What is the optimal oil change interval?

[CharPatton]

I grew up in the dark ages when we changed the oil on our family cars like clockwork every 3500 miles.

But in this modern era, with synthetic oils and automated oil quality monitoring, what is the best interval?

Should we wait until the engine oil monitor says 5-10% oil life remaining, or should we stick to a time-based (say, every 6 months?) interval?

We have a 2023 Timberline that is driven very low mileage.

We now have the oil changed at the dealer who uses a synthetic blend oil.

As always, thanks!

 

[mx10166]

I listen to an Podcast called "Under the Hood" who features a very experienced mechanic. He recommends for a 3.5 EcoBoost and other EcoBoosts to never go as long as the monitoring says due to the high power density of this engine and the wear and failures he has seen when they do. He recommends 5000 miles maximum. This is what I do. I have owned a 2018 and 2020 and always change at 5000 miles or less. 3500 is too low in my opinion and not necessary.

 

[DieselMonk]

Our dealer uses the "severe" service schedule combined with full synthetic oil on diesels and gasoline, all engines. This corresponds to 50% oil life remaining on the oil life monitor (8000km or 5000mi). I've been following this severe schedule and never had any engine / turbo problems as such. I follow the severe schedule on any brand car.
Unless you drive a lot of highway, severe is the way to go for my area anyway.

 

[BigOleFordFan]

I've been running ~5-6K miles with full synthetic on my '11 Expy, as well as my wife's '17 Acadia, for almost 4 years now....and we both drive a fair amount of highway miles each month, but still neveranottaproblmo

But even for lighter driving mostly on highways, I would still go for the same interval, just to be safe...

And just an FYI, our respective stealerships charge $133 & $149, but our local, trusted mechanic only charges us $25, since we provide our preferred oil & filters (Mobile 1 5W30 & Fram Extra Guard)

 

[GaryH]

Just my opinion, but anything over about 5k is pushing your luck, even with the modern synthetics.

 

[Benztech]

I grew up in the dark ages when we changed the oil on our family cars like clockwork every 3500 miles.

But in this modern era, with synthetic oils and automated oil quality monitoring, what is the best interval?

Should we wait until the engine oil monitor says 5-10% oil life remaining, or should we stick to a time-based (say, every 6 months?) interval?

We have a 2023 Timberline that is driven very low mileage.

We now have the oil changed at the dealer who uses a synthetic blend oil.

As always, thanks!

How much is very low mileage and what are the driving conditions? I put about 2500 miles on my car each year. I change the oil in it once a year. My truck sees about 7k each year of mostly short trips. I change the oil in it every 3k.

 

[Boosted]

I say 4000-5000 miles. If you know you short-tripped a lot, especially in cold temperatures then lean toward 4000. If you took a long road trip go to 5,000.

Use a high quality synthetic like Penzoil Ultra Platinum, Mobil 1 ESP, HPL, Amsoil or something similar.

Use a top quality filter of your liking. Right now my favorites are as follows:
Carquest Premium 84502 due to 99% efficiency at 20 micron but foreign made
Wix regular 57502, (NOT XP) due to USA made but only 95% efficient at 21 micron
FYI the Ford FL-500S is 95% efficient at 30 microns and highly regarded but has had some sourcing changes from their legacy manufacturing of the past so historical relevance has been shortened to the last few years.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

I really should start taking oil samples every 2500 miles or so and send them off to Blackstone Labs. My friend does this with his Mazda direct injected CX5, and says they are telling him his oil is still good at 12000 miles and to go 14000.

 

[Paul M]

My two cents...
Since the mid 80's I've run full synthetic in every vehicle I've owned. Every vehicle I've replaced (mostly pickups) has had a MINIMUM of 250K miles on them and I've never had an engine issue or had to "crack open" the block for repairs. In the late 70's to early 80's oil was changed 2000 to 2500 miles (pre synthetic) late 80's onward full synthetic at 5000 miles.

TLDR: I'm old and use synthetic oil at 5K changes

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

I grew up in the dark ages when we changed the oil on our family cars like clockwork every 3500 miles.

But in this modern era, with synthetic oils and automated oil quality monitoring, what is the best interval?

