RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

Excuse what must sound like a stupid question. I'm a notorious short-tripper - my office is about a mile from my house if I go the long way. I try not to drive, but do if it's too cold, raining, etc. A lot of the time the car does not get fully warm. I'm running a top-quality synthetic 0-30W, and my oil change light went off at just under 3000 miles. Should the synthetic give me longer life than that, or does it make no difference - the synthetic is just as contaminated as dino would be with short-trip by-products? Should I change this oil now (about 3400 on it)?

ss rally red

iTrader: (8)

MOST synthetic manufactures dont advise longer oil change intervals, although syntheics dont break down like petrolem oils they still trap contaminets and your oil change meter has NO idea what type of oil your are running so you cant go by that go by feels right by your own gut, I run 0W40 Mobil1 and change it every 3K. Might be a bit premature but my car also sits almost 6 months between changes so WTF. LOL

ncd1966

iTrader: (2)

i try to change my oil at least 2500 miles or at 3000 even with synthetic. Thats just me. A few months back I replaced a engine for a girl I knew. Someone told her that she could go a while without changing her oil in newer cars. Well she did alot of driving with her job and bam!! I tore into her motor and she had a broken rod in 2 places, a piston in about 6 pieces, one broken intake valve, the cams were screwed up and her cylinder heads were trashed. Her crank and main bearings were no good and I took about half a pound of metal out of her oill pan. Well evently I had to get a long block. Man what one nightmare of a job. Cost about $6200 for parts and labor and I was being very nice on the labor part.
So ever since I seen that I change my oil 2500-3000 miles even if my oil looks clean

KrazyDan

sometimes when they change your oil, they will forget to reset your oil light. happens to me. I just go by 3000 miles if i forget to reset the oil light

qwikz28

iTrader: (12)

i know a girl with a honda that doesnt believe me that you have to change the oil. she bought the 03 v6 accord coupe brand new and the dealer did one oil change for her at 17k without her asking. that was the only one. i add oil for her when its low but i dont tell her. the car has almost 45k and im waiting for something to break. damn japenese cars

SSDude

You need to have a UOA done ASAP. Short trips sometimes causes fuel dilusion. This can lead to excess wear on your engine.

OneMeanZ

iTrader: (2)

how do you reset that light?

onyx_rock

iTrader: (8)

Read owners manual. It is in there.

FBDYLVR

iTrader: (14)

With the ignition in the "ON" but the engine not running, Hold the Trip meter reset button for longer than 7 seconds and wait for the OIL CHANGE light to blink twice. Then release.

GoldenVelvet

Your joking right? No one can be that .....

WS6FirebirdTA00

iTrader: (33)

ha if u think that story is weird listen to this,

guy came into work with his wifes van, she apparently thought she was only suppose to change the oil after the FIRST 3000 miles and that was it, well the van had 47000 miles on it!!!! the car has gone almost 45000 miles with the oil that was in it. dropped the plug on it and had to use a screw driver, the longest oil change ever, had to add oil and flush and run the car and repeat and repeat, finally came clean. it was a dodge too, i thought they had a hard time running even if u change the oil lol

synthetic oil is engineeered to go longer in the car, however, the oil filter can only filter so many contaminates before it gets clogged and doesnt filter anything out. every 3000 miles just change your oil, i change mine every 2000 or so. usually u can tell when its about time, keep lookin at the oil, at about 2200 mine starts to turn darker so i decided this is the time to change the oil. dont let it get black before u change it, u will get too much build up in the engine if u do that.

Jennyhawk02

That's pretty bad.

Sounds like my sister. She didn't do hers until about 25k. It was a Toyota. The engine caught fire about 2 months later. They said it was because she had no oil in her engine. Not sure if that was true or not but it was kind of funny. I think she tried to do her own oil change or something. Guess I'll never know.......

1 BLOWN V8

iTrader: (17)

synthetic oil is engineeered to go longer in the car, however, the oil filter can only filter so many contaminates before it gets clogged and doesnt filter anything out. every 3000 miles just change your oil, i change mine every 2000 or so. usually u can tell when its about time, keep lookin at the oil, at about 2200 mine starts to turn darker so i decided this is the time to change the oil. dont let it get black before u change it, u will get too much build up in the engine if u do that.[/QUOTE]

Exactly what he said. Synthetic's can go longer between oil changes but oil filters cant.
Also on warranty's if you have problems with the internal motor, the first thing they will ask for is proof of oil changes done every 3,000 miles. If you cant prove it you are SOL.

Mr Incredible

"Also on warranty's if you have problems with the internal motor, the first thing they will ask for is proof of oil changes done every 3,000 miles. If you cant prove it you are SOL."
If you follow oil change recommendations from the owner's manual or mfg's recommendations you are covered. Keep proof of your purchase/maintenance.

Oil Change Lights - "Those indicators, at least as installed on GM vehicles, don't actually run tests on the engine oil. Instead, engineers program the computer with a lifespan for the oil under ideal circumstances. This ideal scenario varies from one engine to the next, as some engines are harder on oil than others. Then the computer "penalizes" the longevity of the oil based on service. GM believes the most critical external factors to oil life are its running time and its operating temperature; therefore, the indicator tracks engine rpm as a measure of running time and engine temperature as a measure of the oil's environment, applies mathematical penalties to the ideal scenario based on these readings, and blinks the light when the countdown hits zero."

If you are worried about short trips, this is an excellent excuse to go for long drives regularly.

A prudent course would be to change your oil and filter at 3k-4k miles. Synthetics are wonderful, but condensation is an equal-opportunity destroyer.

Synthetic Oil Life Study