Oil 5000 miles +

[genethekiller]

I have a great mechanic here in Germany, good honest guy always looking for ways to save me money, (a la buying oil from US shops, 5w-30 is ridiculously expensive in Europe)

But every time I take my car to him for an oil change, he tells me I don't need to bring it in that often. It's been nearly 5000 miles, I always change early, just a couple hundred miles or so, but I don't think he gets it.

It's a common sense issue I know. I'll do what I know is right regardless, but my question is, has anyone here heard of going longer than 5000 as a regular thing? I've always felt (and it's common knowledge) that oil is the lifeblood of the engine, and if anything, should be taken care of early and often.

I'm assuming that it's an issue of kilometers vs. miles. But I was just curious.

[Yawesh]

Originally Posted by genethekiller

I have a great mechanic here in Germany, good honest guy always looking for ways to save me money, (a la buying oil from US shops, 5w-30 is ridiculously expensive in Europe)

But every time I take my car to him for an oil change, he tells me I don't need to bring it in that often. It's been nearly 5000 miles, I always change early, just a couple hundred miles or so, but I don't think he gets it.

It's a common sense issue I know. I'll do what I know is right regardless, but my question is, has anyone here heard of going longer than 5000 as a regular thing? I've always felt (and it's common knowledge) that oil is the lifeblood of the engine, and if anything, should be taken care of early and often.

I'm assuming that it's an issue of kilometers vs. miles. But I was just curious.

i personally think 5000 is the Max, waiting over that to change oil- even synthetic would be nuts

regular oil in my opinion should def be changed at 3000 miles
synthetic oil in my opinion can be held to 5000 miles

[nemelek]

For warrantee purposes alone I stick with Toyota guidelines. The benefits of timely oil changes pay off after 100,000 miles. If you plan on keeping the car for 3 years let some oil changes slide. If you plan on keeping the car 10 years keep on top of the oil changes. Different manufactures have different guidelines. My wife’s CR-V has a % oil life left number on the readouts. It’s gone 3000 miles and had 60% left. Using those guideline the first oil change will happen at 7,500 miles. The Honda owners manual says to change at a year if the % life isn’t used up. Toyota recommends to change in 5 months if the 5,000 mile mark isn’t reached. My Dodge diesel truck has 7,500 mile oil change intervals for heavy use and 15,000 miles light duty use. However the diesel takes 12 quarts to change.

I had an old girlfriend that drove 80,000 miles with no oil changes before the car froze up.

[tetzyamis]

Originally Posted by nemelek

I had an old girlfriend that drove 80,000 miles with no oil changes before the car froze up.

Wow. Was the reason why the car froze up because of the oil? Or was it caused by something else?

[Loren]

You have a good mechanic. Germans "get it". While Americans are still clinging to the "change your oil every 3,000 miles" that the oil companies have been feeding us for many, many decades and are hesitant to even go to 5k, the German car makers are going 10, 12, even 15k miles between oil changes.

Doing what is required to maintain your warranty is good, but once your warranty is up, recognize that even 5,000 miles is very conservative with a modern engine using modern oils. Even with conventional oil, I wouldn't hesitate to go to 7 or 8k, maybe even 10k. With good synthetic oil, 15k without question.

My Yaris warranty isn't anywhere near expired, and I've already decided that I'm going with a 15k interval. I'm about half way through it right now and my Mobil 1 looks just like it did when I poured it in. I figure if it's good enough to be the factory interval for the Brazilian-made engine in my wife's MINI Cooper, it's good enough for my Toyota.

[dallas]

Good info, some Euro mfg go as long as 40,000 km to an oil change. in North America the BMW LL4 spec is over 20,000 km change, but you have to use a ACEA (euro) oil to meet the standard. THe VW TDi diesel is hard on Oil and the drain is 15,000 km, Better base oils and additives allow the longer drain intervals. The problem is that Canadian and US gas contains Methanol/ethanol which is hard on the oil. I go 12,000 Km with Euro oil with no problems, but would recommend following Toyotas suggestions if you want warrantee.

