How Often Should You Change Car Oil?

How Often Should You Change Car Oil? Every automobile engine requires oil that meets specific automakers’ specifications for longer service life. Although the cost of changing the oil in your car’s engine is essential, it is important to know how often you will change your engine’s oil. In a nutshell, Oil change intervals vary depending on your vehicle age, the type of oil used, and driving conditions.

Oil change interval for older cars

Some would argue that older cars require regular oil change to enhance efficiency on the road. This assumption in seemingly not the case as the car depends on several factors. The oil change intervals of older vehicles are typically mileage based. There are two maintenance schedules recommended for these cars; one for cars used in “severe service” and another for those driven in “normal” operation. Here are categories that involve car operation that will determine the kind of maintenance schedule for your car.

• Primarily short trips of about 5 miles or less
• Constant stop-and-go driving
• Towing a trailer or Carrying of heavy loads
• Exposure to harsh weather conditions (extremely cold, hot, or dusty)

Perhaps it’s now clear that it all depends on how far you go and the condition you subject your car. Therefore, maintain your vehicle using a more rigorous schedule if your car use falls under severe service definition in your owner’s manual. Those driving their cars under normal circumstances may not necessarily need to spend extra cash on oil change services and other car maintenance. In fact, your vehicle may not benefit or require frequent maintenance when still in good condition.

Oil change intervals for newer cars

Most of the newer cars available today have automatic oil-life monitoring systems. Its main task is to determine when the vehicle requires an oil change by alerting the user on the instrument panel. While the early simple system is mileage and time based, modern designs analyze the operating condition of an actual vehicle. Perhaps this aid in identifying time the oil will start degrading. The owners’ and maintenance manual for most new cars does not include a “severe service” recommendation since the oil-life monitoring system is automatic. Hence, it shortens the interval of car oil change immediately and detects heavy-duty operation.

It would be best if you always involved your service technician in resetting the oil life monitoring system whenever you are doing a car’s oil change. But if you can do it yourself, reset the system following your vehicle owner’s manual instructions.

Newer engines often require less frequent oil changes making it essential to check the oil level monthly. Car users in this scenario should top up when needed. With the fact that car engines differ, most will consume less than a quart of oil between changes while others use a quart every 600 to 700 miles. You may have probably notice that maintaining proper oil levels reduces the cost of your car repairs like engine wear or damage. It’s important to remember that your new-car warranty does not cover any damage resulting from low oil levels. Most automakers recommend changing your car oil every 12 months in case you don’t put your many miles on your car. This is also applicable even if you’ve not yet received a maintenance service reminder.

Who should you believe?

Most automotive manufacturers recommend changing your car oil once a year or after every 7,500 miles intervals. On the contrary, most oil shops recommend that you change the oil every three months or after 3,000 miles. Well, this can be really confusing to you. There is probably one thing that is clear in this case. Manufacturers use their recommendations to calculate their cost of operation. Fewer oil changes would mean lower cost of ownership. Oil change shops on the other side want you to come back as frequently as possible.

It will be wise not to merely follow your vehicle’s monitoring reminder system. Some may go beyond the recommend mile mark before notifying you to replace the oil. It would be even better to do oil and filter replacement since it is an economic strategy to peak efficiency and longevity rather than replace costly engines. If you stay in tune with your vehicle and perform maintenance as required, you should be able to drive it for long without experiencing any mechanical breakdowns.