Oil changes- when do you get them?

[adragonfly]

I know our manual says every 5,000 miles, but some people tell me to go every 3,000 anyway because 5,000 seems too long to wait between them. I haven't actually gotten one yet, but my car is at 3,500 and I don't know if I should wait or go already. What do you guys do?

 

[skman]

i went to get an oil change at 3000KM..not mile..hehe...maybe little bit early..but i really wanna keep my engine running good...
i'll get another oil change at 8000KM...it's comming soon

 

[ILMP5]

I get mine done every 3,000miles, even though I use synthetic oil. I just want to be in the safe side.

 

[Sir Nuke]

I have ALWAYS changed my oil at 3000 mile intervals....and I ALWAYS change the filter EVERY time as well.....and with out manuals telling us that we SHOULD rotate our tires every 3750 miles....well its just an easy thing to remember to do that every oil change as well. :{D

I believe you will find that if you stick with something in the 3000 mile ballpark...you really can't go wrong....use a quality oil....and filter....and you will be fine. I have always been a little SAFER THAN SORRY......and I have had MANY engines go long after others have quite...or needed major work.

 

[Don]

I do mine every time I do a tire rotation - 3,000 miles

Don

 

[BigBlue]

I do the complete oil/filter change every 4000 KM as well as all the major tuneup stuff. As a matter of fact at least in Canada, I was given a pamplet and all the different recommeded things such as complete inspections, oil changes ect are on multiples of 4000....like 4000,8000,16000,24000 etc.

 

[YellowMP5]

Since you are only at 3500, i would suggest you change your oil NOW. your car went through a break-in period and that is more stress on the engine. so change the oil in it asap. no need to have that dirty stuff in there. after that you should be pretty safe with $5000 miles especially if you use sythetic. i am sticking to synthetic and 3k miles myself. i do run the car at 80--90mph everyday in 90 degree weather with AC so its a lot of stress, i think. also it doesn't have to be precisely 3k or 5k. if you go over a little bit, its not a big deal.

 

[adragonfly]

Thanks for all the help, guys... I didn't get around to it this past weekend, but definately will go this weekend. Thanks for the reminder on the tires too, Sir Nuke! Always such a help! Does your wife know how handy you are? I hope so!

 

[fastdrvr23]

I changed my oil over to synthetic at 2500 miles and intend to change it every 5,000. The oil has been in there for about 4000 miles now and it is looks as clean as when I put it in. Make sure you use a high quality filter as well. I think 3,000 is a good interval for regular oil, but it seems a bit wasteful with synthetic.
Basically as long as you follow a set schedule you should be good to go. Good luck!

 

[ZoomZoomH]

I stick with manual's recommendation, which is every 5000 miles. I am glad to hear that many people here go out of their way and do frequent oil changes, but the 5000 mile-old oil that I changed out last week still looked good enough for maybe another 1000 miles, so I would say any interval between 3000-5000 would be OK, just don't go 10,000 without oil change!!!

 

[ZoomZoomH]

oh yeah, I went to the dark side and put in Mobil 1 during the oil change mentioned in my previous post . I'll see how long it'll last before an oil change is required

 

[BILLKOSHAR]

I changed mine after the first 2,000 miles due to the break-in period. I'll change it every 3,000 miles and change the filter as well. The owner's manual recommends for normal, U.S. driving to use 5W-30W. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Grim013]

I changed mine at 3K, and I'm going to do it again at about 5500. The summer is about to start here in Florida, and I always like to have some new oil in the engine to last through the Hot Months. Maby more superstition than anything else. But I feel that old oil offers less protection in out 90 degree+ daily heat [100+ on the roads]..

 

[Baltopro5]

I had my first oil change at 3000 miles( for the break in period) . I drive about 100 miles a day. Most of my trips are 30miles or more. I will change my oil about every 4000 0r 5000 miles now. If you don not make long trips the always change your oil every 3000 miles.

 

[gene in cincinnati]

10,000 miles. I was considering 15,000, but I am going to analyze the oil to see how long it can go.

 

[adragonfly]

10,000?!!! Seems like an awful ong time to wait, if you ask me. Let me know how that goes for you, although I'm going this weekend at 3,500 anyway.

 

[Sporin]

I change my oil and filter and rotate my tires every 5k. Anything more is overkill and a waste in my opinion, an dth eopinion of nearly every laboratory that tests oil.

Modern dino-oil lasts way longer then Jiffy Lube would like you to believe. Newer BMW's and Benz's have a sensor that constantly checks the oil and tells you when to change it. The average interval has been between 10k-15k.

3000 mile intervals were invented by the quicky oil change places.

Ultimately do what you want to do, but a little research is all it takes to find out the truth behind the marketing hype.

 

[gene in cincinnati]

I use the same oil that is in my 3-series. I change my oil every 15,000 per the onboard computer and the BMW recommendations. I wanted to drop it down a bit for the Protege5, since this is a car that we want to keep for a long time.

 

[Grim013]

I thought the BMW was strictly milage based.. not sensor based?

 

[Sporin]

Sensor based from everything I've read.