When did oil changes go to 10K mile intervals?

After so many years with my '03 TDI with its 10K mile OCI, switching to my 2008 Grand Caravan and its somewhat less and variable OCI has taken getting used to. I just change it in the van when the computer tells me to, but it seems to vary between 4K and 6K miles. By the time I change it, the oil looks pretty well "done."  Of course, I run the cheapest oil I can get in the van vs. the VW spec synthetic in the TDI.  The 2006 MCS will also get synthetic, but I'll probably change it about once a year, given the sporadic use it gets.

Subaru's schedule says to change the oil in any turbo engine at least every 3,750 miles. The non-turbos is about 7k miles, if I remember correctly.

What is the Dexos oil that someone mentioned?

I think is a GM specific oil.

If that's true, dear god why use anything with dex in the name? People are just now beginning to forget the Dex-Cool fiasco. 

All this attention to oil.

Buddy of mine with a mid 90’s Ranger 2.3 never changed his oil.  Just topped it up every couple-three months.  One day he was driving on the interstate and it lost oil pressure and started making a racket.

Pulled off to discover the oil filter had rusted through and spewed all the oil out of the engine.  He screwed on a new filter, refilled the oil (it’s one change) and motored on.  That was something like 6 years ago and he hasn’t changed it since.

I just listen to the oil life gauge in my Jeep. I'm usually around 8-10k miles. Then I go back to the Jeep dealership for an oil change and slap the 'in 3k miles' sticker in the corner of the window. I don't think it last the drive out of the lot.

Appleseed said:

I think is a GM specific oil.

If that's true, dear god why use anything with dex in the name? People are just now beginning to forget the Dex-Cool fiasco. 

Off-the-shelf Mobil1 meets the Dexos standard.  But, yeah.

Speaking of capacities, I just changed the oil in DD#2's 3500 Impala.  4 quarts?  4?!  Hell, the 2.4L TSX takes 5 quarts, and my 2.5L 325i took 6 and a half!

It's a GM specification.

Dex stuff wasn't the problem, maintenance was, though none of my 10 yr old GM vehicles ever had a problem and I never changed the stuff like I was supposed to either.

I never really understood the point of Dexcool.  Just to make things weird?  GM has a knack for inventing new solutions to problems that don't exist.

Suprf1y said:

It's a GM specification.

Dex stuff wasn't the problem, maintenance was, though none of my 10 yr old GM vehicles ever had a problem and I never changed the stuff like I was supposed to either.

Disagree with evidence, and it's not every day I disagree with you, but hey.

I could type all day in this topic. But since I’m on my phone..... it’s a thing. I run about 8-9k in less than 5qt sumos using Walmart synthetic oil and analyzing each sample since it’s what I do. 

Modern gdi engines will have more fuel in the oil because of how they work. 5-8% isnt uncommon. Newer blended oils 0-20 etc appear to be a bit more resistant to fuel dilution physically thinning the oil. That combined with larger sumps lead to longer intervals. 

As always send me a message if you have questions in this. It’s what I get paid to do and I’m always willing to share factual information and not rumors and internet rumors. 

Bob the REAL oil guy. said:

less than 5qt sumos

You mean like these little guys?

In reply to Duke :

Stupid small iPhone keyboard

I wonder what the manufacturer's recommended intervals would be for those of us who buy new and then drive them for 10+ years? I suspect that they are "comfortable" stretching them out because they only have to warranty them for 60k miles...

My 2008 accord had the vtec actuator valve go out three times over 10 years and 140k miles. The service manager said it was because of the extended oil change interval... I had no reason to doubt his comment, so I started changing the oil in my wife's 2012 CRV at the 50% oil life monitor point just to be safe. 

I have since sold the accord and picked up a camry... it has 10k intervals, but I'm doing an intermediate 5k change just to be safe. I figure $30 DIY oil changes are worth the safety and sound sleeping.

back in the mid 70,s i worked at a Mobil gas station Mobil one full synthetic oil,s claim to fame was 25k miles between oil changes and it was $5 a quart when conventional oil was $1 and oil change standard interval was 5000 miles

i remember the commercials where they would drain the oil out of engines that had been running on synthetic oil and run them for a stupid amount of time without blowing up so what has changed?

i met a guy in maine years ago who swore up and down he has never changed the oil in any vehicle he has ever owned simply changed the filter every 10k and topped up the oil 

at the time he was driving a dodge truck with close to 200k and his two adult sons confirmed his claims of never changing oil in anything and he bought that truck new

who really knows!

Modern diesel semis can go 50,000 miles between changes. Cummins offers an oil analysis program that can extend that interval all the way to 80,000 miles under the right conditions.

In reply to STM317 :

I might know a thing or two about that program. 

NickD said:

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.

To be fair to gm, it’s also the owners job to check their oil and almost nobody does it.  

I've always stuck to changing oil and filter at 3k for std oil and 5k for synthetic.  I typically run the walmart brand synthetic or std oil.  I checked the certifications on the walmart oil and it met all the same levels as the other name brands.  

Thus far I've had only one issue, which was operater error by virtue of lazieness.  I already had my 5.3 Envoy oil drained and new filter on when I realized I only had synthetic on the shelf not the std.  I decided it would be fine and regretted it immediately upon starting it.  It puked an oil presssure sensor within the first 12hrs and subsequently developed leaks where it never had them.  I changed it out for std and gave it a fresh sensor.  It was happy after that with exception of the persistent oil leaks.

In reply to 84FSP :

Those leaks were already there. The sludge build up is what kept them from physically leaking. The synthetic just cleared the shot out of there as it is supposed to and the leaks were actually allowed to leak. Oil doesn’t cause leaks. 

Bob the REAL oil guy. said:

In reply to 84FSP :

Those leaks were already there. The sludge build up is what kept them from physically leaking. The synthetic just cleared the shot out of there as it is supposed to and the leaks were actually allowed to leak. Oil doesn’t cause leaks. 

Entirely likely that they were there.  I would have preferred they stayed sludged and not leaking though :)

Bob the REAL oil guy. said:

In reply to 84FSP :

Those leaks were already there. The sludge build up is what kept them from physically leaking. The synthetic just cleared the shot out of there as it is supposed to and the leaks were actually allowed to leak. Oil doesn’t cause leaks. 

Question for you sir as you are way above my knowledge level on the subject.  Any wisdom on the Chinese Walmart Supertech oil?  Is it as good as the average offering or train wreck waiting to happen?

In reply to 84FSP :

Been using it for years. I’ve got 3 years of uoa on it. When I get back to the work laptop I can send you the last few reports and an explanation. The basic answer is if it’s got the appropriate api grade for your engine it’ll be fine. If you want to go with extended drains I would highly recommend working up to the max while using uoa to find that right point where you’ve gotten your monies worth but aren’t causing excess wear/damage. 

Edit: it’s not Chinese. It’s just rebranded oil from us suppliers. What we get here in the Midwest could be (cannot say 100% either way) a pennzoil fluid. I’ve seen the same fluid from the west coast that is different. Since I know it’s sourced regionally that’s not uncommon. 

If your going to run extended intervals it's worth sending samples out to be tested. My wife's ion used 7500 mile intervals with synthetic oil per the owners manual recommendation and didn't start showing the normal ecotech issues until 145k. I normally send a sample every other oil change. 

In reply to dropstep :

Yeah once you’ve found that sweet spot for your car and conditions once a year is the normal recommendation I make just so you keep on top of anything that might pop up.