"Stop Changing Your Oil"

[fishing tech]

As a Ford tech for nearly 30 years I have always change my oil at 3k or less. My preferance. My truck which only gets used for fishing or camping gets changed twice a year. spring ang fall. I put about 2500-3500 a year on it. My Taurus with 187,000 gets changed now when it needs a quart which is about 4-5000 miles.

Here is the deal. My wife's car. Fusion. Salesman tells her you don't have to change your oil for 7500 miles. I called him an i d i o t to his face. so my wife's sticker gets put at 3000 miles and I hope she says something before 5k.

I don't have engine problems, when oil gets dirty, filters get plugged and can by paas which means no filtering.

So I have an 01 f150 with 75000

a 97 expedition with 233000

am 01 focus with 166000

99taurus with 1870000

09 Fusion with 680000

[Macgyver55]

So I have an 01 f150 with 75000

a 97 expedition with 233000

am 01 focus with 166000

99taurus with 1870000

09 Fusion with 680000

680,000 Miles on an 09 seems a bit hard to believe. Thats an average of 465 miles a day 7 days a week for the life of the car. (assuming its 4 years old)

That would be a 5000 mile oil change about every week and a half.

I'm thinking you maybe meant 68,000?

[CAMAN]

1.87 million on a 99 is kinda unrealistic also me thinks.

[JOHNBIGDOG]

HA HA I bought a 05 Five hundred limited AWD, with 250,000 miles on it, I have since put on 10K miles. 3K oil change baby...... Now the traveling salesman that owned it before, I dunno.

My TDI jetta, oil change interval is 10K, I will change oil at 5k thank you very much. And I will drive it like I stole it till it dies.

Honestly, there are a lot of high mileage vehicles that leak or use oil and the owners do not mind to check the oil level periodically. I am GUILTY myself. I usually use my better judgement on the oil change interval, 3-10k

It still boggles my mind with fords new oil life algorithm they use: 6.7L diesel, oil change interval is 10K or 1 year(?) Or when the oil change message comes on on the dash. So honestly I don't put stickers in the window on these vehicles.

Darn it I got sucked into this "leaking" match.... If everyone opened there owners manual and read it, this wouldn't be a problem. They would know that the oil change interval is X miles AND the difference between "normal" and "severe" operating conditions. People assume to much. (again I am guilty) So is not the service industry ripping the general public off, it is the public ripping them selves off.

My Jetta Is my first "newish" vehicle I bought it used with 20K on it. I read that owners manual, for the most part, front to back. When I service it I will open the book, read what needs to be done and do it. I will use discretion when needed.

This is the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends....

[Macgyver55]

1.87 million on a 99 is kinda unrealistic also me thinks.

Ha I missed that! Maybe he has a sticky 0 on his keyboard!

[CAMAN]

Ha I missed that! Maybe he has a sticky 0 on his keyboard!

Honestly I don't believe any of those numbers.

I mean come on...100k on a FORD?!?

That should rustle some jimmies. LOL

[Jeremy airjer W]

I mean come on...100k on a FORD?!?

[MontanaMax]

Had a 1994 suburban that I sold at 178,000 to a buddy who still has it with 275K, and my 2003 suburban just went over 158K. I changed regular to synthetic at 500 miles on each. Oil change every 7500 miles or sooner if alot of mountain driving in 4 low, but changed filter every 3.5K, on recommendation of my mechanic. These engines still work like brand new (broken in), burn no oil and have no drop off in power. Mechanic says you could go 25K on today's synthetic if you regularly change oil filter, so I take it changing the filter is the key.

[fishing tech]

1 to many zeros on the Fusion and Taurus. Sorry about that.

[shizzy]

Had a 1994 suburban that I sold at 178,000 to a buddy who still has it with 275K, and my 2003 suburban just went over 158K. I changed regular to synthetic at 500 miles on each. Oil change every 7500 miles or sooner if alot of mountain driving in 4 low, but changed filter every 3.5K, on recommendation of my mechanic. These engines still work like brand new (broken in), burn no oil and have no drop off in power. Mechanic says you could go 25K on today's synthetic if you regularly change oil filter, so I take it changing the filter is the key.

I had a beat up Dodge neon that burned through 5 quarts in 3K Miles so all I ever did was spin a new filter on it every 5K miles.

[fishnowworknever]

Can you imagine if we started putting factory recommended service mileage stickers in the window and started having all the customers coming in with locked up engines. Who do you think there going to blame? Certainly not themselves! It's our fault they ran out of oil!

[LwnmwnMan2]

I've been advocating longer intervals for years.

On some the lawn mowing forums there are guys that say they change oil on their mowers at every 50 hours.

If I did that I would be changing oil every 7 days.

I change the oil in my mowers 2 times per season. 1 time after spring cleanup, 1 time after fall cleanup.

I have 2,000 hours on my mowers with no issues.

On my trucks, we change oil every 10,000 miles, no issues and they either have a trailer on the back, or a plow on the front.

[crothmeier]

Have an '07 Impala I've had since almost new. At 160,000 miles the engine went. Dropped a valve into #3 cylindar. I changed oil every 3k miles. Upon taking the engine apart there was alot of unusual wear in a few spots unrelated to the valve dropping. Call this bad luck. I use synthetic now in the new engine, as well as my '08 silverado and change every 5,000 miles. Oil looks decent yet at 5,000 and the oil life monitor is usually around 40% remaining. I'm comfortable with this.

[Whoaru99]

You must drive almost all (relatively) long duration highway miles on the Impala. The OLM in mine typically reads considerably lower than 40% as 5,000 miles approaches.

[flyfisher03]

One thing I learned while working as a parts person is the synthetic oils themselves do not break down. What does break down in them is the detergents. I worked with a guy who had an early 2000's Dodge caravan, used synthetic, changed the filter and topped off the oil whenever he did an "oil-change" about every 5k, sent in an oil sample to the oil manufacturer and that was it. He never had an issue with the engine.

It all comes down to whatever you are comfortable with and how much you want to spend.

[crothmeier]

Whoaru, Mostly highway with minimal stops. In-Laws live 5 hours away. I work 25 miles from home and thats a one-stop county road drive round trip monday-saturday.