Changing the oil of your car is one of the most common reasons to take your vehicle into service these days. It also happens to be one of the few remaining things, other than using fuel injector cleaners, that car owners can safely and effectively do themselves in order to maintain their car.
When it comes to oil, there are two major types – conventional and synthetic. The former is made from crude natural oil, while the latter is also fortified with numerous synthetic compounds and often refined further. These days, synthetic oil is quickly becoming the norm, as it lasts longer and usually does the job significantly better, especially in extreme temperatures.
But the question remains:
What is the correct Synthetic oil change interval? How often do you REALLY need to change the oil?
The common suggestion is to change the oil every 3000 miles. And numerous service stations and their mechanics gladly parrot this recommendation. After all, every time you come to change your oil, they will get paid. After every oil change, your windshield or the inside of your cars door is decorated with an oil change sticker, nicely telling you to come back in a few months or 3000 miles. Lovely.
But is there actually any truth to this recommendation? Technology has come a long way, both in terms of vehicle engine complexity and effectiveness, as-well as synthetic oil properties. Are you being ripped off by service stations?
Former service advisor David Langness commented on the 3,000-mile oil change, and said it’s:
“a marketing tactic that dealers use to get you into the service bay on a regular basis. Unless you go to the drag strip on weekends, you don’t need it.”
Let’s look at some more facts. How long does synthetic oil last?
Unlike what many mechanics might tell you in car dealerships and service stations, synthetic oils can go quite the distance. Here’s what some of the worlds leading brands have to say:
Mobil 1 Extended Performance synthetic oil
is recommended for oil change intervals up to 15,000 miles or one year, whichever occurs first.
is recommended for oil change intervals up to 15,000 miles or one year, whichever occurs first.That’s roughly FIVE TIMES longer than conventional oil change wisdom recommends. That’s massive. Imagine the savings from both the actual oil and the change procedure costs.
You can run a conventional oil 5K miles but you should be able to run a synthetic oil 7500 to 10000 miles.
Again, synthetic oil is likely to last far longer than what we’ve been led to believe.
Royal Purple API-licensed synthetic engine oils allow motorists to travel as many as 12,000 miles as the recommended oil change interval. Even more amazing, Royal Purple HPS
synthetic performance upgrade street oils allow up to 15,000 miles in between motor oil changes.Again, up to 15, 000 miles is possible.
While it’s pretty clear why the car-servicing industry is so adamant about recommending the 3,000-mile oil change, most customers only follow this suggestion because they are largely uneducated about the advancements in automobile technology. How long does synthetic oil last? A long time. That’s the bottom line.
When we’re talking about 2013 and later models, most automakers recommend oil changes every 7,500 or 10,000 miles when on a normal service schedule. That’s more than double the conventional 3,000-mile interval suggestion.
The longest oil change interval is recommended for all Jaguar vehicles, which is at 15,000 miles. Shorter oil change intervals of 5,000 miles are needed for some Hyundai and Kia models with turbo engines, as-well as for some Toyota vehicles that require non-synthetic oils. But with that said, Toyota is also shifting their entire fleet towards synthetic oil use and 10,000 mile oil change interval minimums.
It becomes pretty clear, pretty fast, that casual vehicle owners are being tricked into thinking they need to change oil far more often than they really do. Clearly, service stations are looking to squeeze out every last penny from the consumer’s wallets. But what’s strange, is that many people even when told that their cars can keep going far longer, will still opt to change oil very frequently.
Why is that? Why do people change oil so often?
Matt Snider, project engineer in GM’s Fuels and Lubricants Group, has an answer:
“Vehicles are so sophisticated that oil is one of the last things that customers can have a direct influence over. There’s maybe some feeling that they’re taking care of their vehicle if they change their oil more often.”
Now, many people also make the argument, that it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? But that’s a nonsensical argument when the leading experts are all saying such frequent oil changes are simply not needed. There is no danger of being sorry. Your engine will be fine. But there is one real danger. The danger of pollution.
GM’s Matt Snider has said:
“If customers always just stayed with the 3,000-mile recommendation, they would be throwing away good oil.”
Product education specialist for Toyota, Chris Risdon, agreed. Advances in oil technology means that you can change oils much less frequently and protect the environment at the same time.
