You've probably heard that some mechanics ask to change your oil once every 3000 miles. However, do you need to change your oil every 3000 miles? The short answer is no. Depending on your oil type, you might not even need an oil change up to 15,000 miles!
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Your vehicle contains a lot of fluids, and each fluid plays an important role. One of the very important fluids is engine oil. You've probably heard about what could go wrong if your vehicle oil has a problem. If not, you should familiarize yourself with these problems between now and then to prevent catastrophic outcomes.
Not all motor oils are the same. Some of them might breakdown before others and require a change faster than the better ones. However, one of the very common concepts you might hear is that you will need to change your engine oil once every 3000 miles. However, do you need to change your oil every 3000 miles?
This article provides you with all you need to know about the purpose of oil change in the first place and the frequency of oil changes, and what are you must change your vehicle's oil once every 3000 miles or not.
Why do you need an oil change?
Before we dig into the details about “do you need to change your oil every 3000 miles?” It is important to get a general understanding of the purpose of motor oil and why you have to change it.
In any vehicle equipped with a combustion system, the engine generates a lot of energy, and it contains a lot of internal moving components. If the engine is lifted off, its temperature increases significantly and might get to a point where the engine gets self-destroyed.
To prevent increasing the engines and pressure beyond the maximum limits, your vehicle relies on several systems, including the cooling and lubricating systems.
Multiple oils are the major fluid in the lubricating system responsible for lubricating the internal moving components in the engine and preventing friction. When friction doesn't happen, you don't have to worry about the excess heat that could damage the engine.
Despite the great advantages of multiple oils, it's not designed to last forever. There will be a point where we must change it because it loses the main and most important characteristics to help it lubricate the engine. You'll have to change the motor oil; otherwise, your engine might face significant problems immediately.
Do you need to change your oil every 3000 miles?
After hearing about the importance of motor oil and oil changes, one might feel nervous about when to change the motor oil. Several mechanics might advise you to change your motor oil once every 3000 miles. However, this doesn't sound very convenient and might mean a lot of money on oil changes and a lot of waiting time to get the oil changed.
Changing your motor oil once every 3000 miles is a very common myth. It is not true because the oil changes frequencies depend on your vehicle's oil type and none of the oil is types even require changing the motor oil once every 3000 miles. Conventional oil's lowest quarterly motor oil requires you to change it once every 7000 miles.
Did you know that some manufacturers might even ask you to change your oil not earlier than 7000 miles? Unfortunately, you'll see that changing the motor oil once every 3000 miles might not be covered under warranty.
Thus, to see on the safe side and prevent dealing with significant damage in your engine while not breaking your budget doing all of our maintenance to your car, you should stick with the recommendations in your vehicle's owner’s manual. In addition, your manual should highlight the oil changes frequencies depending on the oil type, and once you have a good understanding of these frequencies, you should be good, and you don't have to worry about changing your oil every 3000 miles even if your mechanic said so.
Then, how often should I change my motor oil?
Understanding how often you should change your motor oil helps you determine what is true versus what's a common myth regarding oil changes. The first thing to understand is that oil change frequencies differ by motor oil type. Therefore, to get a general understanding of how often you should change your motor oil, you will need to break these frequencies by motor oil type:
1. Conventional oil
The standard and most common type of motor oil is conventional oil. It is designed from good components to provide your engine with the necessary lubrication at a low cost. However, getting affordable oil change sacrifices the frequency because you'll have to replace the conventional oil more frequently than others.
Typically, changing the conventional oil should happen once every 5000 miles, but it could depend on other factors or additives.
2. Synthetic oil
Synthetic oil is the top type of motor oil. It comes from great ingredients that allow it to provide your vehicle's engine with the maximum lubrication for the longest time. Therefore, the biggest benefit of synthetic oil is the less common oil changes frequencies. Thus, if you are not a big fan of frequent oil changes, you might want to switch to synthetic oil.
Typically, synthetic oil should be good enough to cover you up to 15,000 miles in some instances. However, depending on what you notice and your vehicle’s behavior, you might want to change it before then, especially if you notice any of these symptoms indicating a bad oil.
