How often do you change your OIL?

[1flyfisher]

I have a new 2010 GMC Savana with a 5.3L.
I am going to a Napa Gold oil filter and Mobil 1 on the next oil change.
BUT I do not know if I should just rely on the onboard computer to tell me when to change the oil or to do it sooner at say 7500 miles or 5000 miles. The GM manual says to rely on the pc. The manual says at least once a year or sooner if the pc says to change.
I was considering 5000 or 7500 -OR- just changing the oil twice a year once in the spring and once in the fall irregardless of mileage as long as the pc is not suggesting a change.

When do you guys recommend I change the oil?
At what mileage do you change your oil?

 

[Steve S]

Why are you running syn oil? I run dino oil in the engines I change at factory recommended intervals for warranty purposes and syn oil is 1 year or 10,000 at least I,ll wait longer till I hit the 10,000 miles before changing. syn oil lasts .

 

[beast3300]

Follow the OLM (oil life monitor) and maintain the level. My OLM is on 2% and in about 1 week it will be 6 months time. It will probally end up being about 4500 miles.

The oil life monitor is pretty smart. It takes into account the extra time it takes to warm up and the idle times I do in the winter. You have a 2010, it will be even smarter.

 

[mrplavick]

My vehicle manufacturer recommends oil changes at 7500 miles. This works out to twice a year for me. To help me remember and to ensure the weather is good enough for me to change it in my driveway, I do it around Halloween and around the tax filing deadline (April). I have had oil analysis done to confirm that my oil and filter are holding up.

So, I'd say follow the manufacturer's recommendation but maybe confirm with a UOA or two because the bottom line is you need to be comfortable with how you are maintaining an expensive vehicle.

 

[1flyfisher]

I am going to run Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w30 because I believe synthetic oil is better than the other stuff.

Originally Posted By: Steve S
Why are you running syn oil?

 

[Corvette Owner]

Rely on the OLM, it is good. It is calibrated for dino, so you will have an extra margin with synthetic.

I use 7500 miles for my cars without an OLM (using synthetic). My Corvette has an OLM, I follow that.

I have been running synthetic for years, it IS better than dino.

 

[1flyfisher]

I forgot to mention.

I have a buddy who lease a vehicle (Ford F-150) for his business and NEVER CHANGES the oil/filter. He is cheap and won't pay for it, he says he just adds a little oil every now and then. He has never had an engine failure.

 

[JGR]

Every 3 months. Which works out to about 6,000 for the wife's car and about 4,500 to 5,000 for my truck. I'm going to start using dino for 9 months and QSUD for Jan, Feb and march. We do mostly highway miles about 370 a week for me and 480 for the wifey. Motorcraft,Purolator or wix filters will be used.

 

[DragRace]

Originally Posted By: 1flyfisher
I have a new 2010 GMC Savana with a 5.3L.
I am going to a Napa Gold oil filter and Mobil 1 on the next oil change.
BUT I do not know if I should just rely on the onboard computer to tell me when to change the oil or to do it sooner at say 7500 miles or 5000 miles. The GM manual says to rely on the pc. The manual says at least once a year or sooner if the pc says to change.
I was considering 5000 or 7500 -OR- just changing the oil twice a year once in the spring and once in the fall irregardless of mileage as long as the pc is not suggesting a change.

When do you guys recommend I change the oil?
At what mileage do you change your oil?


I change my oil in the spring,then again in the fall,works and easy to keep track of.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: 1flyfisher
I forgot to mention.

I have a buddy who lease a vehicle (Ford F-150) for his business and NEVER CHANGES the oil/filter. He is cheap and won't pay for it, he says he just adds a little oil every now and then. He has never had an engine failure.

How long does he least the trucks for? Changing oil is good but I wouldn't spend a cent on a lease . It is not my car and once the lease is over it is gone who cares. If the owner of the vehicle [the lease company] wants to maintain their vehicle let them.

 

[RamFan]

I would recommend you follow the OLM and let that decide your oil change intervals.

I do not have a GM and have never had a vehicle with an OLM system.

-On my Ram 1500 I did 3, 4k/4mo changes

-On my Charger I will be doing 2, 3k/3mo, and 1, 6k/6mo changes in order to keep my warranty. Nov-Feb-May.

-On my Mom's Sebring I do 2, 6k/6mo changes

 

[1flyfisher]

He told me he leases the F-150 for 4 years and usually gets sick of it after 3 years and turns them back in after around 3.5 years or so.
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Originally Posted By: 1flyfisher
I forgot to mention.

I have a buddy who lease a vehicle (Ford F-150) for his business and NEVER CHANGES the oil/filter. He is cheap and won't pay for it, he says he just adds a little oil every now and then. He has never had an engine failure.

How long does he least the trucks for?

 

[stenerson]

My Dodge Ram every 8-10K.

 

[Oregoonian]

Originally Posted By: 1flyfisher
I am going to run Mobil 1 Synthetic 5w30 because I believe synthetic oil is better than the other stuff.

Originally Posted By: Steve S
Why are you running syn oil?


M1 5w20...OCI: 1 year or 10K...whichever comes first.
________________________________________
2003 Ford Focus (2.3L Duratec) / 94K
M-1 5w20EP/ M-1 EP Filter/ OCI" 1 Yr. or 10K +/-

 

[DC44]

I started off with 3k changes, then 3.5k,4k,4.5k,5k, and now I go by the OLM Which is calibrated for 7500 miles. It goes off around the 4300-4500 mile mark. It never went off before I changed the oil even when I went past 5k once but at the time I drove longer distances and more miles (work school etc). Now I drive only 7-8 miles one way and less miles per year so I get to see the Change oil light come on. But I change it November regardless of the miles before it gets cold.

 

[subiedriver]

I know I could probably go longer, but I can't bring myself to go longer than 7K on Mobil 1. 95% of my mileage is highway, but still, I have a mental block going past 7K. Right now, I'm at 6600 miles and getting ancy to change it, lol.

 

[ARB1977]

Every 6 months about 5-6K in the Tacoma. 3 months about 4500 in the Jetta.

 

[Beagle2000]

I change mine in my Buicl Lesabre with 3800 Series II every 5000 KMS. All highway driving. Using ML and Wix filter.

 

[qdeezie]

I change my oil every 6000 miles. I have went all the way up to 15,000 miles, but I find my comfort with 6000. If I bought a vehicle that held a higher amount than 4-6 quarts, I'd stretch it out to 10,000 because I know that the oil really isn't taking a beating.

 

[sangyup81]

Synthetic oil is "better" mainly because it lasts longer. Go by the computer if you are going to use synthetic