My 2001 Neon does not have overdrive. I travel just under 2,000 miles a month between school and work. Should I pay for high mileage oil or stick with my ususal synthetic blend?
How many miles are on the odometer currently?
Does the engine leak or consume oil between changes?
If so, how much do you have to add between changes?
116,000 miles
yes, it consumes oil
about 1.5 quarts every 3,000 miles to keep it in the middle/above “low” oil line
That isn’t that disturbing of an oil burn/leak rate, particularly for a Chrysler. If you aren’t noticing oil under your car, then you’re likely burning it, and in that case I’d try some high mileage oil to see if you can slow the burn a bit. If its getting past the piston rings, this won’t really help, but if you have bad valve stem seals, you might be able to slow the leak some. Making that switch helped me eliminate a very small burn rate in my 1998 Camry… but with 1.5 quarts going away, you’re not likely going to be able to eliminate it, but rather just minimize the burn…
That is more or less normal. Not to worry. You are on the high side of oil consumption, but at 116.000 miles, I would let it go until it worsens.
I essentially agree with the preceding posts, but I want to add that–IMHO–you are wasting your money by putting expensive synthetic oil in a 9-10 year old car with over 100k miles on the odometer. When you consider that this car likely has only 2 or 3 more years of serviceable life left in it, any “dino” oil that meets Chrysler’s specifications will be sufficient.
If you want to go for the high mileage oil, that might help to slow the rate of consumption somewhat, but I would urge you to not spend too much money on the oil for this car. Just keep the oil level as close to “full” as possible and start saving your money for the next car.
I agree. If you are burning oil, you get an oil change a little more often that most of us by adding the new oil. I would also use mineral oil. And I do use it in my 1998 Regal with 130,000 miles.
There’s a small chance that switching to plain dino oil will reduce the consumption,
especially if you using a synthetic that’s thinner than called for (5w-30?).
I vote for high mileage oil, and against a synthetic blend. Personally, I don’t see the benefit of synthetic blends.
And, of course, there’s synthetic high-mileage oil, so you can have the best of both worlds.