When did oil changes go to 10K mile intervals?

New truck manual says 10,000 miles between service intervals.    

Conventional wisdom says "when manufacturers started offering maintenance-included leases."

I stick with 5,000 miles though I occasionally lapse on that.

I think the amount of fuel that is getting collected in the crankcase on a brand new IC-powered vehicle today is much reduced vs. 10 or 20 or 30 years ago.   This helps.

I'm still a 4k to 5k changer depending on how I've been using the vehicle.  Preference is 4k and I shop for value when I'm buying oil.

2011 Fiesta for one.    Been doing "close to" since 1994.    Once a year usually.   My '13 Fiesta got it's 5th oil change last week.

pres589 said:

I think the amount of fuel that is getting collected in the crankcase on a brand new IC-powered vehicle today is much reduced vs. 10 or 20 or 30 years ago.   This helps.

 

I'm still a 4k to 5k changer depending on how I've been using the vehicle.  Preference is 4k and I shop for value when I'm buying oil.

With the new DIG engines, this isn’t always the case.  Some have had current or pending recalls for fuel dilution.   

I agree with Duke, it changed when most of the new market went to maintenance included leases and CPOs.  

It took me a long time to go from 3,000 mile to 5,000 mile oil changes.  I cannot see myself going to 10,000 mile intervals.     

I’ve only started stretching intervals once I had oil analysis done.  Last few on different cars have been anywhere from 7500-8500, both had the oil still in fine condition.  Both were good quality synthetics.  

Oil is just getting better and better too.  The in laws went more than 14k between changes on their Mazda5, and even that oil analysis wasn’t all that bad, again a good quality filter and synthetic oil

Are the oil capacities going up? Realistically, I'd think that the 3000 mile recommendation is based on oil formulations from the 1940's. Engines have improved, burning less oil, running cleaner, etc. Oils have improved dramatically--and I'm not even talking about the synthetics. 

I'd say that the lease-maintenance thing is probably what got them to admit that it isn't necessary, but if they had engines failing from the long intervals we'd see extended warranties and recalls and TSBs on this.  Remember, GM extended the warranty on the SAAB's for the oil sludge issue. Same thing would probably happen here.

The cynic side of me says that when cars started getting so good that given proper maintenance they would never wear out, manufacturers started stretching oil change intervals to bring buys back to the showroom more than once a generation.

Data point: the first car I owned with an extended OCI was the 2001 Allroad.  Audi speced it at 7,500 miles and then 10,000 for the 2005 Phaeton.  Both held 8 quarts of full synthetic and had big filters.

mtn said:

Are the oil capacities going up? Realistically, I'd think that the 3000 mile recommendation is based on oil formulations from the 1940's. Engines have improved, burning less oil, running cleaner, etc. Oils have improved dramatically--and I'm not even talking about the synthetics. 

I don't have the facts in front of me, but from what I remember, even the manufacturers never stated a 3000 mile interval unless it was "severe duty". That interval was pushed by the Quickie Lube type places to create more business for themselves.

I'm a 5k guy myself. It's safe, and it's easy to keep track of.

GM says 6-8k on Dexos oil. And then when they waste the timing chains on the 2.4L because they nominally burn a quart in 2000 miles, GM blames the customer for neglect.

Sonic said:

I’ve only started stretching intervals once I had oil analysis done.  Last few on different cars have been anywhere from 7500-8500, both had the oil still in fine condition.  Both were good quality synthetics.  

 

Oil is just getting better and better too.  The in laws went more than 14k between changes on their Mazda5, and even that oil analysis wasn’t all that bad, again a good quality filter and synthetic oil

This. Good oil and a good filter, and you're set for 'extended' change intervals. I've had no concerns (or problems) with running 10k intervals, for >15 years now.

On most (all that I'm aware of) properly running modern engines, not extending oil change intervals has not proven to do anything to extend the life of the car.  Oil analyses almost universally prove no need to change it so often, and it is generally accomplishing little more than throwing away time and money in the name of nostalgia and tradition.  The only problem I can think of that historic change intervals solve, is when poorly built/running engines are combined with people who don't know how to use a dipstick.

Improvements in engine technologies, manufacturing tolerances, and oil properties has dramatically extended the functional life of the oil.  Combine that with easy and affordable access to real world oil analysis results for individuals and the ability for the results of which to publicly proliferate on the internet to an ever expanding audience, and the manufacturers must have taken notice. They were actually more than a few years behind on this though.  I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and attribute this to being risk averse and needing to generally account for the worst case scenarios as well, rather than some combination of laziness/greediness.  Although at the local level, any recommendations otherwise are most certainly a case of putting profits over people.

Early to mid 2000's.

My Colorado/Canyons have always been in the 20,000 km (12,000 mile) range and my first one was in 06. Used to do Wife's Z24 once a year, 24,000 km +/- with a filter and top up at 6 months.

For the most part better oil, build quality, and electronic controls have made the 5000 mile oil change unnecessary.

Oh, FWIW, the TSX (06) tells us oil life-percentage left. It does not seem to be directly correlated with mileage.

In reply to mtn :

My crv also does this. I think it monitors your driving style and adjust the interval.  

The BMW intervals are apparently monitored by a sensor that runs a current through the oil to determine its condition. The reported intervals are very high; last time I reset my service interval it showed 17k miles to the next change. I can't break away from 5k mile changes, even though the rational part of my brain says 10k is probably fine, given high end synthetic, proper filter, and a 7qt capacity pan.

See here for more on the BMW system.

If you read the definition of "severe duty" you will see most city driving is included.    

  I change oil and filter at 5000 miles. 

I switched recently from 3500 miles when I decided

a) oil is way better now a days and

b) we live in Houston and rack up a lot of miles, my wife does over 5000 miles a quarter so her car gets 4 oil changes a year at least. 

lrrs said:

In reply to mtn :

My crv also does this. I think it monitors your driving style and adjust the interval.  

I think the easy way to adjust for driving style is for the system to tie the oil change interval to a certain fuel volume consumption.

The FR-S' factory change intervals are 3,500 beat on or 7,500 sane driving. Feels weird changing with that many miles.

When we got our first Jetta in '09 the factory recommendation was 10K mile oil change interval.  I struggled with going that long between oil changes, so I shipped a sample off to Blackstone, they eased my fears, and said I could go even longer between oil changes.

Besides, VW 507.00 spec oil is spendy, so I don't want to change it more often than every 10K miles.

I've been doing every 7500 on my Mazda 3 since new, which is the "heavy service" interval, I think. It runs 0w20 synthetic, and the oil doesn't look that bad when changing it. I could probably stretch it to 10k if I really wanted to. 

I haven’t had the nerve to do it yet with the Buick because of the timing chain stories but on my last few cars I’ve been going 15,000 between changes with synthetic and never had a problem. 

The maintenance clock in my civic usually hits around 6k. I use full synthetic. Before that I went 3k on conventional and 7-10k on synthetic. For my leakers and burners I get a good filter Android just keep them topped off. 

If you believe the owners manual my 78 zephyr is safe at 10k intervals during optimum driving conditions. We see alot of people at work going 7-10k and with the direct injected engines in the winter it smells more like fuel draining then oil. I really get a laugh out of 5k+ intervals and the vehicle comes in with a bunch of noise because people assume this means never check the oil. 

Shifting-for-economy auto boxes, short trips, and excessive (and thus untapped) power all combine to produce some serious moisture contamination and fuel dilution in the oil. Yet many of these people think they're taking it easy on their engines....