Are 3 Thousand Mile Oil Changes Necessary?
Just think of how much money we would have saved if we only knew that! Not to mention the oil! But now car experts are changing their tune and claiming the 3,000 mile tune up may be overkill. Many of us believe going in for a 25 dollar oil change every 3-thousand miles is standard practice for proper maintenance of your car. Well, you'll be surprised to learn you're probably wasting time and money.
Charlie Vogelheim, Kelley Blue Book:
"Right now there are recommendations that you change your oil every three thousand miles or every 3 months and you know it really depends on your driving conditions how often you change it."
For years, 3-thousand miles has been the automotive industries standard recommended distance between oil changes, but you'd have to drive your vehicle pretty hard, in rather harsh conditions to make that necessary. So how do you know when you're oil is ready for a change?Based on technology in their cars, one manufacturer can tailor each customer's routine maintenance needs. Nearly all new general motors cars have an on board computer that evaluates engine conditions and driver use and displays when the vehicle actually needs servicing. So owners of these cars can forget about routine maintenance until they see the change engine oil light or message on their dash.
Peter Lord, General Motors:
"The oil life monitor could come on as soon as 3-000 miles if the customer has used the vehicle for a lot of short journeys in very cold weather. Or it could go for as long as 10-000 miles before the oil life is used up if they've done a lot of long journeys on the open highway."
This technology actually saves time and money by eliminating unnecessary oil changes and gm says by changing their oil only when it's necessary their customers wills save 100 million gallons of oil over the next five years.
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