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Q: Do I really need to change my oil every 3,000 to 3,500 miles? My owner’s manual says I can go 5,000, 7,000 or even 10,000 miles doesn’t it?

A: Technically yes it does say that, but read the not so fine print. You can only do that if you drive under light service. Guess what, 95% or more of us drive under the “Severe” or “Extreme” conditions as described in most owners manuals. Yep, that’s everyday stop and go driving, commuting, quick trips to the store, etc.
If you drive like that, as 95% of us do, you need to change your oil every 3,000 to 3,500 miles OR every 3 months.

Q: If I only drive a few hundred miles a month can I stick to the 3,000 or 3,500 mile guideline?

A: No! You need to change your oil at least every 3 months. Remember oil isn’t just for lubricating it’s also for cleaning and has what are called, “detergents” and “additives” in the oil that suspend all the bad crud, dirt, sludge, etc. in the oil so it doesn’t stick inside your engine and gum up the works, so to speak. If oil is left in the engine to long the “detergents” and “additives” break down then the dirt and sludge will stick to the metal and clog the tiny oil lubricating passages in your engine. It’s just like how cholesterol in your body clogs up your veins then you don’t get enough blood where you need it. When the oil passages clog in your engine the oil doesn’t get where it needs to be. It can cause thousands of dollars in engine repairs. You gotta get that crud out of there to make your engine run right and last longer.

Q: What are some of the problems you have seen from people not changing oil often enough?

A: BMW, says change your oil with synthetic every 10,000 miles. But I’ve found when you do this the normal moisture from the engine running does not get out of the engines oil. In winter that moisture can freeze the passage closed that vents excess pressure out of the engine. When the pressure builds up too high it has to escape somewhere. I’ve seen it make engine seals leak or even pop out completely loosing almost all the engines oil, valve covers warp the oil can get in the catalytic converter destroying it causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. Toyota has had major problems with oil gelling in oil pans (just like Jell-O). When that happens, it starves the engine for oil. VW, Audi & Saab have major problems with the tube that sucks the oil from the oil pan into the oil pump clogging. Once clogged it also starves the engine of oil. Volvo piston rings get stuck scraping cylinder walls and seizing the engine solid… and on and on. They don’t tell you about these problems because they want to sell more cars!

Q: Is there a difference in types of oil and brands?

A: Yes, to some degree. But a lot of it is just “marketing hype”. Each manufacturer has their own blend of additive packages and detergents that they add, but today most cars use a blended oil with a weight of 5-30 for cold weather driving, and 10-30 for warm weather driving. The 5-30 lets the oil get thinner and flow at colder temperatures than the 10-30. No matter what type of oil you use the most important thing to do is change it often.

Q: What about “Synthetic Oil”, is it worth the extra cost?

A: Yes if you drive a high performance import car or drive a race car, but even then you’d change the oil after each race. Generally the answer’s No, you pay more but as I said the 2nd role of oil is to clean your engine and trap or suspend the dirt and crud. That means you still must clean out the oil regularly even synthetic oil. Synthetic oil does flow better in extreme cold. But, is it worth the extra cost when most manufacturers and mechanics still suggest you change synthetic oil every 5,000 miles at the most? Let me put it this way, if you bought expensive toothpaste would you brush your teeth less often?

Q: What problems do you see and hear about most often with the Fast or Quick Oil Change places?

A: I’ll just list a few, there are the obvious horror stories of wrong filters put on, loose, leaking or stripped drain plugs, putting too much or not enough oil in or adding the wrong fluids.

1. Take a look at who’s doing the work. How much experience do think they have working on cars.

2. Take a look at their tools, are they SAE? Metric? Or more likely just a vise grip, screwdriver, and an oil filter wrench?

3. These places almost NEVER replace the oil drain plug gasket. This can cause leaks of oil onto your garage floor or even worse you could loose all your oil. Yes this really does happen!

4. Since they’re not technicians how much of a total vehicle inspection can they really do? Sure they can check the fluid levels and tire pressures. Let’s face it, typically it takes about 30-45 minutes to properly inspect your car and perform an Oil Change with all the right parts, tools, gaskets, filters, etc. They have to do it in under 10 minutes to make money, how much time can they take with your car? Sure they’ll do it fast but is that what you really want? If you got a checkup from a doctor would you want the fastest one or the most thorough, even if it took a little longer?

5. Don’t fall for all those extra things they often try to sell you. I’m talking about - higher quality oil, synthetic oil, additives, wiper blades, PCV valves, air filters. And additional charges for import car filters and oil if you need over 4 or 5 quarts.

To sum it all up… The best & cheapest thing to protect your investment, is to get your oil changed and your car inspected regularly by a professional auto repair shop you trust that takes the time to do it right!

Your car, your beauty, your baby needs check ups regularly to stay in tip top running condition. Most car repairs are needed because of neglect from the vehicle’s operator or owner. If proper maintenance is performed, cars will usually stay running smoothly for a long time. I know you’ve heard car owners say; “It never needed anything more than an oil change”. Of course he doesn’t mention the fact the hoses and belts were checked once a month or the oil was changed every 3,000 miles. He doesn’t mention all the little routine regular maintenance he performed religiously. Maybe he assumes everyone treats their cars that way or maybe he wants you to ask him about his routine maintenance checks on the vehicle to keep it in such good shape.

Regular car maintenance is important to maintain the running condition of your vehicle and to prevent untimely car repairs and break downs on the side of the road. If you live in places like Minnesota you’ll want to do regular maintenance on your car. Cold weather is hard on the engine of a vehicle so you’ll want to make sure your car is in good running condition. Plus being stuck on the side of the road in freezing cold is tough on the human body too.

Most of the import and domestic automobile manufacturers recommend their vehicles receive a lube, oil & filter change and or inspection every 3,000 miles, such as BMW, Audi, Toyota, just to name a few. At 3,000 miles they also recommend a chassis lube, air filter inspection, have all the vehicles fluids checked, hoses and belts inspected and tire pressures checked.

At 6,000 they’ll recommend another lube, oil and filter change and or inspection, the tires rotated, brakes inspected, have an inspection done on the fuel system, all vehicle fluids checked, belts and hoses inspected, and the tire pressures checked. At 15,000 miles they recommend to have the air filter, lube oil and filter changed, plus a 4-wheel alignment performed. At 18,000 they recommend an engine oil system flush. At 30,000 they recommend air and fuel filter change, injector cleaning and throttle body service, rotate and balance the tires, a power steering flush, automatic transmission flush, radiator system flush, and evaporator system flush.

All quality expert mechanics will recommend that you have a maintenance schedule written down and stick to it religiously. It’s also good to keep this kind of record in case you ever sell the car, you could even get more for it by letting the buyer know exactly the services, which have been performed on the car whether you do the actual work yourself or pay a good mechanic to do it for you. All these inspections are recommended in order to prevent damage to your engine and other parts of your car, which if not done could lead to costly repairs. If you have a quality mechanic you use all the time for the maintenance and repairs of your car, he’ll help you keep up with the scheduled maintenance by reminding you when something is coming up. He’ll even record the service, so you’ll have record of it later. So, keep up the maintenance on your car regularly and you’ll have a car to last you for a very long time.

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