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Old 09-21-2014, 11:36 PM
 
17,380 posts, read 14,911,744 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140 View Post
On our 2014 Escape Ford recommends changing it when the Vehicle Health Report says to, or the message comes on. The oil life is based on miles, time, and driving conditions as stored by the computer. I run the report 2-3 times between changes and so far have always changed it at 7,500 despite the report showing the life still at 30-35% at that point. Probably would go 10,000 but I just can't bring myself to wait that long. And that's regular oil, not synthetic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts View Post
My 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo SS goes about 10K between oil changes. The car tells you when it needs to be changed. Why waste $60+ every 3K when you really can go 10K? So 19K really isn't as insane as it sounds unless you're talking about a clunker from the 80's. And the Monte takes a blended oil. Every the 2010 Dodge Journey I just traded in would go between 5K and 6K. Again, the car tells you when it's time.

That 3K is not set in stone. That's sooooo old school thinking. My dad's been a mechanic for well over 40 years and never had me change my oil every 3K even when I started driving in the 90's because it wasn't needed since I did all highway driving.
My '05 Colorado has the "Oil Life Monitor".. When it was new, it told me to change the oil after 16k miles.. I was (and am) doing it at between 5 and 75 hundred miles.

The problem with the oil life monitor is that it resets if battery power is lost. That could be due to a dead battery.. Could be due to the shop disconnecting the battery during diagnostics/repairs..

There's just too much leeway that can happen with the monitors. So, I stick to a mileage schedule. Of course.. I've had at least one quick lube place refuse to change my oil because they said there was water in it.. How did they determine this? Rust on the dipstick. As anyone familiar with the Colorado engines will tell you.. That's not unusual for them (And, not unfamiliar for a number of vehicles).. The rust is due to condensation.

While I certainly don't buy into the 'every 3k miles'.. I do have the mindset of there being no such thing as changing the oil too frequently. Short of increasing the odds that one of the quick lube guys might forget something important during the oil change.. Like.. you know.. Putting in new oil. Which happened to someone I know.
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Old 09-22-2014, 12:39 AM
 
Location: Texas
5,717 posts, read 18,769,054 times
Reputation: 11222
Avantiguy, A couple of pluses and a couple of minuses for your friend. The plus side, mostly hiway driving is a lot easier on an engine if it's running correctly. It doesn't make the contaminants that a stop and go engine sees. It doesn't see as many heat cycles that a town driven engine will generally see. There's the pluses. The minus side, the oil, regardless of conventional or synthetic, is going to shear. When it shears it loses viscosity or starts to get thin. Then it goes thru what is called oxidation. Oxidation causes the oil to get thick. Both conditions weaken the oil and can get to where the fluid doesn't lubricate as per design/formulation. What a lot of folks don't understand is that the additive package will be used up. Yes, in spectroscopy the additve package will flash and LOOKS like it's still there performing function but that's not real. It no longer is performing function as it's used up. It kinda like putting 10,000 soldiers on the field in a war. Let's say 5000 get killed and there are 5000 bodies laying on the ground. There's 10,000 soldiers still there, some are used up but still there. Spectroscopy is going to show all 10,000 soldiers.
The additional wear this engine is going to see is from additive depletion AND corrosion. If the oil was synthetic, especially corrosion will be an issue. Synthetics do absolutely nothing for seals and corrosion. So they use a tackifier to keep the oil on the parts. Once the tackifier is toast from extended use, the oil runs off of the parts when the engine is not running. That leaves the engine open to corrosion and dry start ups. Once the seal swell agents are used up, the seals will start to get hard and driven long enough, will be toast. So yes, there's damage in the engine. How much will be determined by how much of it was highway speeds, the general condition of the engine when this started, and the additive package of the oil used. But there is damage. At 100,000 miles, I would be looking for another car if the owner has the money to get one. Otherwise, it's a toss of the dice. Had the old oil been tested with a ferrography test and particle count, you could have said exactly what the conditions were in the oil. But since that's gone, the exact amount of of damage is an unknown, but there is damage.
Monitoring Oil Degradation With Infrared Spectroscopy
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Old 09-22-2014, 01:46 AM
 
