My car’s service book says I have to change the oil every 12000km or 12 months, depending which comes first.
The dealer I bought it from stated this too.
Online, conventional wisdom seems to suggest doing it either every 8000kms or 5000kms, at intervals as frequently as 3 months.
What’s the deal? Why the discrepency?
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
12 months ? hmmm it depends on how much ur car is used n stuff .. i change it every 3 months.. or earlier depending on how much the car has been driven. It depends on the life of the oil too btw .
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
The nicest thing you can do for a car is change the oil. Increases engine longevity enormously if you change it frequently. Change it more frequently if you do a lot of stop and go driving, or real dusty conditions, or you drive at high RPMs, ie like a maniac...
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
Depends on the oil, I think. Oils are rated. Like, for most cars, I think the best one generally available is something like Mobil 1 Synthetic... thats rated for 10,000 miles... but practically should be changed 5,000 miles. The regular oil should be changed every 3,000 miles, or as Ohioguy said (depending on driving habits). I know certain cars (BMW for example) use oil that is rated for 12,000 miles or something, but you need to replace it with that same oil to get that rating. Check from your dealer.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
Don’t you peolpe have dealerships which service your cars? ullus..
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
I do, but the dealer says every 12 months / 12000 kms (7500 miles), whereas the Online People say it should be more often than that. My car reaches its 3 month next month, so I was getting antsy.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
DId you buy the car from the dealer or from Faisal?
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
If you’re this doubtful about everything how’re you gonna grow up, make some kids and retire happily ever after in an ezhair by the ocean?
Do what the manufacturer says and keep records. ie if it’s a nice car not one of those clunkers. If it’s a clunker save your oil money and get rid of the car
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
i agree…go with manufacturers suggestion! i am sure those online ppl cannot know better about this car then the people who make it them self! I wonder if ur car uses synthetic oil? cuz normal cars usualy go for oil change every 3-4k 
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
you guys need to listen to Click and Clack, the Tappit brothers!
oil changes every 3000 miles is too much of an overkill with current day oils. neither do they tend to absorb as much moisture as older oils in three months time. latest recommendations suggest once every 9000 miles is more than ample. course, your mechanic wont tell you this.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
MS,
Oddly enough the time to use the good oil is not while the car is new. When a car is new, tolerances are very tight. In the case of your engine this is both good and bad. The rings on your pistons actually need to carve into the walls of the cylinder a bit. This allows a thin film of oil to coat the edges of the cylinder and to create a slight seal. If you upgrade the oil to a good synthetic before 10,000 miles or so, the quality of the synthetic may inhibit this grooving in from occuring. Once the cylinder is worn ever so slighly you can upgrade to a good quality synthetic.
Conversely, oil that is dirty, or has lost its viscosity because it is too old or loaded with particulates will over groove the cylinder walls. So for the first 10k, follow the manufacturers directions precisely. After 10k you can upgrade to a good synthetic like mobil 1, and it will really help the longevity of the engine. Once again, follow the manufacturers recommendations, but if you have lots of hard driving, it never hurts to change your oil more frequently, and to use the best available grade, ie a synthetic....
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
Ohioguy, the car isn't new. It's an early 2002 car, it has done 48,000 miles already.
I've basically done my research now, so my plan is to go in mid april to to go back to the Volvo dealer and get them to swap out my tires/rims, and replace my oil with synthetic oil. I'll run it 9 months on that till the next scheduled oil change, then every 6000 miles / 6 months thereafter. I'm sensitive about oil changes since it's a turbocharged car and I don't want to risk the turbocharger being damaged by elderly/contaminated oil.
I would just go to a cheaper local mechanic, but I've paid for a full extended warranty until April 2009 and don't want to give Volvo an excuse to ever claim my warranty isn't valid because the car was touched by a non-franchised dealership.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
I just go by the dealership sticker on my windshield :)
its usually every 5 months for me. Sometimes 4ish if I've commuted more.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
oil change every year - thats kill, no matter what anyone tells me, in city driving oil should be replaced in 90 days or 3000 miles.
stop and go traffic, dusty conditions, and most of all - the turbocharger whipping the oil to a foam - its all too much stress. btw - what oil is recommended for your car- look up the owners manual and post here.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
My car has 5W30 (normally) or 10W30 (if temperature rises as high as 40 degrees celcius) oil recommended.
I’m really suspicious of the 3 month / 3000 mile theory, because these days many cars in Europe come with manufacturer recommended oil change intervals of 12 months / 20000 miles. Yes, you read me right - Renault, Vauxhall, Peugeot and others recommend oil changes every 20,000 miles on most of their new cars.
My Honda Civic in the UK had manufacturer instructions of oil changes at 12 months / 12,000 miles.
When I sold it I had driven over 34,000 miles with just 2 oil changes, and it was still covered by Honda’s warranty since every oil change was done right on schedule. The car ran just as sweetly on the day I sold it as the day I bought it. Even sweeter in fact, given that the engine had not been broken in when I bought it…
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
Maddy; if we are talking about fully synthetic oils - the I can accept this fact, otherwise mineral oils would really break down.
My car's factory manual says, I should replace oil at 10,000 km with API SG grading and 10W40 viscosity, If I ever try to do that I would really dish out great money at the garage too.
btw - my car's a Honda Integra XSi (1990 JDM), in A spec condition
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
Brute, those were regular mineral oil lifespans in Europe. What I'm seeing since coming to North America is that some of the same car company which recommend their customers change oil around 5,000 miles in North America recommend their customers in Europe change oil at twice that rate.
In Europe, Volvo say that S60 2.5 Turbo should have its oil changed every 12,000 miles. The very same car in North America is advised to have its oil changed every 7,500 miles.
In both cases, they are talking about mineral oil, not synthetic oil. I don't think climate differences explain it, since Europe has climate that varies as much as North America does, depending on where you are.
Re: Stupid Car Oil Question
MS,
The turbo sort of changes everything. First turbos spin at enormous rates of speed, and are subject to a great deal of heat. Turbos and diesels need a lot more oil changes. Change the oil a lot! Use synthetics exclusively.