Oil change question?

I take my truck to get regular oil changes. Each time they put a sticker on that says the mileage when I'm due for my next oil change. I also have a system check in my truck that monitors the oil. I am over the mileage on the sticker but my system check says I still have 45%. Do I need an oil change or not?
 

nckeith

Ten Pointer
The oil change place has a vested interest in you coming in too early, the manufacturer has a vested interest within reason of your motor blowing up at some point. Pick a reasonable number like 5000 miles conventional oil 7500 miles synthetic and ignore everyone else.
 

aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
It really depends on what oil you're using. If it's a synthetic, 7500 miles is not unreasonable. The company I used to work for had a fleet of vehicles, and 7500 miles between changes was the standard.
 

double

Twelve Pointer
The system ob your truck does not monitor your oil. It runs off an algorithm figuring in run time, heat cycles, rpms, etc. it is a guess as to how much life your oil has left purely a guess


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It really depends on what oil you're using. If it's a synthetic, 7500 miles is not unreasonable. The company I used to work for had a fleet of vehicles, and 7500 miles between changes was the standard.
Yes it is a synthetic oil. The sticker says 5,000 miles. The computer says I have 45% left at 5,000 miles.
 
The system ob your truck does not monitor your oil. It runs off an algorithm figuring in run time, heat cycles, rpms, etc. it is a guess as to how much life your oil has left purely a guess


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This is what I was wondering. Does the computer actually measure viscosity or is it just an algorithm.
 

double

Twelve Pointer
This is what I was wondering. Does the computer actually measure viscosity or is it just an algorithm.

Just an algorithm at GM we started using it around 2009. It would let folks drive 20,000 miles in the right conditions. By 2013 they were replacing timing chains because oil got to thick now if I am not mistaking it is defaulted to prompt an oil change at 10 or 12k max.


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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
My taco had 275k on it and it was fed synthetic and was changed every 10k miles. My 14 ram diesel had 145k on it and got full synthetic that was changed every 10k. Full synthetic is good for 10k. It may last longer if you change the filter. I had the oil from my diesel sent of to a lab to test once it got over 100k on it and the levels were always good....I feel comfortable ruining synthetic 10k between changes


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JoeSam1975

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I use oil from Royal Oil Co. Full Synthetic. Change oil every 10,000 miles, filter every 5,000 and top off. Have 208,000 on my Durango and 196,000 on my Dakota. Have put every mile on Durango. Bought Dakota used.
 

beard&bow

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I'm comfortable, in normal conditions, letting ours run 7500 to 8000 miles between changes. What's on your dipstick is representative of what's in your engine. If it looks burnt, smells burnt, or tastes burnt.... Same with bubbles and milkiness.

I agree with what someone else said; the oil station wants your business, the manufacturer does too.

They get mine when I'm ready, not when their sticker tells me.
 

CanAmMan

Twelve Pointer
I just traded my '08 Ram with 215,000 miles. Changed oil every 7,500 - 10,000 miles and used just regular or high mileage oil. I could change my oil more often since I get my filters for free and only pay for the oil but why?
 

DFisher

Eight Pointer
As a transportation manager with 200 trucks, i asked our chevy dealer the same thing. I was told to change when the system said there was 20% left. My 2011 silverado called for a change at 10,000 miles, which I did 26 times. Replaced it with 262,000 miles, no engine issues.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Similar with filters, more expensive isn't always best.
One of the best mid grade filters is made by Wix and sold by Walmart as Supertech brand.
99% efficiency rating. Same with Supertech oil, really good additive package.
You can do a full synthetic oil change for under $17.
 

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
I carry mine to the dealer.
It is cheaper for the oil and filter and use top line syn oil and factory filter.
As of now there is only one oil that meets the spec for the truck.
Just the 7 qt of oil would cost more than the oil change.
I get the 4 pack 2 year oil package.
Other than time and for the most part the same a few run longer than it takes to do it on my own.
For now I stick to factory spec about 6000 to 7500 miles.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
change every 5-7k mi on an '87 Yota 4x4 and have over 300k..bought it new in Idaho in Oct '86.
don't use high mileage oil in it
My mechs say NEVER trust those onboard infomercials, they are just fancy idiot lights.
 

Loganwayne

Ten Pointer
if your really concerned send your oil in for analysis and they can tell you how broke down your oil is. ive got a 6.4 diesel and they are know to get fuel in the oil so i send mine off every other oil change for testing. i change my oil around 10,000 miles and still have 40% or better life left from what the testing shows, almost all of my miles are either towing 10,000 plus pounds or running down the interstate, i have another vechicle for around town. I use factory ford oil and filters.
 

30/06

Twelve Pointer
Has anyone ever blown and engine because of oil or filter when changed within a reasonable amount of time? There is a lot of debate on oil, additives, filters, etc. but if changed within 5k for regular and 10k synthetic I’ve never heard of anyone having an issue.
 

dc bigdaddy

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
In 1994 I bought a Nissan. The sales rep told me that Nissan would cover the motor up to 7,500 miles between oil changes, but they recommended to change it every 3,000 miles, at their shop of course.

in 2016, the Toyota dealership told me to change it every 10,000 miles and use plain oil.

No more than it gets drove, the Toyota is changed about every 5,000 miles
 

thelivecanary

Eight Pointer
Manual on my Tundra says 5000 miles and 5w30 at normal operating temps, so that's what she gets and she's nearly 20 years young and over 230k. No issues.

It's been said about raising children, "if you ask how or what you should do, you don't have to worry about being a good parent." Same goes for your vehicle, if you care enough to ask, you're likely doing just fine.
 

took

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I press the "B" mileage button on the odometer and track the miles each time I change oil. When it hits about 7500, I change it, regardless of what the sticker or oil life button says. Been doing that for years and have put way over 200K on several cars/trucks and never had an issue with any of them.
 

Ldsoldier

Old Mossy Horns
Oil doesn't wear out, it gets dirty. Synthetic flows, coats, and lubricates better because of its molecular structure, but it doesn't necessarily last longer. What breaks it down is blowby. Because engines are built better today, particularly the rings, metallurgy, etc... that's less of an issue than it was in the muscle car era. I always laugh when people tell me they go >10K miles between oil changes, but don't change the filter. Changing it when the light comes on is usually good unless you're doing a lot of heavy towing and such. Just make sure you do it regularly and watch for leaks. The other thing to keep in mind if you use synthetic, the oil does flow better. If you have a leak it also flows out the leak better, so you'll leak oil faster using synthetic than you do with conventional.
 
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