Location: Hawaii-Puna District
3,752 posts, read 11,454,353 times
Reputation: 2481
Way back when... my 1984 Porsche 928S had factory oil change intervals of 15,000 miles. It only was to take Mobil 1 and had an oil filter the size of a quart mason jar. It also held something like 8 quarts of oil.
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Old 09-22-2014, 06:10 AM
 
2,126 posts, read 3,551,162 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Labonte18 View Post

..................The problem with the oil life monitor is that it resets if battery power is lost. That could be due to a dead battery.. Could be due to the shop disconnecting the battery during diagnostics/repairs........................................... ..................



While I certainly don't buy into the 'every 3k miles'.. I do have the mindset of there being no such thing as changing the oil too frequently...............................
On the family Hondas the oil change monitor is not reset by a battery disconnect. I don't think it is on most vehicles.

When fresh oil is put in a car there are certain volatiles released that attack the catalytic converter. Unnecessarily frequent oil changes reduce the life of the catalytic converter.

Don in Austin
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Old 09-22-2014, 07:51 AM
 
865 posts, read 2,145,100 times
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Yes - Hondas don't lose the maintenance minder when the battery is removed or goes dead.
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Old 09-22-2014, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Raleigh
13,629 posts, read 12,250,555 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Avantiguy View Post
As for me, I am old school and still get the oil changed every 3,000-4,000 miles. My car is a new GM and it uses that new Dextrol blend but old habits die hard for me when it comes to timely oil changes.

And, as Annuvin summed up pretty well - I don't buy used cars either.
Seriously, "Every Three Months or Three Thousand Miles" should go down in the annals of great advertising/upselling slogans with "Do you want fries with that?" "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and "Good to the very last drop." 5000 miles is a perfectly safe interval for normal driving on conventional motor oil.
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Old 09-22-2014, 08:57 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,715 posts, read 30,999,856 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mire View Post
If it's his money, and it gives him peace of mind, why do you give a ****?
Because this is an internet message board and we get to express our opinions - just like you are doing.

Oil changes every 3000 miles are among many things a waste of natural resources. Both to produce the oil and the recycle it. There is no evidence that it extends engine life in modern vehicles.
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Old 09-22-2014, 10:07 AM
 
680 posts, read 1,027,935 times
Reputation: 392
I friend of mine who works at a Nissan dealership told me that this kind of thing is very common with their buyers. It's a shame because Nissan is a good car when maintained. I'll never buy a used one without the service history. He says that he sees Maximas come in for service at 45,000-50,000 miles that have obviously never been touched.

I am kind of surprised that my new Subaru has 7500 mile oil change intervals. It feels wrong but I'm going to follow the guidelines. I put full synthetic Mobil 1 in my Silverado and I would always change it at 6,000- 7,000 miles when the reminder light came on.
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Old 09-22-2014, 10:27 AM
 
4,833 posts, read 5,674,419 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tigerphan View Post
I friend of mine who works at a Nissan dealership told me that this kind of thing is very common with their buyers. It's a shame because Nissan is a good car when maintained. I'll never buy a used one without the service history. He says that he sees Maximas come in for service at 45,000-50,000 miles that have obviously never been touched.
What's his idea of never been touched. As long as oil has been changed regularly I wouldn't be too concerned. Original air filter may concern me a bit but those are usually 30K intervals so not too bad.

All other maintenance items would be done later anyways especially with newer cars (coolant, tranny fluid, spark plugs, etc)
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Old 09-22-2014, 10:38 AM
 
680 posts, read 1,027,935 times
Reputation: 392
Quote:
Originally Posted by IShootNikon View Post
What's his idea of never been touched. As long as oil has been changed regularly I wouldn't be too concerned.
That's his point. They see a lot of people who obviously haven't done any maintenance at all....including oil changes....until something actually breaks.

He says that they see it with Maximas and Sentras a lot. Rarely on the pickups or SUVs. Different maintenance philosophy I guess.
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