Originally Posted by Loren

You have a good mechanic. Germans "get it". While Americans are still clinging to the "change your oil every 3,000 miles" that the oil companies have been feeding us for many, many decades and are hesitant to even go to 5k, the German car makers are going 10, 12, even 15k miles between oil changes.

Doing what is required to maintain your warranty is good, but once your warranty is up, recognize that even 5,000 miles is very conservative with a modern engine using modern oils. Even with conventional oil, I wouldn't hesitate to go to 7 or 8k, maybe even 10k. With good synthetic oil, 15k without question.

My Yaris warranty isn't anywhere near expired, and I've already decided that I'm going with a 15k interval. I'm about half way through it right now and my Mobil 1 looks just like it did when I poured it in. I figure if it's good enough to be the factory interval for the Brazilian-made engine in my wife's MINI Cooper, it's good enough for my Toyota.

[phenoyz]

can you use bmw genuine synthetic oil 5w-30?

[TheSilkySmooth]

Originally Posted by phenoyz

can you use bmw genuine synthetic oil 5w-30?

Who knows what this stuff is? I thought they use Euro Castrol BMW spec 15W-60? Motul Or Elf extended drain LL A3/B3 5W-40 rating tends to be the best, lowest wear, longest life. Easy 8000 mi OCI intervals for the Yar if not a short distance driver in Manitoba.

[ddongbap]

I'm rocking 9k miles on my conventional.

[MadMax]

By the way, this guy isn't in Ramstein village, is he? Last name Kaprowski?

I used to have a great BMW mechanic that worked on my two E30 3-series and I swear I have never had such an excellent mechanic! I wish I could get him over to Texas.

But Loren is exactly right, with today's modern blends the days of 3-5000 mile oil changes are becoming a thing of the past. If you are really concerned about breakdown, send a sample to a laboratory after you do your next oil change and you will be surprised how little it has deteriorated!

Cheers! M2

[genethekiller]

Originally Posted by MadMax

By the way, this guy isn't in Ramstein village, is he? Last name Kaprowski?

I used to have a great BMW mechanic that worked on my two E30 3-series and I swear I have never had such an excellent mechanic! I wish I could get him over to Texas.

But Loren is exactly right, with today's modern blends the days of 3-5000 mile oil changes are becoming a thing of the past. If you are really concerned about breakdown, send a sample to a laboratory after you do your next oil change and you will be surprised how little it has deteriorated!

Cheers! M2

No, his name is Edwin Lugo. Awesome guy, always makes sure your stuff is good to go. I love German mechanics. And he's the best.

Anyway, this guy's shop is in Landstuhl.

[Kal-El]

Going 15,000 miles between changes means you don't care about your car.

Toyota engineers (those silly guys that built the engines ) say 5,000 miles. That's what I follow.

I'd say 7,500 should be the limit.

[PetersRedYaris]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

Going 15,000 miles between changes means you don't care about your car.

Toyota engineers (those silly guys that built the engines ) say 5,000 miles. That's what I follow.

I'd say 7,500 should be the limit.

I agree, but that's the US oil change interval... I find it very interesting that the European Yari have longer intervals, like Andies 9,000 mile (15,000 Km) recommended change from post #18. His TS has the same motor as the new Corolla, so whats the difference?

You have to question why US yari have shorter recommended oil changes compared to the rest of the world.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by PetersRedYaris

I agree, but that's the US oil change interval... I find it very interesting that the European Yari have longer intervals, like Andies 9,000 mile (15,000 Km) recommended change from post #18. His TS has the same motor as the new Corolla, so whats the difference?

You have to question why US yari have shorter recommended oil changes compared to the rest of the world.

Yes, I'm quite curious to know why the intervals are different.

[Chupacabra]

cheapest insurance you can buy....change your oil as often as possible.

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

cheapest insurance you can buy....change your oil as often as possible.

Very wasteful.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

cheapest insurance you can buy....change your oil as often as possible.

+1 and use gray-market imported european REAL synthetics - these hot running, high technology motors will not last on conventional oil.

[SilverGlow]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

cheapest insurance you can buy....change your oil as often as possible.

Sure, for those that ignore science, common sense, are easily dilluted, cheated, and have no use for research, Used Oil Analysis (UOA's), and have no sense of financial success, go right ahead.