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oil change

22K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  GregF70 
#1 · (Edited)
I went in for a oil change today at the chevy dealership. They told me to change oil every 5,000 miles not every 3,000 miles. Is this ok or should I just keep change it out every 3,000 miles like I been doing on all my cars. Is it safe for the engine to go up to 5,000 miles on the same oil let me know guys thanks. The oil they use in it this time was ac delco synthetic blend dexos1.
 
#2 ·
Changing every 3,000 miles is just a waste of money. I recommend going at least 5,000 miles before changing your oil.
 
#7 ·
+1

You could always read your owners manual and do what IT says.
I think you'll find that it is 6500 or more.

If you pay attention to every shade-tree mechanic that you meet.......on forums too......you will be so confused that you won't know what to do.

There there is the OLM too.

When the time comes, I plan to use full synthetic and change it at the max. interval allowed in the book......or when the reminder goes off, which ever comes first.

Modern oils have MUCH a much longer life span than they did just 20 years ago or so; synthetics moreso.
 
#4 ·
I go anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 depending on what kind of driving I've been doing, what my OLM (stands for oil life meter), and I check my oil occasionally with the dipstick to help decide too.
 
#6 ·
I changed my factory fill in my 3.6 V6 at 5300 miles, replacing it with AMSoil full synthetic. I'm at 9000 now and expect to go around 6000 to 10,000 miles depending on the OLM and dipstick checks.

Head on over to BITOG for some truly eye-opening reading. Here's a link:

bobistheoilguy
 
#10 ·
by the sticker on the car, it is saying I need to do mine now. But the dipstick shows clean. So I am waiting a few more weeks, when I get a total of 5k added miles since last oil change. I just bought this car with 16K on it, I am at 18.5K now, I assume they did oil change at dealership. So that is why I am waiting as they probably go by the old standard of 3K per oil change. When I do the oil change, I am going full synth.
 
#11 ·
I should've mentioned this before about synthetic and non synthetic. On non synthetic oil I recommend between 5,000 to 7,500 plus checking your dipstick for level and color, what your OLM says, and base it on your driving too. On synthetic I recommend going 7,500 to 10,000 on average plus still checking the dipstick, check the OLM, and basing it on your driving.

The OLM for me has almost been dead on for the most part. The OLM for me is usually around 30% to 20% when I change it so far. Also, a family friend of mine who makes transmissions for GM said the OLM is pretty accurate and continues to be improved upon each year as in someone with a 2010 Malibu may have a better OLM than me. He says to if you are not sure then change it when the OLM reaches between 30% to 20%. But I don't just rely on the OLM too. I do the other stuff I said above also.
 
#12 ·
Well i'll be the black sheep here, I do 5K oil changes on my LTZ with Pennz Ultra and Wix filters regardless of what the OLM says as I don't use it. Not a big fan of extended oil changes, on my 83 Silverado with 211K on the clock I stick with the 3K oil changes and use regular Dino oil, I check out BITOG daily for a few laughs, tooooo many so called EXPERTS. People think they are saving a few bucks by going longer on the oil changes but I figure if your gonna spend good money on a car at least spend a little more to keep it running it's best, like the old commercial said, "Spend a little now or a lot Later" ;)


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#14 ·
Then I would change your oil every 6 months.
 
#16 ·
If the oil is clean and it's been in there a while then that means your engine isn't creating a lot of dirty by-products that the oil needs to keep in suspension.

If the oil is dirty and it's been in there only a short time that means your oil is doing its job of cleaning the inside of your engine and keeping it in suspension.

The only real benefit to the dipstick is to check the oil level. If you could judge when it was necessary to change your oil by looking at the color then the OLM wouldn't be needed. They'd simply run the oil through some kind of optical sensor, and oil analysis labs would be out of work.
 
#19 ·
The only real benefit to the dipstick is to check the oil level. If you could judge when it was necessary to change your oil by looking at the color then the OLM wouldn't be needed.
That was my point. That thin film of oil on the end of the stick almost never looks "dirty". If it does, you probably are WAY past needing a change.

Then there is the difference in the additive packages in different brands of oils. Some turn almost black after only a couple of hundred miles and others look fairly "clean" after a couple of thousand. Color alone doesn't tell you much.........and you have to put a couple of ounces (at least) in a separate container to even get a good idea of what the color IS.

Last weekend, I changed the oil in 2 lawn mowers, a diesel tractor and my pickup. The oil on the end of all 4 sticks looked "clean". What came out of the drain was, for the most part, jet black.
 
#17 ·
I agree with Malo83. I have a 2011 Malibu LTZ, it has 90 miles on it. I plan to do my first oil change at 2,000 miles and put synthetic in. Then I will change it again at 5,000 (3,000 between change). After this, I will change my oil every 5,000 miles and it will be easy to keep track of as it will be at 10k,15k, 20k, 25k, and so on.

Also I love the picture of the engine with the oil buildup. I did a complete rebuild of a 69 buick skylark 350 and it was worse than that, Oh and it stunk.
 
#23 ·
This is what I did with my car. I drove it for 2000 miles, then changed the oil to Mobil 1, then at 5000 miles changed it again, and then changed it at 5000 mile intervals. I know the oil life monitor is pretty accurate, but I just cant bring myself to go more than 5000 miles on the same oil, even with synthetic.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the education Driven and MalibuKen. I'll keep that in mind. Unfortunately, funds are tight so my first oil change in the bu will be this weekend and it will be with Dino oil. Next one...we'll shoot for full synth.

