I was told by two dealers with two different answers: change oil during the Factory Recommended Service (every 7500 miles), the other is changing oil for every 3750 miles. So how often do you guys change your oil?

Thank you for the answer!

 

Change mine at 5K..........but do a lot of highway driving.

 

Here is what I recommend if it is turbo every 3,000 miles if it is a Non-turbo then every 5,000 miles.

 

As mine is a 2.4T, I will be doing it every 3,000 miles. Seems to be highly recommended by those in the know.

 

What is the frequency if using a true synthetic instead of conventional oil?

 

Some do 5K but I still like doing it every 3K.

 

I baby the car so I will target every 5K. Thanks.

 

If you use synthetic oil you can safely double the life expectation, that's the whole idea behind it, unless you want to throw your money away... 7-8,000 miles is perfectly fine with full synthetic, 4-5,000 with regular oil.

 

Food for thought: How do you know what you are getting anyway? Just because you PAID for synthetic, how do you know that's what you got? The oil filter? And the fuel filter? And the flush? And the tranny fluid change? Many years in the cars business have taught me that just because an owner paid for this or that doesn't mean they got what they paid for it! It's RAMPANT! If I was to take a guess, may be 50% of the time you get what you pay for... Unless you do it yourself, you don't know. And that doesn't count the times they tell you that all your belts need replacement when they have another 30k left to go, or that your brake pads are at 30% when they are at 70%, or that your rotors should be turned when they don't need to be... All these are "judgement" calls... So, especially for guys who "love" that car and throw $ at it, they love you coming around. Preventive maintenance is the biggest scam of it all, easy to pull off...

 

Yes, I agree that it is good to be skeptical when having someone perform the PM. I am a DIYer ... not because I have lots of time on my hands but I like to be in control of the process and knowI'm incontrol the quality. The biggest scam going is front end alignments ... I have only had two done in 35 years ... both were scams. The last one I had performed on my toyota several years ago at the dealership and marked all the components with paint prior to the "alignment" ... nothing was moved. The dealer was caught and they blamed the mechanic and supposedly fired him on the spot. I know someone else who chalked the tire to the ground and the vehicle was never even moved and claimed the front end was adjusted ... caveat emptor.

 

I know this an old post but I couldn't help but comment. I asked my volvo dealer and he said for the warranty to remain valid volvo requires the oil and filter be changed at least every 7500 miles (and documented) with ANY type oil, be it synthetic or regular oil. I use Amsoil synthetic signature series and change it every 7000 to 7500 mi never more so as to keep the warranty. The mechanic recommended every 3500 for regular and 7500 for synthetic. I usually go 3000 to 3500 for regular oil. Keep in mind that you should never exceed warranty requirements, but don't assume they are the best. I drive my cars for 200,000 miles typically ( my s70 1998 has 210,000mi Amsoil euro oil).

 

So much depends on how and where a car is driven. Lots of cold starts, short trips, heavy loads, dusty dirt roads, towing, stop & go, etc use up oil much quicker. Driving 55 mph on a level road with one person aboard and steady rpms = longer oil life. Which is why lots of newer cars have oil life indicators now. From BMW to Chevy Cobalt, Hondas, etc. You can't really change the oil & filter too much unless you are heavy-handed and like to strip threads. But there is no real hard and fast rule. You keep your warranty with 7500 changes, but...... I'd rather keep the car. Given # of smooth highway miles, I go for 5000 mile change intervals. More frequent in cold Michigan winters.

 

food for thought... i was at the honda dealer with a friend in his almost new 2010 cr-v.. first scheduled oil change... we went to the dealer with mobil1 bought privately, and the tech said that because we used synth, ignore the "oil life computer" because it will run 0% at 3500miles (when you are scheduled to change conventional oil)..

if this is the case, assuming he wasnt talking thru his ***, is the oil life indicator really an indicator? or is it just an odometer/timer?


Concerning my car, I use Mobil1 in the volvo, changed ever 5000miles and I use any synthetic in the accord, recently Total Quartz 9000, changed every 3000 or so (doing a short change cycle to get that gunk/sludge etc out)

 

mobile 1 - 5k - any more is excessive.
If its a turbo use a FULL Synthetic or turn over your drivers license

 

my Volvo owners manual recomends oil and filter at 20,000km (12k miles), seems like a little long interval but not when I consider that Audi recommends 10k miles for my 2.7 Turbo A6

 

I would strongly reccomend no more than 5000miles.... ESPECIALLY with a turbo, generally its agreed you should do turbos every 3000miles to protect them from sludging up etc...
10k or 12k is madness!

 

Volvo's 2012 New Vehicle Limited Warranty

Oil and Filter Change Interval
The correct oil and filter interval is every 7,500 miles = 12,000 km or 12 months WHICHEVER COMES FIRST

 

Every 7,500 with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum for my '06 S60 2.5T

 

I see a lot of different opinions on here. hhhhmmm I think I will try the last 2 replies which a few others above them even said 7,500 miles. Post #15 said, "my Volvo owners manual recomends oil and filter at 20,000km (12k miles)". Wow! Anybody else read this in their owners manual?

 

Ben7, you can find your car's maintenance schedule at the Volvo owners manual web page

https://www.volvocars.com/us/own/own...owners-manuals

and post#15 seems to have his kms mixed with miles because a 2005 S40 has a 7500 mile/12000 Km oil change interval per Volvo's guides.

Not sure about the guys who also suggest 3000 mile oil changes either. I use a full synthetic in my 2000 S40 as a way of keeping the VVT gear clean and change the oil 2x a year (which works out to about 5K-7500K miles) with 5W40 (again see the owners manual for temp ranges )