[srivatsahg]

Originally Posted by NST440

They also topped up the brake fluid, power steering fluid and engine coolant.
Am i risking something here by not changing the coolant & or brake fluid completely

No issues, as long as you're not observing anything strange w.r.t Engine temperature gauge on your Instrument cluster. Just remember that you're getting it serviced as per / ahead of schedule.
I would suggest you to change the oil around 23000 (on a safer side).And change of the oil filter, air filter, diesel filter and AC filter annually. i.e. at your third service or 30,000 kms whichever comes earlier.

[srs_shetty87]

Around 5000 kms on both the cars. The interval for my Mazda is 10K, however i go in for a change at every 5K as my driving is a mix of traffic/ highways.
For the Brio it is 5K Kms or whenever i am available.
On my motorbike, i used to change the oil every 1-1.2K Kms or a month.

[Manoj2268]

Once every 7500 kms. I travel nearly 100 kms to and from work and err on the side of caution as it has a retrofitted CNG kit.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by globemaster

Honda recommends service at 6 month 10,000 kilometers intervals. However I change my oil at every 6 months. 99% of the time my car eats up around 6 to 7 K Kilometers by that time. I was told by my ASC that the OEM oil for the diesel City is fully synthetic variety. However it costs 1300 for 4 litres. Is this okay?
Bhpians: I read the thread on what oil to use and got totally confused with so many options. I am planning on using Mobil next time.

Take a look at your service invoice. For my Honda City what my service station used by default is 5W-30 mineral which was specified in the invoice. But what is recommended according to the manual is 0W-20 for higher fuel efficiency. Has anyone tried this oil? Also someone mentioned that if you go for fully synthetic oil then Honda is ok with yearly oil changes.

There needs to be an additional item in this poll though of less than 5000km. Since there are many who don't have heavy running and change oil due to time and not distance. In fact, Scotty Kilmer, an expert car mechanic on YouTube specifically recommends oil changes at 3000 miles which is 4800km for mineral and around 7000 miles for full synthetic. But he recommends changing oil twice a year in both cases.

There are other factors too. In a city with nightmare traffic like Mumbai, my daily running to work is only 17km to and fro, but this journey can take 1.5 hours and sometimes even more. This kind of usage cannot be compared to someone who does the same distance in half an hour with few gear shifts.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

.... So, I'd -vote for 7.5k - 10k interval.

All the other cars, the Fiesta, The ikon, The Palio once a year.

I have a Palio which is more than 10 years old (< 50,000 kms on the odo).

Used to get the oil changed between 6 to 9 months (mostly mineral : Castrol / Mobil). The owner's manual says oil change be done every 7,500 kms or 18 months (whichever is earlier)

This time, decided to wait for 18 months (as my running is hardly 5,000 kms a year - once a week drive to the office and one 100+ km trip a month is my usual travel), as I had switched over to Shell Helix HX7 10W40 (from Mobil Super 1000 15W40, after doing a complete engine flush).

However, after about 9 - 10 months, the smoothness of shift was gone and it was getting notchy (Distance driven 3,000+ kms).

Replaced the oil (same HX7 - Rs. 395/l, Fiat Oil Filter - Rs. 164/-) last week. Voila! Not only the smoothness has come back, even the engine seems to purr

Guess that the oil change interval is 'INDICATIVE' and the driver will be better able to judge a change / drop in performance....

[McLaren Rulez]

For those who want to change their own oil but don't have the space/tools to drain the car from underneath, try getting a vacuum oil extractor (automatic or manual) that extracts oil from the top through suction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN93fWHL6zU

[aerohit]

Does anyone here change oil due to 'feel' of the engine?

I start to feel roughness in the engine (at around 4000k), and thats when I change the oil in my aggressively driven Honda.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by aerohit

Does anyone here change oil due to 'feel' of the engine? I start to feel roughness in the engine (at around 4000k), and thats when I change the oil in my aggressively driven Honda.

Which car and which oil (make and viscosity) do you use? If you are an aggressive driver you should consider using synthetic.

[ssambyal1980]

I drive Maruti Dzire Vxi and as far as engine oil change interval is concerned I strictly adhere to the manufacturer's recommendation. In case of Dzire Vxi with VVT Engine the oil change interval is every 10,000 km along with Oil Filter.

[supremeBaleno]

I chanced upon this thread when I searched for similar threads before creating a new one to understand whether folks changed their oil based on the distance (kms) or duration (months) specified by the manufacturer.

