mattbutt

Just found out I need an oil change on my car every 3000 miles, I have just done 9000 miles,

When in the UK I always changed the oil around 12 - 15 thousand miles (depending on the service interval)

So why do I need to change my oil every 3000 miles? I have a new ford focus, I presume has the same enginie as the european variant?

Are there any technical people that can tell me the difference between 10W30 oil used here and 10W40 Oil in the uk?

ironporer

Both conform to SAE (Society of Automorive Engineers) standard 10W30 if they carry the "SAE" designation.

I find it difficult to believe that in UK you only change oil every15K miles (25K km?) unless it is a high priced synthetic oil.

One other reason perhaps, to try and help out those poor starving children of the Exxon/BP execs?

mattbutt

Im sure it was every 12 000 ish miles, and I used Castrol GTX?!

On the new Audi A2 you cant even get to the engine and the service interval I think is about 40 000 miles!

Duncs

I had a BMW in the Uk which had a computer which told you on the dash display how many miles until oil change/service. It averaged around 15,000 miles for me which was once a year sometimes a bit less 12,000 odd if i did a lot of harder driving.

I cant see why any car really needs an oil change every 3000 miles i think its highly wasteful here to change it so often. Every 6 months or 6000 miles is plenty in my view. Although that said i have dont it here to keep inside my Mercury warranty terms.

Rumplestiltskin

I nearly bought a new Focus last month - Don't think it was the same engine as it was a 2.4l and with UK petrol prices that would just be too greedy...

Instead I bought a Saturn Ion 3 Quad Coupe - this also recommends an oil change at 3,000 miles...

Maybe this is just for the first oil change as the engine has gone from new to 3,000 miles? Mine has an oil life monitor and the users manual says that it will tell me when to change my oil which will be shorter/longer depending on how hard the car is driven.

It also says that the oil may not need to be changed for over a year (and US average mileage is 12-15,000 miles a year) but that they recommend changing engine oil at least yearly.

Pulaski

I don't know why you were waiting 12-15,000 miles in the UK that is waaaay too long. The typical recommended service interval in the UK has been 6,000 miles/ 6 months for as long as I can remember, which is longer than I have been driving.

And to Answer Duncs question, the service indicator detects the state of tune of the engine, and has nothing to do with the natural degradation of the oil through usage and the passage of time (see also below, re Mobil 1).

I don't know why Americans are obsessed with changing engine oil every three months/ 3,000 miles as it certainly isn't necessary these days (maybe it was in the past, but I don't know about that). The cars I have owned since I came to the US all have, specified in the owners manual a requirment to have the oil changed at 5-6,000 miles/ six months, and in each case the dealers have sincerely told me that oil should be changed every 3 months/ 3,000 miles, ..... which I have ignored, because that it not what the manufacturer, and therefore the warranty, requires.

I have used full synthetic oil in my car for a number of years, when I was in the UK, and now here. Synthetic oil does last longer, it degrades more slowly, handles heat better, and eliminates significantly more friction, and as such is sutiable for a 12 month/ 12,000 mile oil change interval (maybe, Duncs, your BMW was using synthetic oil as I know that BMW is a big backer of Mobil 1 full synthetic oil?) I estimate that it cost me around an extra $20 on each oil change, but as it could easily double, or more, the life of the engine, it seems to me to be a small price to pay.

So the answer to the oil change question? .... Check what the owners manual says, assuming that the vehicle is under warranty, otherwise 6 months/ 6,000 miles should be fine, unless you use full synthetic oil when 12 months/ 12,000 miles would be OK.

As for the 10wX rating, the second number is an indication of the "thickness" of the oil - 40 is more syrupy than 30, and 20 even less syrupy than 30. Many new cars in the US are now recommended to use 10w20 as there is some notional (very very marginal) fuel economy gain which is important for the manufacturers to meet their average economy targets set by the Federal government, but is too marginal to be noticed by the public given the natural variability of gas quality and driving conditions. However some engineers are suggesting that 10w20 oil is too thin to provide proper lubrication and my local Ford dealer has been putting 10w30 oil in the engine despite the owners manual specifying 10w20.

mattbutt

Thanks for that, will get my oil changed next week.

joto

Maybe the 3,000 miles is artificially low because the poor oil company's need to make a buck or two. I change the oil in my car about every 5-6,000 miles, and it runs fine.

BritGuyTN

oil change intervals in the usa are nonsense it seems and just a way for local dealers to make a buck or two

i am sharing a cherokee at the moment - i phoned the local dealer and they said every 3000, the uk dealer said every 5-7000 miles.....

all i know is that in that in the UK i have a bmw and a porsche - the beemer tells me every 12-15k miles is time for a change, the porker is apparently every 15k miles

The bmw has castrol gtx magnatec and the porsche mobil f1 (both synthetic)

Go with what it says in the manual

the porsche usa dealers don't give a shit and recommend 12-15k intervals

the car i share does about 40k miles per year and the concept of an oil change every month is bullshit

Bluegrass Lass

I drive a Nissan, nothing sporty-like, and my manual does say every 3000 miles to change the oil. I can always tell a big difference in how the engine sounds after changing the oil, and sincerely think that it's necessary. Granted, my car is about 6 years old, so it's probably best to make sure it stays well maintained - since I'm paranoid about car problems because of bad cars in the past.

I had another car that I didn't regularly have oil changed, but if I had, the mechanics would have detected an oil leak early enough to keep it from being a big problem. As it was, it turned out one of seals had started to leak, I didn't know it, and I came close to driving it until it was dry - which naturally caused some other damage that I can't remember.

Pulaski

A guy in the service department of my local Honda dealer I was chatting with a few weeks ago said that with Mobil 1 in the engine my wife's Accord is good for 10,000 miles service intervals, which is the longest interval allowed while staying within the warranty conditions.

excpomea

I'm sure 3000 mile interval is based on financial reasons.
Just like every other thing in the US.
I go with the VW service/owners manuals .

Then spend the money save on dinner out.

dunroving

http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...tember/04.html

Patrick

They have me by the balls, the truck I have is just over a year old and to keep the warranty (7 year or 70000) I have to change the oil every 3,300 miles. The dealership said that I had to use them to keep the warranty (about twice the price of Waliworld) which is a lie, I can go whereever I like. I do use the Dealership though because I get them to rotate the tyres (tires) every time and check the thing over, you can't put a price on peace of mind, especially when its your livelyhood.

Patrick

The honda goes to Waliworld

scrubbedexpat099

Most new cars at 12m/12,000 mile oil change everywhere except US.

I did ask why they changed the oil so often, received no logical answer but I think sometimes it is looked upon as a mini service.

I sold my car in the UK a month ago, had it for 6 years, annual service annual oil change, 9,000 miles a year.

I can see the benefit in changing every 6 months, especially if very low mileage, short journeys, as the oil has to work that much harder.

It did use to be 3 months/ 3,000 in the UK, but that must have been 40 years ago. Engines and oil have improved a lot since then.