Oil Change

[jimlj]

Do any of you have a Ford with the intelligent oil life monitor? Do you trust it? My 2014 Edge will let me go about 9,000 miles between changes.
I know the oil of today is much better than the oil was in the early 70's when I changed the oil "every 3 months or 3000 miles, which ever comes first".
I just looked online and the Ford site said the monitor said it would remind me when to change oil based on my driving habits, and would remind me no matter how many miles I drive after a year between changes.

[runfiverun]

a lot of the newer vehicles will monitor the oil and give you a life percentage left for the oil.
I don't believe oil is good for 9-K miles it just picks up too much 'stuff', especially in a newer engine.
4-5,000 'easy driving' miles I buy for many of them... but.

[Skunk1]

Our '15 jeep has it. Use full synthetic in it as that's what the dealer uses. Supposed to change oil every 10,000 miles but I change every 5,000.

[jcwit]

Use one of the High Quality filters such s the Fram Synthetic filter and use synthetic oil like Mobil 1 or Penzoil Plus and you are good to go for 10,000 miles.

From the Fram sight:
FRAM ULTRA SYNTHETIC™ Oil Filter
For drivers looking for top performance from newer engines and maximum protection for older vehicles. Ultra Synthetic is engineered to be paired with synthetic oil and provides proven protection up to 15,000 Miles.<sup>1


Take a look here for more info regarding all aspects of oil, more than you'll ever need!

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php</sup>

[DerekP Houston]

yep, i follow the honda maintenance minder guidelines and its usually 7-8k miles between changes. All synthetic oil.

[Reddirt62]

With synthetic oil there is less wear, less wear means less "stuff" and therefore it lasts longer. 3k/3 months was a construct of the quick change industry...I suggest following manufacturer recommendations. I will day it won't hurt to do it early. 35 years as a diesel mechanic taught me a thing or two....😊

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[rancher1913]

the wifes new toyota oil change schedule is 10,000 miles.

[lylejb]

Oil is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy is what I tell my customers. The thing is, you can get away with murder......for a while. Where it catches up with you is later, after the warranty has expired. Personally, I change mine at 5k miles.....but I've only been doing it for a living for 25 years. I just shake my head at the thought of a 12k or 15k oil change.

[marlin39a]

I've been using Mobil 1 full synthetic for over 30 yrs. I change every 5000 miles. My last engine went over 300,000 miles before I sold the truck. That was 4 yrs ago, and that truck is still in use.

[country gent]

I always liked the hevy equipments Hours @ xxxx rpm over miles traveled. 3000 miles at 35 mph is easier than 3000 miles at 70 mph since the engine is working harder at higher rpms.

[LaPoint]

I subscribe to lylejb's theory. What does it cost to have your engine replaced or overhauled? Even at $35.00 for Mobil1 and a filter oil is cheap. I still do my own oil changes because I like to and I get a good look at the under side of my vehicles.

[Houndog]

Oil minders are fine IF you run the engine under the exact perimeters the computer program calls for. They DO NOT do an oil analisis on the fly. Why take a chance? I run my oil 5K miles and use top tier oil and filters exclusively! I may be spending a little extra for early oil changes but the extra engine life more than pays for it.

[brass410]

I agree with regular oil changes. Even with the monitor each vehicle operates under different conditions. few if any operate under "Ideal conditions " Oil wether synthetic or regular usually does not "wear out " more often than not it becomes fouled with various contaminents from fuel and engine operation etc which immediately begins to affect the oils ability to do its job. If you want to keep the horse for a long time you are well advised to take good care of it. After all you did pay several thousand dollars for it, and an oil change is mere pittance price to an engine rebuild, or worse a replacement paid out of your pocket. However this is my own observation after 35 years in the trade at both dealerships and my own certified service centre. These maintence minders are are just what they are intended to be A GUIDELINE. I have had customers come in over the years and say you know I've never checked the fluids in my engine since I got it and in the same breath I cant belive that this engine is knocking. Please feel free to drive as far as you would like with no fuel, BUT you realy should look after the oil. I tell this to all my new drivers who come in with their first car and we have a laugh. And then in about 8-12 months we start to look for repair parts for them.

[William Yanda]

Short trips are one of the hardest things to factor. Oil does not get warm enough to drive off condensation, encourages build up of acids. Allegedly, computer tracking follows all use, high revs, duration of runs, engine temps, etc.

[JWT]

My 2006 Yukon has had synthetic oil in it since new. I change the oil when the monitor tells be to, usually around 8000 to 9000 miles. It currently has 220,000 on it. the truck doesn't burn oil and hasn't lost any mpg.

[FISH4BUGS]

I have been driving Mercedes Diesels for over 30 years. My last one was bought with 110,000 miles on it and it had 414,000 miles on it when I sold it and it did still not burn a drop of oil. The head was never off the car. I use Rotella exclusively.
I changed the oil and filter every 3000 miles religiously. Fuel filters 15-20,000. Transmission service every 25,000.
I would not trust any of the electronics of any new car. That's why I seek out pre '95 Mercedes low mileage (bought my last one with 238,000 on it - it was a one owner with all the service records and was all highway miles) diesels, buy them, then drive the doors off them.
I had a 99 E300 for a while that did not even have a dipstick. You checked the oil by hitting a sequence of buttons. It showed OK or add a quart. Sorry. No dice.

[308Jeff]

The fit and finish of modern engines is light years beyond what it used to be. As is the design of current motor oils. You can change it at whatever interval you're comfortable with, or you CAN trust what the computer is telling you to do.

[tomme boy]

I do full synthetic and change the filter at 3K and then change both at 6K. The thing with all if these new cars and trucks, is they require 0w-30 oil. They are doing this to get the last extra 1 MPG out of the motor. I feel we are going to be having a lot of motors going bad in a few years. I know Toyota Tundras were having all kinds of motor replacements because of the 10K oil changes. I think they now have them doing a 7 or 7.5K oil change now.

[Soundguy]

a lot of the newer vehicles will monitor the oil and give you a life percentage left for the oil.
I don't believe oil is good for 9-K miles it just picks up too much 'stuff', especially in a newer engine.
4-5,000 'easy driving' miles I buy for many of them... but.

You'd be surprised how long oil can last, especially if you buy good full synthetic oil, and not 1.89$ a quart house brand.

Might not make a difference to an Econo car that uses 1g oil, but larger diesels using 4-10+ gallons, oil life monitoring via used oil analysis is smart money. Especially when you oil costs 30$ a gallon. At that point, good filtration, filter changes and soot n wear metal monitoring save you $ and don't hurt your investment.

The old 3000mile oil change days from the 70's, and cars that needed an engine rebuild at 100k are ancient history.

I only own one gas engine on road vehicle now, rest are diesel, however even on that gasser, it doesn't even need a plug change till 100k per the manufacturer service recs.

Advanced mixture control, knock detection, etc, and no carb dumping fuel into an engine diluting your oil are extending engine life many times.

[MaryB]

I use Valvoline full synthetic and go 5k between changes. Works out to about every 6 months or so the way I drive. And since it is 90% highway miles at 60mph the engine is never worked hard. Oil always loks clean still when it is changed. That is in the 5.4 liter Triton V8 in my 2001 F150. Great engine if it doesn't spit out a spark plug.