Should we wait until the engine oil monitor says 5-10% oil life remaining, or should we stick to a time-based (say, every 6 months?) interval?

We have a 2023 Timberline that is driven very low mileage.

We now have the oil changed at the dealer who uses a synthetic blend oil.

As always, thanks!

Asking the oil-change question is like asking what is the best oil filter to use.

 

[davep411]

I read the OPs question more about the time. Nobody seems to have addressed the time interval. Since they states low miles, I'm guessing they are more interested about the oil life monitor vs time. Someone who has low miles could well reach time before miles. I believe the oil life monitor does take time into account (12 months I think?). But as asked, given today's synthetic oils, do they break down in the same way where the back in the day standard was every 3k mi or 3 months? I do agree on these motors you should not go beyond 5k for milage. I try to do 3.5k ~ 4k myself, but am curious about the time aspect as well for when/if I don't hit that milage before the time.

 

[LazSlate]

With twin turbos and very small oil passages changing oil is important. BUT most over do it. I generally go by mileage and time.
If you have not driven it much the once a year is fine as synth oils do not break down on their own like organic oil. Once you hit 3-4k you should check the color and smell. If its black or smells like gas (not a little bit but a lot) then change it. Otherwise wait till about 5-6k then change it. Older cars from decades ago can go a long time between changes but newer tight tolerance engines with turbos its important to change more often.

 

[DieselMonk]

Time interval? 12 months or 5K mi, whatever is first.
The only thing about the oil I do not recommend is that 0 or 5W20 and lower that is thin as WD40. That crap does deliver fuel economy, but the film strength on bearings etc is da sh*ts specifically low reving, high load. Stay with 5w30 or 5w40 and for some specific high horsepower cars with 5w50.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

...
Wix regular 57502, (NOT XP) due to USA made but only 95% efficient at 21 micron

Curious why 'NOT XP' ? isn't that their premium line? If they are overseas, they are quite likely made by Mann (who owns Wix), and Mann makes excellent filters, been the preferred filter for Mercedes etc in Europe for decades.

 

[Mr Big]

I change oil with synthetic oil and filter with Motorcraft every 5000 miles.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

(oops, already posted)

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Time may or may not be that important, depending on how often & how far you drive but also HOW you drive....

Folks who drive occasionally for normal, moderate distances and in a moderate fashion are usually safe to wait a bit longer time-wise between changes....as can folks who only drive a few days per week to & from the office or shopping etc.

OTOH, for those of us who are Leadfooted and regularly drive a lot of miles per week/month and are therefore harder on our vehicles, I would say that the mileage would be more relevant, since we could easily rack up 5-10K miles in a month or less....

But I still stick by my previous comments of 5-6K miles with full synthetic....

 

[Boosted]

Curious why 'NOT XP' ? isn't that their premium line? If they are overseas, they are quite likely made by Mann (who owns Wix), and Mann makes excellent filters, been the preferred filter for Mercedes etc in Europe for decades.

In my opinion, the XP is a poorly spec'd filter. It is designed for longer intervals (which I don't need with a 5K interval), and its filtration capability is poor. They are using larger micron filtration to offer extended life without clogging the filter and going to bypass, but that means that a lot of smaller micron particles get through. Compared to other filters it is really a rock catcher.

Great comparison:

https://www.f150ecoboost.net/threads/oil-filter-comparison.84233/

Notice how the XP is not even on the chart. Check out the next chart to see the adjusted view.


Now you can see the XP filter efficiency is VERY poor.


Here you can see how out of place the XP filter is. It doesn't clog because it doesn't filter small particles. So yes, you can run the filter for 20K miles but with tons of small particles in your oil. That is not an acceptable position for me.

 

[duneslider]

Neither of my expeditions oil monitors let me do much more than about 5k before coming on? Not sure if its because I tow fairly often, or not, but it is right around 5k miles that it comes on.

 

[Mr Big]

Neither of my expeditions oil monitors let me do much more than about 5k before coming on? Not sure if its because I tow fairly often, or not, but it is right around 5k miles that it comes on.

5k or 1 year is factory set and normal depending on what year Expedition you have. My 2019 warns me at 5k or 1 year. As stated I always change oil and filter every 5k.