Thanks again,
 
#20 ·
Dear Malibu25,

I can confirm that you will want to change your oil as the information in your owner's manual reads. I see that there have been many members that have shared valuable information with you about what they do with their vehicles. These group of people are awesome.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service
 
#21 ·
Well got my oil changed today in the car. I was able to get a great deal on it too. Our local Firestone does it for $55 and I had a coupon for free oil change so they knocked off the $30 and got it for $25. They also transferred my lifetime tire alignment from the old car to this car..so I am happy about that too.

They use Kendall GT-1 "Liquid Titanium" 5W-30 in the car. Whats your take on this oil? Compared to Mobil 1 Full Syn.

Thanks,
 
#24 ·
MalibuKen, I did not compare the price bottle for bottle on the oil. I can say that in general Mobel 1 Full syn oil change runs approx $85 in most places I checked, and when Firestone said $54 for theirs, I jumped on it.
 
#25 · (Edited)
and when Firestone said $54 for theirs, I jumped on it.
Well, I actually looked at the Kendall spec. this time.
It specifies compatability with the dexos1 spec. so it should be OK.

That price does look really "inexpensive" though.
Most synthetics are up to $8-9 a quart now most places.......so 5 quarts of oil would be $40-45 just for the oil. Maybe they get a BIG discount for bulk ??

If I were you, I would look at the price somewhere like Auto Zone just for curiosity. I don't think I could help wondering if I REALLY got what they claimed or not. Price seems too good to be true.

P.S. I once specified Mobil 1 at a quick change oil place......and got conventional oil instead....at the proper lower price. The "technician" said "Mobil 1 doesn't mean synthetic." After a short discussion with his boss (VERY short), I got a second oil change, at no additional cost and noticed that the tech. wasn't there next time I went.
 
#26 ·
I paid $5.50 a quart for AMSoil 5W-30 full synthetic, so there are good prices out there if you can find them.
 
#27 ·
This is all good to know information. I just passed 3,000 miles since my last oil change and was really debating on whether or not to get an oil change because my oil life still says 65%.

So if I have taken anything from this thread, it is that it is OK to go between 5,000 and 7,500 miles or until the meter reaches 20-30% before you get an oild change (when using regular oil), right?

Also, people said it depends on your driving. What does that mean? If you do all city driving, should you get it changed more or less frequently?
 
#29 ·
Also, people said it depends on your driving. What does that mean? If you do all city driving, should you get it changed more or less frequently?
Short trips and a lot of stop and go driving are worse than cruising on the freeway.....so it depends on what KIND of city driving you are doing.....but in general more often.

The Oil Life Monitor is supposed to take all that into consideration though.

And yes, I think the general consensus here is to watch the OLM and no need to change before it gets down to 20% or so. That is assuming that you are using an "approved", or equivalent, oil.
 
#28 ·
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Old addage but it's still correct.

The "older" OLM algorithms allowed you to go to about 10,000 miles before getting to 0%, as I noticed in my '09 3.6 V6. My '11 3.6 V6 got to 0% at around 5300 miles, where the '09 would be arouind 70% at 3000 miles.

If you change your oil prematurely the only thing you're wasting is money. If you wait too long you damage your engine permanently.

In trying to walk the jagged edge of not wasting money but not damaging your engine (notice, it's a choice of two evils, not two goods!), decide which is more important to you and go that route. For me I choose to spend extra money changing oil instead of changing engines or cars. I have also, for the first time in my life, switched to using full synthetic oil, and I intend to continue doing so while I own this car.

The reason that "city" driving ages oil more quickly than "highway" driving is from the extra abuse of the engine through wear (cold starts, no oil in galleries) and other things, such as overly-rich fuel vapor from a cold start condensing back into liquid and running down the cylinder walls into the oil, or condensation from the air turning to water in the oil. There are more, but that should suffice to make a more-informed choice.
 
#30 ·
$5.50 per quart for Amsoil? That seems like a pretty good price.

On my 3.8L Firebird, I put in full synthetic every 3-5K miles. I had the engine rebuilt at 198,000 miles (due to lifters failing). The inside of the engine was all silver / gold color - smooth and clean - no gunk whatsoever.
 
#31 ·
I'd make it 5Kmiles or 6 months, whichever comes first, with a synthetic or a good synthetic blend.

Dino juice I'd stick with 3K miles or 3 months, although today's gasolines run much cleaner than they used to.

Of course, if you want, you can check the quality of your oil (or have it checked!) chemically, and see exactly WHEN you should change it. Anything else is just a rule of thumb.

Oil's cheap, motors, not so much :eek:

(Anyone else remember the old Fram commercial? "You can pay me some now, or pay me a lot more later.")

Note: NOT a recommendation for Fram filters! Commercial makes sense, though:

RwP
 
#32 ·
MalibuKen,

I can understand the questioning the synth oil for the price I paid, that is why I jumped on it. I watched the tech as he opened the bottles to put in. So I know I got the right stuff.

I am not sure what their price is for the oil, for what they get it for. I can't find the oil on pepboys or autozone website. But I can see the oil elsewhere on the website for around $3.80 to $4.00/bottle. So that would be $20 for 5 bottles, at that price.

I don't know if that says anything about the quality of the oil, and I may research that, but it does seem to meet Chevy specs for our Malibu's.
 
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