“If you’re doing it [changing oil] half as much, that’s 5 quarts of oil times 1.7 million vehicles a year — that’s a tremendous amount of waste oil that’s not being circulated into the environment.”
Waste oil is a serious problem that’s exacerbated by too-frequent oil changes. California Integrated Waste Management Board has campaigned against the 3,000-mile dictate for a while.
The agency has reported that 153.5 million gallons of used oil is being generated in California every year, but only 59 percent of it is ever recycled. That’s a considerable amount of potential pollution dumped into the environment.
I don’t know about you guys, but it seems very clear to me that when it comes to synthetic oil change interval, less frequent oil changes is the way to go. Not only are you going to save time and money by spending less of both at service stations; you are also contributing to the preservation of the environment. Think about it!
The next time someone asks you “how often should I change my synthetic oil?”, please explain to them the benefits of changing it less often.
But if you are thinking about picking up some synthetic oil, make sure you buy from a reputable brand and get the highest quality product:
– Jack
Unbelievable! I had questions as to why oil changes prices and quality had gotten so big and length of mileage between oil changes hadn’t. Makes a whole lot more sense that we can go a little longer! Oil change is pretty big business. Tell by way we are always hustled when we pull into bay!!! Explains
Why it’s so!!! Thanks for taking time
To explain!!!
I drive 3000 miles a year in NYC can I change my synthetic oil every 2 years?
The information you want is in SAE Paper #981444, entitled: “Advanced Synthetic Passenger Vehicle Engine Oils for Extended Oil Drain Performance”
Presented by Mobil at the 1998 Fuels and Lubricants Meeting of the SAE
the infamous “aunt millie test”, probably the most destructive oil test ever invented, don’t try this at home kids, we are trained professionals….
1. The aunt minnie test is the test of “the severity on the engine oil during this type of testing is attributed to conditions where the engine rarely reaches optimum operating temperatures.”
2. The driving test consists of two short cycles, a 3 mile and 1.5 mile test.
3. “Under this severe driving condition, synthetic oil can provide excellent protection against engine wear and deposit formation.”
4. The bulk oil temp ranged from 90 C in the summer to 30 C in the winter.
5. Fuel dilution was as high as 11%.
6. Cleanliness was excellent, the deck sludge rating was 9.7 out of 10.
7. “The iron content showed a low rate of increase, only 100 ppm after 40 months, although there has been a steady increase to over 600 ppm over the last 22 months. The source of iron has not been determined, as visual inspection of the engine did not indicate any abnormal wear or corrosion. In addition, elevated iron levels have not appeared in other test vehicles operating under ‘aunt minnie’ conditions.”
The oil was a 5W30 running in a 3.1 L V6 with no oil drains.
The oil volume sampled was 5.5L and make-up was 4.4L. TBN retention was 33.
Test duration was for 60 months.
The real issue is acidity building in the oil which degrades hoses, gaskets, linings, etc. Contaminants input material that causes oil pH to drop and possibly become corrosive.
HDEO’s (heavy duty engine oils) which have a more robust additive package tend to be well suited to extended drain intervals. The byproducts of combustion create acids which the oil must neutralize to protect the engine. HDEO’s which are approved for diesel use have more acid neutralizers so they have more reserve. Synthetic oils tend to oxidize less at high temperatures, and have a more uniform molecule length which helps it maintain its viscosity after many miles. Conventional oil is a mix of long and short molecules. They blend them to get the desired “average” viscosity (thickness). You can think of short molecules as gasoline, and long molecules as tar.
synthetic engine oil is a far better oil than conventional. reason is the synthetic oil does not absorb water/moisture. the synthetic does not then turn to acid and then effect the metal and seals .. the synthetic is stable at the high temps. also less stress on the engine on extreme hot /cold starts.
on yearly low mileage vehicles changing the oil once a year is proper. 7500 miles on synthetic is going to be no problem at all . 10-15K miles is what many do ,that would be the high end.
conventional oil requires changing @3-4K miles. this is because it depends on the oils condition the engines condition. conventional oil has issues with moisture and extreme heat /cold so that is why it requires this low mile changing. the oil does create sludge . the new engines have very small oil passageways this conventional with sludge causes blockage restrictions .
using synthetic oil you can reduce the oil change costs and save vehicle down time .
you can easily get twice as much use with synthetic and not have the damage that conventional can create if sludge forms.