I find this quite interesting. I was working in the fleet business when I
moved to the UK in 1995. Immediately Inoticed that cars here would require an
oil change every 7500 miles while in the US at the time it was normal every 3000
miles. That slowly grew to be around 10k-12k miles or once a year by 2000. This
was for the majority of cars here.
The blonde's 2002 BMW petrol engine had a computer that determined
servicing. It lit the service light at around 12k miles. The car never used more
than 1qt oil every 12k miles and after 100k miles was still perfect. She now has
a 2003 3 series with the same engine and it has similar requirements.
My 530d BMW clicked on the service light at around 20,000 miles. My current
new 320d just had its first service at 23,000 miles. I wonder what BMW requires
in the USA regarding oil changes on these same engines?
Either the oil companies/service garages are lying about the need for
frequent oil changes or the car manufacturers are pushing up the miles between
oil changes to make their cars more appealing here in what is a very competitive
market.
Britt
Interesting
read.
Vty,
--Dennis
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NY
TIMES
September 10, 2010
The 3,000-Mile Oil Change Is Pretty Much
History
By ALINA TUGEND
I STILL remember learning from my father
how to carefully remove a dipstick
to check the oil level in our cars. It
was drilled into me - along with
turning off the lights when you left a
room and clearing the plates off the
table after dinner - that oil needs to
be changed every 3,000 miles or so.
I'm not sure what I thought would
happen if I didn't, but I vaguely imagined
an unlubricated engine grinding
to a halt.
Childhood habits are hard to undo, and that's often good.
To this day, I
hate seeing an empty room with the lights on.
But
sometimes, we need to throw aside our parents' good advice. In March,
for
example, I wrote about how we should relearn the dishwasher and
laundry
soap habits we inherited from our mothers.
Add frequent
oil-changing to that list.
"There was a time when the 3,000 miles was
a good guideline," said Philip
Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the
car site Edmunds.com. "But it's
no longer true for any car bought in the
last seven or eight years."
Oil chemistry and engine technology have
improved to the point that most
cars can go several thousand more miles
before changing the oil, Mr. Reed
said. A better average, he said, would be
7,500 between oil changes, and
sometimes up to 10,000 miles or more.
The California Integrated Waste Management Board ran public
service
announcements for several years about "the 3,000-mile myth," urging
drivers
to wait longer between oil changes. Although the information is a
few years
old, the board has a list of cars on its Web site and how often
they need
oil changes. The concern is not only the cost to drivers, but
the
environmental impact of throwing away good oil, said Mark Oldfield,
a
recycling specialist for the agency.
But the situation is not
that clear cut, according to Robert Sutherland, a
Pennzoil scientist who
works at Shell Global Solutions.
Rather than picking a number, Mr.
Sutherland said, he recommends following
what your owner's manual advises.
I checked the manual for our 2007 Mazda5
and had to determine if my typical
driving included a lot of stop-and-go
driving, short distances, extended
idling, muddy, rough or dusty roads or
really humid or cold temperatures.
Hmm. Yes, to short distance and stop and go. So that meant I should
get the
oil changed every 5,000 miles. If I did a great deal of
longer-distance
highway driving, it would be every 7,500.
The
different types of driving are usually known as severe and mild (which
is
also sometimes called normal), Mr. Sutherland said, which
seems
counterintuitive since most of us probably don't think we drive in
severe
conditions. But we do.
The reason, he said, is that if you
take a trip of less than 10 miles or so,
the engine and the oil are not
completely warmed up. And if the oil is still
cool, he said, it cannot
absorb the contaminants that come from internal
combustion as efficiently.
"It's designed to work best when fully warmed up," Mr. Sutherland
said. "If
you're running to the music lesson, to school, the gym, that's
severe
driving conditions."
Mr. Sutherland said he has a mild
commute. "It's 47 miles, all highway."
