R Z

Greetings. When I bought my car it had just over 52K. The dealership did an oil change. The sticker on my windshield said new oil change at roughly 55,750 which I am approaching. The change oil light icon is now showing each time I start the car. But I thought the car didn't need an oil change ever 3K miles????

Does it?

roadfrog

Yeah, way too soon for an oil change. They like to make money where they can and they hope that people will adhere to the old OCI thinking of 3k miles. 5-6k miles is good enough. That said, there are a few here at CL that still do theirs at 3k.

hms09

I use Toyota 0-20 full synthetic and change every 7500. What does everyone think about that? Is 7500 on full syn. to long?

Thanks

roadfrog

That's the only oil I will ever use after my exeperiences with hesitation. I go 6k miles currently, but am waiting for my Blackstone Labs oil analysis to return (any day now). They'll let me know how much longer I can extend my OCI's. Pretty sure I'll be good for extending to 7500+

roadfrog

FWIW, I had a sample come back from my use of Mobil 1 full syn in my BMW. It had 10k miles on it and Blackstone said to extend it another 2500k miles. I did not, but I could have.

Doublebase

Did they use synthetic? If they did, then it's way too early for an oil change, I'd go 7500 on synthetic.

I had an interesting conversation with a Chevy dealership service manager the other day, he said he wouldn't go off of his oil life monitor system - and GM is said to have a pretty accurate one - instead he does his oil changes at 5k, with the dexos approved oil (even though he gets his oil changes free at 10k mile intervals, he pays extra to have them done at 5k). Found that kind of interesting with all the talk of not needing to change oil so early, etc. Here's a guy who says, sure every manufacturer tells you to go longer now, but if you intend to own the car a long time, don't trust what they're saying...they don't expect you to own the car that long and these warranties end well before you'll run into engine problems because of oil. I found that interesting.

pilot2

For what its worth...I do regular oil analysis with Blackstone and they have recommended, based on the analysis of my use of 0W20 synthetic, that I use a 5500 mile oil change interval in my RX300.

I recently changed the valve cover gaskets in my 90K mile RX, it looks like a new engine under those covers.

roadfrog

Interesting. That seems low to me, especially for a quality synthetic. I'm looking forward to seeing what they say about my sample.

Doublebase

I think blackstone puts a lot of weight into the TBN (total base number) of the oil, and TGMO doesn't start off with a high TBN to begin with. It's not considered an extended performance oil like some brands put out there now, so I'm not all that surprised.

And I'm curious to see how your results turn out, I'm a fan of the TGMO, but I don't use it exclusively, I tend to buy what's on sale (among the high quality brands).

Wandl

I change my oil every time I fill up for gas.....

Actually getting more frequent oil changes is more of an investment; doesn't guarantee your car lasts longer but certainly increases the odds of an early engine issue. That said, the LS460 powertrain has rarely had any issues so opting between 5k-10k miles would unlikely result in a catastrophic engine failure of any sort....

greg3852

I was going every 5000 with dealership synthetic changes, but have switched to 7500.

roadfrog

It's my understanding that changing your oil too often on a DI engine is more harmful than changing less often. Something about boil-off, etc. Seems it also contributes to sludge build-up, as you're not allowing additives to begin doing their job. It's a little over my head, but there is a lot of info about this on BITOG.

Devh

I never heard this and I like to look into it.

I know based on oil analysis trends vs anecdotal misinformation that changing your oil early is worse then letting the oil run it's course well into the sweet spot.
Fresh oil creates more not less wear until the additives settle down.

The BMW I owned went though 15k mile oil changes but in order to do this the oil has to be a A3 rated oil. When I sold it shy of 100k it didn't burn a drop of oil. I'm doing 12k oil changes in my Honda with Pennzoil Platinum since 60k and it runs great well into 100k and it stopped burning oil that was caused by dino oil varnish on the oil control rings.

There are many blind people that do extended oil changes recommended by the dealer and I have not heard of anyone suffering issues associated with extended drains. The Europeans have been doing extended drains starting two decades ago yet we are behind the times with oil wife's tails from the 70s perpetuated by the oil lube industry.

CRowe14

Wow! 12k on the Honda!?!
What year and how many miles?
Perhaps I should look into using that product for my '00 Accord with 170+k.
I just had an oil change recently and was told my oil pan is leaking as well as a few other seals that will be adressed when I do the timing belt/water pump service.
In regards to my LS, the I purchased it from a GMC dealership who performed the oil change and I'm nearly 100% positive it wasn't with Toyo oil. I was thinking I should get rid of it at 5k and get the Toyo oil in...

7milesout

R Z - With synthetic and 9.X quarts, 7,500 miles is completely safe as long as there's not something going wrong with your engine.

Also, when you hear feedback about things happening with the internals of the engine, unless an engine is torn down and checked, it's just gum flapping. Take it with a grain of salt. I'm not attacking anyone, I try not to do that. But some people speculate about things going on, on the inside of the engine as if it is absolute and they're some kind of expert ... when neither is likely the case.

The true facts can be shed by data. What roadfrog is doing is correct. And I think his results will be in any day. I believe the results he'll get from Blackstone Labs to be the best information to base a judgment on.