justifies its perpetuation of the 3,000-mile standard by saying that most people drive under "severe" conditions. Jiffy Lube's quiz, mentioned earlier in this article, is one example of how that notion is reinforced in drivers' minds. An oil change company representative said the 3,000-mile recommendation is meant to be just that — a recommendation.

Scott Cudini, innovations manager for Jiffy Lube, repeatedly called the 3,000-mile interval a good "fallback position," meant to be a guideline but not a hard-and-fast rule. He added that Jiffy Lube technicians would initiate a "dialogue" with customers about the oil change intervals that apply specifically to their cars.

"In most cases," Cudini said, "even if customers' cars have been plastered with that 3,000-mile sticker, they may have been told by the service advisor that, 'By the way, Sir/Madam, your interval is 5,500 miles.'" Based on our experience at Jiffy Lube and other quick-change outlets, technicians rarely initiate dialogues that could provide accurate information about oil change intervals. In fact, according to a Jiffy Lube spokesperson, the system for supplying technicians with answers only gives them information from a vehicle's severe schedule.

The quick-change industry's deep fallback argument in favor of frequent oil changes is that they are a hedge against trouble. You can't hurt your engine by changing your oil too often, so doesn't that imply that it might actually help it? Well, no.

Steve Mazor, manager of American Automobile Association's Research Center, said that more-frequent-than-necessary oil changes will not "gain any additional life for your engine or any improved fuel economy." He added, "In reality it will make little or no difference to the performance of the vehicle."

The Right Time To Change Your Oil

So where does this leave the car owner who was raised on the perceived wisdom of the 3,000-mile oil change? For a full discussion, your next stop should be our related article, "When Should You Change Your Oil?," which will save you hundreds of dollars over the next few years and fully protect your car and its warranty, while limiting the use of a natural resource.

The short answer, meanwhile, is to consult your service manual or Edmunds' maintenance section to learn your car's actual oil change schedule. If your car has an oil life monitoring system, don't try to second-guess it. Understand how it works and follow its guidelines. To probe more deeply into this subject, consider sending a sample of the oil from your next oil change to a lab such as Blackstone Laboratories, for an inexpensive analysis. Our last suggestion? Rip that sticker off your windshield.

[Jeremy airjer W]

This topic has come up several times over the years.

I disagree with so many things about this article I don't even want or have the time to start!

[fishnowworknever]

My F150 manual says to check/change oil every 5000 miles and the truck is almost 8 years old.

I'm not doubting your expertise, but it's somewhat hard to argue against this statement:

"One GM car driven by Edmunds went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change. We sent a sample of that oil to a lab for analysis. The results showed the oil could have safely delivered at least another 2,000 miles of service."

This article is over 2 years old as well.

[brian6715]

I had a 99 chevy prism that I changed the oil on about every 20,000. Drove the car from 90,000 all the way to 165,000... never had to turn a wrench on it. I sold it to some kid and I still see it on the road today (2+ years later)

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

There is some valuable information in this, but also some questionable advice as well.

Engines, oils and filtering systems have come so far since the old "change every 3k" mentality. As mentioned, the vast majority of manufacturers are 5-10k oil change intervals. They aren't going to tell you to do something that is going to knowingly reduce the life of your engine.

I've done everything from 3,000-20,000 (high mileage synthetic) intervals, and I've never had an engine problem. On my Ecoboost'ed F150, I am following the oil monitoring system, as designed by Ford, and as directed by Ford in the manual to do. It is around 10,000 miles. Again, they aren't going to tell you to do something that is going to knowingly reduce the life of your engine (or increase probability of warranty claims).

The other side of the coin is the "Quickie Lube's" of the world who have a vested interest in telling you to change your oil 3x's as often. The only time their cash register rings is when someone gets their oil changed.

[bobbymalone]

Something else to think about might be hours on the engine...Not that I have an hour meter on my honda.

But most of my driving is back and forth to work. It's about 30 miles but that equals about an hour and half of engine running a day.

[rundrave]

"One GM car driven by Edmunds went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change."

with GM quality and craftsmanship these days I would be hard pressed to rely on anything GM "says" their monitoring systems monitor

This is an interesting subject, I have a hard time not changing my oil in my Tundra every 3000 miles instead of 5000.

For whats its worth in my opinion if the manufacturer says 10,000, your mechanic may say 5,000, Quick Lube express says 3,000; your friend says.... honestly, you are the only one that can answer your question as only you know and define your own comfort level

[fishnowworknever]

That's true rundrave - I have been changing mine every 3,000 - 3,500 but after reading this and hearing it else where...I checked the owners manual and sure enough - every 5k.

I'm going to start changing every 5k, I know what type of oil I put in since I do it myself and feel comfortable knowing the manufacturer recommends that interval.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Everything from engingeering, to engines, to oil quality, may be the best thing ever, but a contaminant is still a contaminant and once it's in the oil, it's in the oil.

I'll stick to my old school Earth contaminating mindset and change mine between 2-3000 miles, when I remember, and it's a decent day, and I'm sober, and I have nothing else to do.

[delcecchi]

Eric, what contaminants are you thinking about? If the engine has less blowby and burns cleaner doesn't that mean less contamination in the oil? Why drop the price of 3 twelve packs for no good reason?

[BartmanMN]

My Honda Minivan at 3000 is clean. My 2000 1500 Sierra is pretty gross at 3000. I'd say it depends on the vehicle if you can wait longer or not.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Del, I see where you're coming from and I totally agree, a couple of 12-ers are darn important. However, less blow-by doesn't mean no blow-by. Cleaner burning doesn't mean 100% contaminant free. The acids, granted they're less, are still there and doing their dirty work on important things like cylinders and valve stems and rings, all of which have tighter clearances.

