Just had my oil changed and the shop put in synthetic oil. Car is a 2003 V70 with many many miles. Is synthetic oil okay or should I get it changed again - and how long should I wait?

 

You should get it changed right way, after you drive 10,000 miles.

I went to the store today to purchase oil for someone's oil change. I was kind of surprised that there was more full synthetic and synthetic blend oil there than dyno. In a few years everyone will be using synthetic.

 

Thanks rspi! Someone told me it was bad for a car with high mileage to use synthetic oil.

 

How many miles do you have?

 

194,000 miles

 

I tried synthetic once and that was it. Car started leaking all over. I wouldn't use it unless the previous owner had always used it. I use Shell Rotella 15W-40 or 10W-30, but that's a personal choice. If you're using full synthetic and not seeing any leaks, then keep using it. If you notice you're using oil then try a semi-synthetic. YMMV.

 

Don't see any leaking spots on my driveway - it was changed on Friday - have driven about 300 miles. Are you saying it's a good idea to change it again now? I don't want any problems - this oil change cost me twice as much as it usually did!!!

 

Here's the deal, if your car is on the verge of having oil leaks, then it may start leaking. If your PCV system is in good condition don't worry about it. If not, it may spring a leal out of every seal that is strained due to a blocked PCV.

Watch this Video:
I switched my car at about 192,000. No leaks at all, I now have 222,222. Wait, I do believe my valve stem seals are leaking, started about 4,000 miles ago. I don't believe it had anything to do with the synthetic oil. These cars are know for them leaking at about 15 years and 150,000 miles.

 

I changed my 98 c70 with 150k to full synthetic last summer along with my 2005 grand prix that just the other day turned 100k. I only put about 2500 miles on the volvo before I parked it for the winter but put just over 9k miles on the grand prix before the HUD display said to 'change oil soon'. I was told the grand prix had some kinda viscosity sensor in it,I don't know if this is true or not but I got about 2k more miles on this last oil change than on the regular oil it usually pops up about 7k on that.

 

Gullibility alert!! You believe everything you're told by someone who's trying to sell you their product?

 

So what's your point? Do you think the information in the video is bull? You don't think you can switch back and forth?

 

Here's the bottom line... synthetic is suppose to cut down friction. Which is suppose to cut down on engine wear, extend oil change intervals, increase fuel economy and protect the motor better. My daughter blew a heater hose while on the highway and didn't get the car pulled over until the temp needle was at the red mark. I believe it helped that the car had full synthetic in it. She let it cool down, cranked it back up and drove it 7 miles to a parts store to get a new hose. I replaced the head gasket 1,000 miles later. Not sure she would have fared so well with regular oil.

You can also read a lot of stories about super high mileage cars that ran synthetic oil. Heck, I've read some that didn't specify so who knows.