# Oil change intervals **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [March 9, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632 "2008-03-09T22:35:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gvkcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gvkcar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/gvkcar)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/1 "2008-03-09T22:35:08Z")
I just bought a 2008 Toyota Camry LE, 4 cyl, auto trans. The owners manual says oil changes should be done at 6 month or 5000 miles, whichever comes first. Is that OK? I’ve been raised on the 3 month / 3000 mile mentality. ---
**Author:** ![Scudder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scudder](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Scudder)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/2 "2008-03-09T22:47:54Z")
It’s a common sense question… …if you use the car for short runs to the station / office every day or use the car intermittently the 3 months / 3000 miles would be appropriate. But if you highway drive to work 20 - 30 miles every day I’d go with 5000 miles or 6 months. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 10:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/3 "2008-03-09T22:49:26Z")
Look at the manual again. There should be a normal service interval and a severe service interval. Most of us fall under the severe service interval. Tester ---
**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 10:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/4 "2008-03-09T22:51:05Z")
I’ve been raised on the 3 month / 3000 mile mentality And that was based on the old conventional oils that were around then. Today’s cars and oils are far different than back when 3,000 mile oil changes were long. Follow the instructions in the owner’s manual. They are good. However make sure you read the part about severe conditions, like short trips. Frankly changing more often is not likely to help … or hurt other than the additional cost. The one thing I might suggest you do sooner than indicated is the transmission fluid change. I would suggest no less than 40-60,000 miles. ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/51bf81/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/5 "2008-03-10T04:18:36Z")
Follow the manual. If you live where there is nnow for five months of the year, I recommend the oil changes be done the first week of October, the first week in January and the first week in March and in June as a minimum. If you live in nice weather, follow the manual. ---
**Author:** ![wentwest](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wentwest/32/6073_2.png) [@wentwest](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wentwest)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/6 "2008-03-10T05:48:36Z")
Follow the manual. All this oil changing at 3,000 miles is a waste of oil, a plague on the environment and just plain silly. Years ago, people took off the head of an engine and got a valve job at 40,000 miles. New rings at 75,000 miles. Tires lasted 15,000. That was 1950, when they were changing oil every 3,000 miles. Do you think Toyota does not know what it’s doing? It does. Follow the manual. ---
**Author:** ![SteveF](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/stevef/32/2_2.png) [@SteveF](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SteveF)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/7 "2008-03-10T10:37:45Z")
Certainly you should follow the owner’s manual, which bases its recomendations on 2008 lubricants and engines. The 3 month / 3000 mile system was based on products that are no longer manufactured. ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@andrew\_j](https://community.cartalk.com/u/andrew_j)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/8 "2008-03-10T14:48:58Z")
3mo/3000 miles never hurts except in some cases the wallet. However its mainly stressed by the oil product and service industry. Do what makes you most comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/9 "2008-03-10T17:15:09Z")
And on old engines with carburators, where the parts fit sloppy (relative to today’s engines), used plenty of fuel (ran rich), and oil was diluted and contaminated faster than it is in modern engines. As everyone else said, follow the manual’s recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![meaneyedcatz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meaneyedcatz/32/692_2.png) [@meaneyedcatz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meaneyedcatz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/10 "2008-03-13T03:48:41Z")
Well said Mountainbike ---
**Author:** ![meaneyedcatz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/meaneyedcatz/32/692_2.png) [@meaneyedcatz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/meaneyedcatz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/11 "2008-03-13T03:53:29Z")
I used to drive 700 miles a week in a 98 Taurus. Changed to oil about every 6,000 miles. When I got rid of it the car had 288,000 miles on it. ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 11:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/oil-change-intervals/11632/12 "2008-03-13T11:05:43Z")
Yea, go ahead and change your oil and filter every 3000 miles. By the time the car has 300,000 miles on it, you will have changed your oil and filter 100 times so add two zeros to whatever a single oil change costs. In other words, if it costs $40 to do a single oil change, you will have spent $4,000 in oil changes by the time the car reaches 300,000 miles. But it’s surely worth it, maybe your car will last 301,000 miles instead of only 300,000 miles. There’s this little thing called “the law of diminishing returns”.