When do I need an oil change?
I have a new 2013 Suburban Truck with 4200 miles on it over the past 5 months. I am going to do about 1000 miles this upcoming week, not towing. My oil life indicator says 43% and "oil change not i...
Forum Discussion
There are many things over the years that have improved and changed, oil and fuel are the biggest ones in vehicles and vehicle technology.
The 3K mile oil change is no longer required, and those that still do it are wasting money and most likely have never read the owners manual.
Most vehicles now are 7-10K mile oil changes for normal city driving. Towing or "severe" duty, IE long idle time, lowers that number.
But overall there are two main reason for the longer oil life which has more to do with vehicle technology from a fuel metering standpoint. We don't dump large amounts of fuel into the cylinders anymore. The old carb'd engines were set up with metering jets as a "best case" for the altitude you were in. Hence why vehicles ran different at different altitudes. They would burn rich or lean and often contaminate the oil with gasoline leaking by the rings.
Todays engines with sensors and fuel injection adjust air/fuel ratios to minimize fuel usage and maximize efficiency. This causes little to no gasoline to enter the oil.
Next for you people using Synthetic oil. NEVER NEVER switch back to conventional oil. If you do, you will eventually ruin your engine. The synthetic oil will block normal oil from entering microscopic areas of bearing surfaces. So if your vehicle runs conventional oil and you think it is a good idea to switch, don't. Unless you plan on having $100+ oil changes every time.
In closing, you can also tell a legitimate oil/mechanics shop from a greedy one. The greedy one will always write 3k miles on your new sticker, a legit shop will put what the owners manual says and if you tow or idle your vehicle or not. The shop I take my truck to asks every time if I plan on towing or not. But based on the OLM, I agree with what the others are saying, and if you have to ask 10 different people, you will get 10 different answers, and from this crowd, it will be on the conservative side every time, which isn't always a bad thing.
The 3K mile oil change is no longer required, and those that still do it are wasting money and most likely have never read the owners manual.
Most vehicles now are 7-10K mile oil changes for normal city driving. Towing or "severe" duty, IE long idle time, lowers that number.
But overall there are two main reason for the longer oil life which has more to do with vehicle technology from a fuel metering standpoint. We don't dump large amounts of fuel into the cylinders anymore. The old carb'd engines were set up with metering jets as a "best case" for the altitude you were in. Hence why vehicles ran different at different altitudes. They would burn rich or lean and often contaminate the oil with gasoline leaking by the rings.
Todays engines with sensors and fuel injection adjust air/fuel ratios to minimize fuel usage and maximize efficiency. This causes little to no gasoline to enter the oil.
Next for you people using Synthetic oil. NEVER NEVER switch back to conventional oil. If you do, you will eventually ruin your engine. The synthetic oil will block normal oil from entering microscopic areas of bearing surfaces. So if your vehicle runs conventional oil and you think it is a good idea to switch, don't. Unless you plan on having $100+ oil changes every time.
In closing, you can also tell a legitimate oil/mechanics shop from a greedy one. The greedy one will always write 3k miles on your new sticker, a legit shop will put what the owners manual says and if you tow or idle your vehicle or not. The shop I take my truck to asks every time if I plan on towing or not. But based on the OLM, I agree with what the others are saying, and if you have to ask 10 different people, you will get 10 different answers, and from this crowd, it will be on the conservative side every time, which isn't always a bad thing.
