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Granted I grew up when my dad changed the oil & filter every 3-5k with conventional oil and since we have synthetic oil now I normally go 7-8k between changes but my Scion calls for synthetic oil and 10k changes! I'm temped to get an oil sample mailed off at abou 8k because 10k mikes between changes really takes some getting use to! What do you all think about 10k between changes?
Even conventional oils have made improvements by leaps and bounds over the last generation. Manufacturers (I work at a GM dealer) have modified their required service intervals to reflect the changes, with the most pronounced change being the oil life monitor on many vehicles today. Let the vehicle tell you when to change it, not the Jiffy Lube sticker. Whether that's 5k or more, it's definitely longer than it was.
The only problem with the new system is it doesn't know that you're running synthetic, as it's simply calculating crank revolutions and engine hours; but it's a fact that we waste millions of barrels of oil because our mindset hasn't changed from yesteryear.
This has been topic of hot debate on the VW forums that I frequent. Oil analysis at varying intervals points to the fact that 10k oil changes are just fine.
I have a 2012 Focus with a recommended 7500 mile oil change interval. It has an oil life monitor but after 9k on the last oil change I changed it myself. Even with fully synthetic I get concerned with environmental contaminants in the oil. I'd rather spend a little more on oil than to have to put a new engine at 90k miles.
Whatever the manufacturer says is what should be followed. Oil and engines have improved significantly such that oil change intervals can be longer without damage.
My Cayenne says to change the oil every 15k miles. They revised that figure with the newer models, saying to change it at 10k. I always changed mine at 10k anyway. However, the oil capacity is a hefty 9 liters, so the oil isn't being abused as much as it is in a car with 5 liters for example.
Most cars can go 10k with no problems with synthetic oil. Sports cars with high rpm limits or turbocharged engines, I still recommend 5k changes, no matter what the manufacturer says.
Our 2008 Honda Odyssey has an oil life service minder & it seems to use around 7,500 miles as the baseline. We've had absolutely no engine problems....the car runs very strong at 61k miles.
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Oil change
