NIssan Rogue Oil Change

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Bought a new 2012 Nissan Rogue in March. It is the first vehicle I have owned in the past 20+ years where the manufacturer does not recommend a 5000 mile oil change interval. Nissan recommends a 3750 mile interval. Additionally, the dealer provides free oil changes for the first year of ownership and has been using Mobil1. Two questions.
-First, is there anything unique about the vehicle that would would motivate the manufacturer to recommend the 3750 mile interval as opposed to a 5000 mile interval?
-Second, was Mobil1 the factory fill?
I plan to put these questions to the dealer but would appreciate advice here before doing so.

Tim

2

That is a short oil change interval, especially if a full synthetic oil is used. Possible reason is Nissan has had issues such as sludge build up. Also, if the motor is turbo charged the turbo might run very hot and need good fresh oil to keep from burning out the bearings in the turbo.

If the oil changes are free I guess no harm no foul. If I was a dealer giving free oil changes for a year I’d go with less expensive oil than Mobil 1. You need to see if this free oil change using Mobil 1 is a dealer standard policy for all cars, or something unique to the model and motor in your car. If not a dealer SOP then I’d be on top of oil changes in this car once your free year of oil changes is past.

3

Is that the severe use or normal use interval ? If the normal interval is 7500, use that. Unless you use your Rogue as a taxi, police vehicle or maintain the Baja run on a regular basis, the normal interval is sufficient. If 3750 is for normal usage, would severe be like 1500 miles ? With synthetic, the cost of maintenance would be hard to justify.

4

From Nissan’s own website:

Schedule Options :

SCHEDULE 1 (more severe operating conditions), every 3,750 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first.

Use Schedule 1 if you primarily operate your vehicle under any of these conditions:

•Repeated short trips of less than 5 miles in normal temperatures or less than 10 miles in freezing temperatures

•Stop-and-go traffic in hot weather or low-speed driving for long distances

•Driving in dusty conditions or on rough, muddy, or salt-spread roads

•Towing a trailer, or using a camper or car-top carrier

SCHEDULE 2 (less severe operating conditions), every 7,500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first

Schedule 2 features 7,500-mile service intervals; with Schedule 2 fewer maintenance items are regularly checked or replaced than Schedule 1.

Generally, Schedule 2 applies only to highway driving in temperate conditions. Use Schedule 2 only if you primarily operate your vehicle under conditions other than those listed in Schedule 1.

So…if you typically drive in the conditions listed for Schedule 1, then, yes, you do need to do oil changes every 3,750 miles. This type of driving is typical for of the majority of the drivers on the road, IMHO.

If you are primarily a highway driver who lives in areas without temperature extremes, you can push the interval to every 7,500 miles.

That being said, my own personal philosophy on this topic is that I never go past 4k miles (or 4 months) without an oil change. As one of the other veterans of this board (screen name: the same mountainbike) says, “Oil is relatively cheap, and engines are very expensive”. If you hang around this board for awhile, you will see that the majority of severe engine problems are the result of going too long between oil changes and/or failure to check (and correct) the oil level regularly.

Truthfully, I doubt if the Nissan website is the only place listing this info, and I strongly suspect that the OP can find essentially the same info in his Owner’s Manual.

(Hint: You REALLY need to open the glove compartment, take out all of the booklets sitting in there, and read them all if you want to be able to operate your vehicle reliably, safely, and economically for the long term.)

5

Sounds Right To Me. I’d Always Go With 3,750, Never More Than 4,000 Miles On This Car.
What Is The Total Capacity Of This Engine ? How Much Oil Is Required With A Filter Change ?

CSA

6

Many New Cars Specify Synthetic Oil Blends Or Full Synthetic. I’d Go With Mobil-1 Or Mobil-1 Extended Performance.

Didn’t You Get An Owner’s Manual With This Car ?

CSA

7

Sounds like you’ve been listening to the service department rather than reading your owner’s manual. Follow the guidelines listed above. While I disagree that most drivers are ‘severe’, I have no problem with a 5k oil change interval on regular oil without an oil life monitor. If my vehicle has an oil life monitor (with tracks the type of driving, not the condition of the oil), I’d be comfortable going to 7,500 miles.

8
While I disagree that most drivers are 'severe',

One Line says that every driver in the North drives in severe conditions.

•Driving in dusty conditions or on rough, muddy, or salt-spread roads

It’s almost impossible to drive on a road in the north east in the winter without running into salt.

While my commute is almost all highway…after work I still have many short drives (to the store, sons practice and games, town meetings…etc…etc). I easily fall into severe here also.

9

How does driving on a salty road place extra wear on the oil?

10

Texases, I’m Guessing It’s From The Fine Dust From The Salt. The Best Air Filtration System Won’t Stop All Particles. Oil Is Contaminated Faster.

Tons of salt are dumped all over the roads here for sometimes six months of the year. The roads turn white. The cars turn white. I hate it, but I’ve always thought this was tougher on oil. That fine salt dust hangs in the air.

CSA

11

Sounds good, it’s as if I was driving on a dusty road. And I also agree with the cold weather issue, a relative had a older Ford, he drained the oil (was wondering why the oil level had increased) and he was able to light the oil with a match! Between the blowby and the cold weather, he never got the engine hot enough to boil off the gasoling…

12
How does driving on a salty road place extra wear on the oil?

CSA’s explanation sounds plausible.

I was just commenting on what VCDdriver listed from Nissan’s website as what they considered severe driving.

13

VCDdriver posted from Nissan:

Use Schedule 1 if you primarily operate your vehicle under any of these conditions:

I read that as most drivers falling into the “normal” category rather than “severe”.

14
Use Schedule 1 if you primarily operate your vehicle

What does PRIMARILY mean?? It’s too ambiguous. It could mean anything from most of the time to just 20% of the time. And is it measured by miles or time. While I put most of my miles on while on the highway…most of the time I’m driving I’m NOT on the highway.