Oil Change

[DTyrrell]

For my work vehicle (2006 uplander) and my old Suburban (1196) it was 5000km. My dad said he didn't get his 09 chevy's oil changed until 10000km. Onstar is telling me the same for my 2010 sierra, yet my dealer called me when I hit 5000km in my new sierra to come get the oil changed.

 

Now I have the GM Maintence card, so it's not my money anyways but I figured I would ask. When should I be getting my oil changed? Every 5000km like my dealer wants me to? or 10000km like Onstar says I should.

[mxdirtrider56]

If you're using conventional dino oil then change it every 3000. If synthetic I wouldn't feel comfortable going more than 5K but many companies claim you can go 7500 or 10K, I just wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. I use regular 10W-30 oil and never go more than 3K miles. Your oil is the life blood of your engine. It is cheap maintenance that should never be overlooked.

 

Don't listen to onstar.

[tunseeker1]

Maintnance card goesby every 5k miles. I go about every 200 hours

[High Plains Drifter]

What does the Owner's Manual state?

[[email protected]]

5k, conv. or syn., maybe on 100% syn.(amsoil).

[mxdirtrider56]

I personally don't think engine hours is an accurate method. If you drive your truck hard but you need to change your engine oil more often than someone who drives easier. Engine hours is not the same for every driver. I just don't see any point on trying to max out the time you can go between changes and risk unneccesary damage to your engine when you can change your oil for about 20 bucks.

[ken1mod]

Gentlemen,

 

In 1985 Popular Mechanics did a scientific test on oil life. These were all dino oils. They ran oil analysis every thousand miles. Many cars and many name brand oils. ALL oils were in perfect condition even at the 10,000 mile point where they stopped the test.

 

The only exception was for diesels. On these, the oil changed into some new and exciting stuff at 3000 miles, right on schedule.

 

Anyway, unless you have a diesel ,even 5000 mile changes are throwing away good oil. I change mine within a month or two of the light coming on. 160,000 miles and a sweet running engine.

 

Ken

[mxdirtrider56]

Well I don't mind, it's cheap maintenance. 10K oil might be good enough but new oil is better. There's no doubt about that. If it was expensive to change my oil I would be more concerned but it isn't.

[DTyrrell]

I guess I should have mentioned I am going by kilometers, not miles. Sometimes I forget people don't just know I'm talking about km

[mxdirtrider56]

I guess I should have mentioned I am going by kilometers, not miles. Sometimes I forget people don't just know I'm talking about km

 

That makes a big difference!! 5,000 KILOMETERS I could handle since it basically 3000 miles.

[Daryl LBZ]

I run Mobil 1 oil and Filter. I change it every 4,000 miles.

[DTyrrell]

I'll go with what the dealer says then. I was just wondering if they were maybe trying to just get me to use up all the money on the maintence card quicker than I should or something.

[KMGZ400]

i change my oil on all my vehicles religiously anywhere between 3000 and 4000 miles. i have a 5.3 with 148k miles on it without 1 single engine problem.. well it is a chevy after all

[jblakeney]

I am a 3k person........ I buy the oil at 3k and shoot to change it the next weekend.... Sometimes its like 4k.... I run Castrol Syntec and a WIX filter.

 

Who knows, 3k on a 2.3l ford engine with over 800k miles on the clock (odometer broke, might have had 900k).... It had the oil changed every 3k.......... It served all but 1 year of its life as a NAPA Delivery truck at my store...... Engine never left the motor mounts or frame and the cylinder head NEVER CAME OFF. That is pretty dang close to 1 million miles.

 

Hours work quite well on machinery.... I would be scared to try it on a car or truck. Driving and environment play a big role.

 

The oil that drains out at 3k may be great. But what about the oil that has burned and started crusting around in the engine..... PM didn't tear down those engines when they tested them at 10k, did they? I have seen tooooo many engines on the tear down table, high mileage oil changes lead to problems in the oil system. The cleaner you keep the oiling system the better. The next engine I see on the table with burned oil in the top end..... I am going to take pictures......

 

Jbo

[nitrohorse]

I just had my first oli change done at 2986 on the clock. I had it done at the dealership for $29.95 plus tax. I was talking to the S.M and said that according to GM's oil monitor, I had 64% of the oil life left. He told me that he doesn't believe in the monitor and changes his oil at every 4,000 miles. He told me of two Traverse that were in the shop with sludge issues. Both vehicles (one had 22,xxxx miles and the other was 30,xxx plus) owners followed the oil life monitors percentage ratings. He said that GM might have to rethink the whole oil life program. Another story he told me was about a warranty claim from an owner who went 7,000 miles before an oil change and seized the engine due to a low oil level. The owner wanted the engine covered under warranty as he claimed the low oil warning light never came on. The S.M said that there is pending litagation in that case and that the extended oil change intervals is causing low oil engine level issues as some people do not check the oil level as required.