To each their own, I'm not here to tell anybody else what to do, I'll still contaminate the environment every 2-3000 or so miles.

Besides, the newest car I have is my wifes 06 Malibu. Bought it with 30k on it. Every oil change after I got it the oil's black. Same goes with all my other vehicles, it's black when I drain it.

[fishnowworknever]

I'd have to agree, if your oil is dark after 3000 miles I would be changing it at that interval, Eric I bet if you took that oil to a white paper towel it'll be a dark or translucent brown not black...at least I hope it's not black that ain't good unless it's a converted diesel.

My wife's car I'll still change every 3k, but if I can save a few bucks over the year by getting an extra 2k out of my oil changes on the truck...I'll take it...and buy beer.

[Scott K]

My biggest issue with extended services, is, NO one checks their oil anymore! At 3000 miles, you would be surprised on the vehicles that come in with just a quart or 2 left in it.

If the majority of people went 10,000 between oil changes, it would be much bigger then the cash for clunkers, as to removing vehicles from the road. Because, people have gotten to accustom to never opening the hood to their cars. Add gas, and go, thats all.

[Macgyver55]

My biggest issue with extended services, is, NO one checks their oil anymore! At 3000 miles, you would be surprised on the vehicles that come in with just a quart or 2 left in it.

Same here, and sadly I'm sometimes guilty of it myself. I'm pretty vigilant with all of my vehicles when I first get them, but once you see they dont use oil, or learn how often to check them I get a bit lax. Problem is the older they get the more they should be checked.

Its hard to do, but I have upped my interval to 5000 miles just because thats when I rotate my tires. My oil monitor usually has about 25% left when I do it though.

[1968]

My biggest issue with extended services, is, NO one checks their oil anymore! At 3000 miles, you would be surprised on the vehicles that come in with just a quart or 2 left in it.

If the majority of people went 10,000 between oil changes, it would be much bigger then the cash for clunkers, as to removing vehicles from the road. Because, people have gotten to accustom to never opening the hood to their cars. Add gas, and go, thats all.

Coudn't agree more, I never see open hoods at the gas station anymore. Sold a couple engines so far because of these kind of articles. Also, I would never go long interval without oil analysis or at the least, a high quality synthetic oil. Even on vehicles with oil life monitors. There isn't some magic oil quality sensor, it's a software based system.

If you encounter lots of dusty conditions or burn E85, extended changes aren't doing you any good.

[Whoaru99]

The color of the oil is not a reliable indicator of lubricating properties nor harmful level of contaminants.

[Whoaru99]

Lack of sound maintenance education isn't a good reason to unnecessarily change the oil.

Fix the problem rather than keep the box of Bandaids open.

[Whoaru99]

Even on vehicles with oil life monitors. There isn't some magic oil quality sensor, it's a software based system.

You're right, there is no magic oil quality sensor. However, the engineers have done the magic assessments for you and programmed the software accordingly. Some systems are quite basic, turning on the indicator every X miles. Others, like in my Impala, monitor operating conditions and adjust the oil change alert accordingly.

[Scott K]

Lack of sound maintenance education isn't a good reason to unnecessarily change the oil.

Fix the problem rather than keep the box of Bandaids open.

What problem? It is normal for a car to burn a quart per 1000 miles, smaller 4cyl engines hold, 4 qts. Most cars on th road hold between 4-6 quarts. So if your car used 1 qt per 1000, you put on 5000 miles, what oil does it get to use then? Unless you add more!

[1968]

Being able to move a freshly oiled(used)shop towel with a magnet is! Seen it..

On many OLM intervals I've done, the oil coming out smells just like the inside of prematurely damaged engines I've dealt with. Timing chains, as they have gotten far more complex can really take a beating. VVT and cylinder canceling systems also react badly to poor oil quality/quantity.

I'm not saying extended intervals can't be done, but I wouldn't do it without a lab report to back it up.

In the end, I don't care. It's your car, do what you want.

[Whoaru99]

Lack of sound maintenance education isn't a good reason to unnecessarily change the oil.

Fix the problem rather than keep the box of Bandaids open.

[Whoaru99]

Being able to move a freshly oiled(used)shop towel with a magnet is! Seen it..

I don't understand the point of this.

[1968]

Yeah, I didn't state that well.

Okay, had an overdue change. Used a paper shop towel to insulate my hand from the filter. The rag got soaked. Then I noticed sparkles. I couldn't lift the whole towel, but I could lift a corner.

This was an extreme case, but I see sparkles coming out on many extended changes. No lab needed there.

[Whoaru99]

Then I'd say there is something going wrong in the engine, whether or not it's related to long interval is speculative.

If you change every 3k, for example, you might not ever see sparklies to the degree you do in oil that's been in longer, but that doesn't necessarily mean the wear isn't at the same rate...just doesn't show a clearly on almost new oil.

I've run up to 20K changes in my 1994 K1500 on synthetic. Never once noticed any sparklies. I'd put its smoothness of running and lack of oil consumption against anything else with 220K miles on it whether you changed oil at 3K or whatever.

As you said, it's your car, do as you see fit. However, don't knock a good opinion about oil change interval just because some people don't have enough sense to check the oil level on occasion. "I didn't know I had to check the oil." certainly has to be in the top 10 or top 5 most lame excuses of all time.