Oil Changes...

[doc1]

Originally Posted by azloafer

I plan to trade my car in as soon as I reach the end of the 36,000 mile warranty so I put synthetic oil in at the first change and I'll never change it again!

Thanks for the heads up.

[jdavid93225]

I put a lot of miles on many of my vehicles. All of them have received regular oil changes when new, but after a few years and many miles, I tend to become lax in changing the oil as regularly. I had a 1995 Geo Prizm that I purchased new, and probably changed the oil regularly for about the first 180 to 200 thousand miles. After that, the car started to burn a little oil, so I topped it off, but didn't keep changing it as often. After about 230K, I pretty much stopped changing it, only adding more oil when needed. I think I did change it around the 250K mark, when the timing belt broke and needed to be replaced. It continued to run until it reached 281K miles, when it finally died. I took it to a mechanic who tore it down and said it was a problem with a piston rod, but upon my own inspection, I couldn't find anything wrong with the bottom end. I ended up giving the car to a mechanic that used the parts to fix a car for a single mom that I know. He used the bottom end from my engine and put it into her car, and it lasted for quite a while longer, until she had an accident that wrecked the car. From what I could tell, the problem I had with the engine was either a problem in the head, or in the exhaust system, not a rod as I was quoted by the first mechanic. I don't know what he was thinking!


I now have a 2005 Chevy Colorado Pickup that has an oil life indicator that tells me when to change the oil. The first few oil changes I did around 5000 mile intervals, but after about 30K, I started relying on the truck to tell me when to change the oil. I do use synthetic oil, and am confident that it will lubricate the engine properly. I do not exceed the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval, as indicated by the oil life indicator. Sometimes (usually), the interval is 12 to 13 thousand miles. This system determines the interval by how hard the engine is used and the number of starts and stops that are made. I drive mainly highway miles, often 100 miles or more at a time, so the engine is not abused, does not get warmed up, just to cool off a short time later, and is not over-revved. I have nearly 100,000 miles on the truck now, and it is running as well as ever, and I am planning to keep it for at least another 150,000 miles.

[southernlady5464]

Automakers extend intervals between oil changes

Actually

GM ditched its oil change recommendations. "It's dangerous and wasteful to prescribe an oil drain interval," says Charlie Freese, a GM engineer. "You'll change it too early or too late."

Liz