Keep in mind that synthetic oil's biggest challenge and the drawback is cost. It is relatively more expensive than conventional oil, so many drivers cannot afford it and stick with conventional oil.
That the other challenge about synthetic oil is that not all cars are compatible with it, so you'll have to check with your owner manual and your mechanic to decide about switching to this type of oil because if you choose it on the wrong engine, it might lead to some problems that could cost you a lot of money.
3. Synthetic blend oil
Considering the main benefits and disadvantages of both conventional and synthetic oils, experts came up with an in-between type of oil that combines both conventional and synthetic oils.
This synthetic blend oil provides great benefits for a relatively long time but not as long as synthetic oil. The nice thing about synthetic blend oil is that it doesn't cost much compared to synthetic oil, but it's more expensive than the regular conventional oil.
Regarding oil changes frequencies for this type of motor oil, it should be somewhere between the 7000 miles and the 15,000 miles that you will achieve one choosing the conventional and synthetic oil, respectively.
What happens if I don't change my oil after 3000 miles?
Typically nothing. Depending on your vehicle side, you shouldn't have any problem once you hit the 3000 miles. However, if you're driving a very old car that might need more lubrication, you should check with your mechanic and monitor any weird behaviors.
In most scenarios, all modern engines are designed to be fine with getting lubricated and waiting on the same oil up to 5000 miles if you're using conventional oil and probably up to 15,000 miles if you're using synthetic oil.
How often should I change my oil if I don't drive much?
One of the biggest challenges and critical situations people don't think about is when they don't drive their cars frequently. They probably think that oil doesn't go bad, and you don't have to change the motor oil. However, is that the case?
Unfortunately, motor oil goes bad even if it's still sitting in your car. When you don't drive much, your motor oil will go bad if you don't drive at all. Therefore, I don't want to have experts typically talk about oil changes frequencies in two terms: one using the number of miles and the other one using the number of years.
Roughly, if you don't drive much, you still need to perform an oil change twice a year. However, if you're driving an older car and expecting some problems, you might want to consider more frequent oil changes.
When the oil sits in the car, it doesn't reach the operating temperature and might break down. Also, there are some instances where the oil might cause some damage if it gets older. The oil runs around the engine and collects many debris and contaminants, causing some sludge. If this sludge is set in a place, it might clog the tubes and cause severe issues the next time you want to start your car or move it.
Is it OK to change the oil once a year?
In some instances, yes, you should be fine by changing your motor oil once a year. This is obvious if you're using a high-quality motor oil like synthetic oil that is enough to cover your entire year. The other thing to think about is that you want to ensure that you also don't exceed the maximum mileage threshold during the year.
For example, if you're a commercial driver, you’re expecting to put more miles on your car, and that's when you'll have to change the motor oil before you hit the year, even if you're using the highest quality motor oil. Therefore, it would be best to answer whether you can wait on changing your oil for up to one year, depending on your driving frequencies and the oil type.
Does conventional oil last 5000 miles?
Yes, it does, and sometimes it can be good enough, up to 7000 miles. Conventional oil is still very good, and some drivers might underestimate conventional oil. Many automotive experts mention that you should be good with your conventional oil if you change it on time. It provides the basic required lubrication level to your engine that might not need more than it.
However, you must confirm with your vehicle's owner’s manual that your vehicle does not require synthetic oil because if it does, then conventional oil might not provide the necessary characteristics, and that's where you deal with some major problems to save a couple of dollars on oil changes.
Final thoughts
An oil change is one of the most common types of regular maintenance that you have to perform. Failing to change your motor oil can lead to catastrophic outcomes that could cost you thousands of dollars on repair.
There is a very common myth that you should change your vehicle's oil once every 3000 miles. However, that's not true because even the lowest quality or the standard type of oil that requires the most oil changes frequencies does not require changes unless you hit the 5,000 miles. Therefore, we highly encourage you to stick with your vehicle's owner’s manual or consult your mechanic before deciding about oil changes.
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