I voted for "Whatever the manufacturer recommends", since I firmly believe they know best about the product they manufacture & that is what we have been following right from our first car - the '85 M800 (5K km oil change interval) to my Baleno1.6 (10K km interval).

However, manufacturers usually recommend oil-change based on distance or duration (whichever is earlier) - for most Suzukis, it is 10000kms or 1-year whichever is earlier. Since the Baleno does the required 10K kms in a year, there is no confusion. But our Swift (used by my Dad) and the A-Star (used by FIL) have very low running - in the range of 3-4K kms annually.

Am sure a good %age of private cars have such limited running. If you have such a low-mileage car in the family, how do you get the oil change done ?
- Change oil by the duration, even if the kms aren't done.
- Change oil only if the distance is hit, even if it takes couple years.
- Or a compromise solution - say max double the duration, even if kms aren't hit by then.

An oil/filter change at my local FNG is just 1300bucks - so the money part isn't an issue for me. But wasting good oil (a non-renewable resource) without using it fully, does make me cringe.

Thoughts ?

[tharian]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Am sure a good %age of private cars have such limited running. If you have such a low-mileage car in the family, how do you get the oil change done ?
- Change oil by the duration, even if the kms aren't done.
- Change oil only if the distance is hit, even if it takes couple years.
- Or a compromise solution - say max double the duration, even if kms aren't hit by then.

An oil/filter change at my local FNG is just 1300bucks - so the money part isn't an issue for me. But wasting good oil (a non-renewable resource) without using it fully, does make me cringe.

Thoughts ?

My Dad's 2005 Swift has run around 60k kms in 14 years. It is used daily, but in single digits apart from weekends.
Back when we got it, it was used it only on weekends for the first couple of years and since it didn't run the required kms for the first or second annual service, we skipped it. Big mistake, as the engine got rough over time especially due to the low running and short distances.
Since last few years, I religiously give it every year during the same month for the scheduled service regardless of kms run and stick to mineral oil too since the car doesn't see much running.
Even today when I drive it, I feel the engine NVH high for a petrol.

Will advise sticking to the 12 months time in your case as well.

[nibedk]

I voted for 10-15 K duration. I drive a Fiat Punto Sports the manufacturer recommended oil change interval is @ 15 K or 1 year which ever is earlier. I have followed the same and the oil change happens anywhere between 13-15 K kms each time. My car has now done 90 K kms in exactly 5 years. In between I bought a house and for about 15 months I was busy doing the interiors and shifting else I could have added another 20 K.

Except for a little bit of smoothness every time I take it for fluids change I have never noticed any harshness or issues with braking, gears shifting etc. with a 15k oil change interval. I will continue to stick to the manufacturer recommended oil and fluid change intervals. With Fiat planning to wind up in India soon and no worthy replacement for this little driver's delight I plan to keep it for eternity. I will add a bigger MUV/SUV for sure in future but this car stays till I can manage the service part. With FCA concentrating on Jeep in near foreseeable future I guess keeping it for another 10 years should not be an issue.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

wasting good oil (a non-renewable resource) without using it fully, does make me cringe

+1 to this; the lube oil industry is seeing scams,as everywhere else, through premature oil changes (absolutely unnecessary).

I know a reputed car garage that recommends oil changes every 3000km, and a two wheeler guy who recommends an oil change every 2000km; great contributors to lube oil sales(and cuts).

For me, the formula is very simple - once in 10,000km OR when I check that the oil is losing its physical properties .In my case, this happens typically once in 18-24 months.

All the cars I've owned and sold are still going strong despite this elongated run length between oil changes.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by tharian

My Dad's 2005 Swift has run around 60k kms in 14 years. It is used daily, but in single digits apart from weekends.

My Dad also has a 2007 Swift done just 46K kms IIRC in 12 years. In our case, the car is used maybe 1-2 times a week for say 10kms each and maybe an 80km highway drive every couple months.

With just 3000kms odd a year, I see no point in changing the oil annually, unless the oil has visibly deteriorated. After a year, the oil still looks golden yellow as when it was changed.

Originally Posted by vigsom

For me, the formula is very simple - once in 10,000km OR when I check that the oil is losing its physical properties. In my case, this happens typically once in 18-24 months.

I think that's quite logical.

[ruzbehxyz]

Simple principle that I use. Change oil in half the kms. as suggested by the service center.
If the service center says 10000 or 1 year, I do it in 5000 or 1 year.