[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by toyotafanboi

When it comes to oil changes, time intervals are more important than distance run.

Really ? Then why would carCos say 1year or 10K kms, whichever is earlier?

Originally Posted by toyotafanboi

Oil breaks down and degrades over time. Doesn't matter if your car has done just 100km in a year, you MUST change the oil.

And if you don't, what happens? The engine drops off or the car breaks down ?

There's an old story about how every car owner is told he should balance & align his car wheels every 5K kms.

Apparently if you don't do it, all hell breaks loose. At the tyre-shop guy's home that is.

You dont need to balance a tyre that never was taken off the rim. Unless you want to contribute to putting the tyre-guy's kid through college.

Similar scam here by ASS & FNGs - who have kids in college.

I have been using/driving/maintaining multiple cars (all Suzuki) since 1985 - never had even one fail.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by GTO

What oil change interval do you stick to? I think 10,000 kms is the sweet spot. Not too early, nor too late. I stick to 10,000 kms for a synthetic oil change on my cars. I don't use mineral oil, but if I did, I'd probably change earlier.

Thanks for this useful post. I can see 2 dominant patterns in the responses:

- stick to manufacturer recommendations
- do it at slightly lower distances like 7.5 k etc or intervals

The question that I have is: while it is good to follow these rules to cover most common scenarios, does the car give some early signs that can be observed by the driver, which may be an indication that an oil change is needed sooner than standard or improvised recommendations like the ones listed above ? If so, what kind of symptoms to watch out for ?

[toyotafanboi]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

And if you don't, what happens? The engine drops off or the car breaks down ?

Modern engines have low piston rings. If oil is not changed regularly, the rings lose thier tension and lead to excessive oil consumption and increased wear on the cylinder walls.

https://youtu.be/v4JS7PybV2k

[AntPaul]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Why ? If you trust a manufacturer enough to buy their car, why won't you trust the oil change interval they recommend? If they say 10K kms, it means that's the lower limit, not higher. Go by the manual.

Contrary to what you would read online, the heavens won't break down if you don't change the oil at 1 year even if the car had run just 1/10th of the kms for oil change. Take out the dipstick, check the oil level/colour/viscosity
& take a decision.

I open the oil cap on the valve cover(as well as checking dip stick) whenever I fill windshield washer fluid. They are always shiny clean without. The car barely drinks oil as well. I change the oil just out of an itch. Plus after each oil change, engine feels smoother. That might be just down to spark plug cleaning/gapping and clean air filter. The oil barely gets 'dirty' even after 10K kilometer.

Also the reason why oil change is recommended after a year I read has more to do with water vapor that the oil eats from the air, and the metal filings suspended in the oil. Also all the carbon/water the oil traps from the valve cover due to PCV.

I should be much more worried about engine oil in my other car's Renault 1.5 dci engine. Fresh engine oil turns black in few kilometers, and fresh oil/service makes absolutely no change in NVH/Power. The exhaust is always clean and no carbon on rear bumper near the the exhaust pipe like a white 1.3 ddis in extended family. I guess the old school 1.5 dci engine likes to be a little dirty.

[Gansan]

It is always better to stick with manufacturer recommended intervals and not change oil earlier. It amounts to waste of resources and causes unnecessary pollution. The removed oil has to be disposed off and new oil is consumed unecessarily. It is a waste to the environment, even if it is our own money.

Nothing can be identified from the color or texture of the oil. That is just hogwash. My car's synthetic oil is changed once a year because it does only about 5k km in that period. After a couple of thousand km the oil will start becoming browner and browner. Currently 5.2k km are up and the oil is quite brown, but there is no drop in performance. There won't be, even if it had done 10k km. If the oil becomes darker, it means it is doing it's job well.

[chaudh2s]

Here in Sweden, VW fills some sort of long life engine oil which is changed every 2 years or 20,000 Km's. Even for 2.0tdi's.

[BNG-motorhead]

Suzuki Ignis, Oil change in May 2022. Since then, it has clocked +1500Kms. Annual service is long due. I know I need to stick to time-based service intervals, but do you think I can leave it for another 2K kms?

It is used sparingly. Total ~11K clocked, 5 services done, with 3 oil changes. next one will be the 4th. All at Nexa service center.

[zeng]

Originally Posted by BNG-motorhead

Suzuki Ignis, Oil change in May 2022. Since then, it has clocked +1500Kms. Annual service is long due. I know I need to stick to time-based service intervals, but do you think I can leave it for another 2K kms?

It is used sparingly. Total ~11K clocked, 5 services done, with 3 oil changes. next one will be the 4th. All at Nexa service center.

Used oil analyses, which is quantitative suggest you could go on for year(s) until 10K miles of usage.

It is not my opinion but I would adopt such an approach.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by BNG-motorhead

Suzuki Ignis, Oil change in May 2022. Since then, it has clocked +1500Kms. Annual service is long due. I know I need to stick to time-based service intervals, but do you think I can leave it for another 2K kms?

It is used sparingly. Total ~11K clocked, 5 services done, with 3 oil changes. next one will be the 4th. All at Nexa service center.

If the car is under warranty it will give the dealer the excuse that the car did not got serviced when it was due lest you ever need to claim warranty. Other than that it is always best to change oil at manafacturer recommended intervals or kms traveled for healthy engine life.

[TopLiveCentre]

Originally Posted by satchit_bhp

What amount engine oil consumption is considered normal in a diesel engine?
I was speaking to a mechanic regarding the consumption and I was told that cars like Skoda Octavia and Hyundai Verna consume around 1 litre oil per 10000 kms.

My Polo consumes around 1.5 litre oil. The smoke is normal and the car is in immaculate condition after 90000km. I had a Verna which didn't consume any oil at all even after I spotted a small turbo leak which I had brought on myself by switching to a synthetic oil midstream.

[TopLiveCentre]

Oil analysis, anyone? Where can I get it done in Kerala? What are the benefits? Is it really worth it? I hope it is as good as the blood test I do every six months.

[Satkaj]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/motor-...-mileage-study

I always believed that its mileage not the age of oil. Please go through above article.

I would request Mods to add option in above poll.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Satkaj

https://www.thedrive.com/news/motor-...-mileage-study

I always believed that its mileage not the age of oil. Please go through above article.
.

The idea to change oil based on age rather than mileage is a carry over from several decades ago. Up to the 60s-70s lub oil was not as stable as the oils we see today. Also, these days most oils are semi or full synthetic. But even the traditional oils are lasting a lot longer these days.

Jeroen