Many customers text, call, or ask us in person, “How often should I change my oil?”. Particularly customers with European cars ask us if the 10,000 mile or 12 month oil change is often enough.
And the answer is, it depends!
There are multiple variables that determine how often you should change your oil. 10,000 mile oil changes are recommended by the car manufacturers when the engine is brand new to make the engine seem low maintenance. But as anyone who has owned a high mileage vehicle know that the engine is eventually going to start suffering from oil leaks.
If Your Engine Burns or Leaks OiI
In the case of higher mileage engines the oil should be changed more often as the longer the oil is used it loses its ability to protect and condition the rubber or silicone seals. Then they will start leaking. And depending on where the leak develops it should be a pricey repair.
Also many modern engine burn oil by design and the oil consumption gets worse as they age. We have had customers who waited a long time to change their oil come in with almost no oil in their engine!
Many preventable damage occurs when customers wait too long to change the oil in their older car and the engine simply burns or leaks out all of the oil until engine damage occurs.
How Often Should You Change Your Oil?
With so many variables in place, if your car has a oil change reminder light then you should follow it, but if your car is older and you don’t have a computer that tells you when to change the oil and your car has over 100,000 miles, then we recommend you change your oil every 6,000 miles. But also check your oil level at least once a month in case your engine is leaking oil or burning oil so you don’t run dry and prevent running your engine without oil!
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us @ Tolima’s Auto Center!
