Oil-change places say 3,000 miles. Car manufacturer says 7,500 miles. How often should I change the oil?

For maximum protection, many people change their oil every 3,000 miles or three to six months regardless of what kind of driving they do. But some would say this is excessive maintenance. Changing the oil every 3,000 miles is probably not necessary on a newer vehicle with a low mileage engine, especially if it is driven more than 10 miles one-way daily or is used primarily for highway driving or long distance commuting.

A newer engine with little or no wear can probably go 5,000 to 7,500 miles between oil changes with no harm. But in my opinion, pushing the oil change interval beyond 7,500 miles is asking for trouble, especially if an engine has more than 75,000 miles on it, or it operated under "severe" conditions as described above.

It depends on the engine, I have a 2004 Kia Optima and the car does great with 7,500 mile intervals. I have over 81,000 miles and the car runs smooth and so far so good! If you are in the city and you are in the severe category, play it safe and go 3,000- 5,000 miles. Unless you have an older engine, go at the most 3,000 miles. You have to use your own judgement on the look of your oil.

Oil change places have been saying 3,000 miles for the last 25 years. Meanwhile manufacturers have extended their recommended oil change out to 7500 miles. Oil change places just make more money if you change more often, and manufacturers do not.

I would suggest splitting the difference and going 5000-ish, or going 7500 and using synthetic. Synthetic holds up better in different conditions, such as coldstart, hot running, and older oil.

Hmm - interesting question.

We have driven leased Mercedes for the last 20 years or so and they now have a system where it calculates the type of driving that you do and will inform you when the next service is due.

On our last Merc - E220 CDI - the oil changes came around every 15,000 - 18,000 miles.

Having said that - my gut reaction is that the more often you change the oil the better. It only seems like common sense to me.

My old Merc estate (E300 Diesel) is still going strong with 240,000 miles on the clock and has had the oil changed every 7,000 miles.

Depends on the oil you use but I would go with 3000. Play it safe.

Mr Bungle has overlooked synthetics like mobile 1. Higher grade lubericants don't break down as easily and have higher viscosity at higher temps. But.... it's expensive and you can't neccesarily switch it out in a used car. Ask a mechanic about it.

Stick with the 3000. Using synthetic oil doesn't matter if you keep up on the oil changes.

every 3,000 miles..even with synthetic.

that whole you can wait double the amount of time with synthetic is bull! 3,000 miles!.

oil absorbs all the carbon and contaminates that are introduced to the motor...also has anti-foaming additives and anti-corrosion as well as many others. these additives slowly break down over time..

so hulk your saying its ok to abuse your brand new motor?? deprive the motor from the correct additives and viscosity for an extra couple thousand miles??? then after you have abused it then go with the 3,000 mile intervals for oil changes??

my answer is...if you want to be confident that your motor has properly been taken care of. and sludge, rust, corrosion, bearing damage and premature wear isnt a part of your engine due to "saving" alittle bit of money on oil changes. go with the 3,000 mile intervals

if you drive hard do it every 3k miles even if its a new car. make sure you use a full synthetic oil too