What actually happens if you
don't change your oil? Well, it doesn't run
out, it simply gets dirtier and
dirtier. It's like mopping the floor with a
bucket of water and detergent.
The water starts out clean, but the more you
use it, the filthier it gets.
Eventually, you're making the floor dirtier if
you don't change the water.
Some people remain attached to the 3,000-mile oil change and have a
hard
time trusting the recommendations in the owner's manual. If you're one
of
those skeptics, you can send your engine oil out to be analyzed.
Blackstone
Laboratories in Fort Wayne, Ind., one of the best-known places
for engine
oil analysis, will send you a free kit.
You send back an
oil sample and for $25, they'll tell you all sorts of
things about your
car.
"We would compare what your oil looks like compared to the
average Mazda5 of
that year," said Kristen Huff, a vice president at
Blackstone. If there is a
lot more lead in my oil than in a typical Mazda5,
for example, it means I
have a bearing problem, she said.
Her lab
runs about 150 samples a day and a fair percentage of those are
consumers
looking to find out how often they need to change their oil, Ms.
Huff said.
"Very often, it is the case that they're changing their oil too
often," she
said. "They do what their dad did with his '55 Chevy."
Another way to get a more accurate assessment of your oil needs is to
buy a
car that has a maintenance minder, like a Honda. A light on the
dashboard
alerts the driver when the system judges that the oil has only 15
percent of
its useful life remaining. The time between oil changes varies
depending on
the driver and driving conditions.
Honda has used such
maintenance minders on most models for at least the last
five years, said
Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman. Previously, the owner's
manual suggested
changes every 10,000 miles in mild conditions and 5,000
miles in severe
conditions.
Still, some people stick to the 3,000-mile changes,
because "the Jiffy Lubes
of the world have done a good job convincing
people," Mr. Martin said
It's not just the fast oil change outlets. My
sticker from my trusted
mechanic states that I'll need a change in 3,000
miles or three months. But
Jiffy Lube, the largest quick oil change company
in North America, is now
under pressure to change its automatic 3,000-mile
recommendation.
For about a year, the company has run a pilot program
with some franchises
across the country suggesting that instead of a
blanket recommendation,
mechanics tell customers what the manufacturer
recommends under mild or
severe driving conditions.
"By this time
next year, every Jiffy Lube will do it," said Rick Altizer,
president of
Jiffy Lube International. And the little sticker on your
windshield will no
longer simply state when the next oil change should
occur, but, "I choose
to change my oil" at a specific mileage.
"It's so it's not some
arbitrary technician saying this," Mr. Altizer said,
but the consumer's
decision.
Mr. Reed of Edmunds.com said car owners often got
conflicting messages
because of an inherent tension: "The car manufacturers
want the reputation
that it makes cars that last a long time. The
dealership wants to see you
every three months."
But he
acknowledged that "3,000 miles strikes a deep chord with the
consumer,"
adding: "It feels good to get an oil change. If you fill up the
car with
gas, wash it and change the oil, it runs better. Of course, it
doesn't. But
it's the perception."
Although Mr. Reed is doubtful that most drivers
fall into the severe driving
category and fears mechanics will use that to
push drivers into paying for
more oil changes than necessary, Mr.
Sutherland said he wouldn't want "to
second-guess the manufacturer."
Vehicles, he said, "are a substantial
investment and changing fluids is how
you protect that investment."
So before you go in for your oil change,
dig out your owner's manual and see
what it says. And when the mechanic
slaps on a sticker that gives the next
change date in 3,000 miles, ask
questions. And then, go get the car washed.
That's one thing that always
seems to be needed.
BR in the
UK
1986 328GTS (LHD 89,940km) Died August 19, 2006 Shrewsbury UK
1980 400i
(RHD 74,000 miles)
Searching for the right 512TR
1997 Fiat
Barchetta
1985 Bertone X1/9
2003 BMW 530d
1991 Alfa Spider S4
LHD
1993 Alfa Spider S4 LHD
2010 BMW
320d
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