oil change importance

[saleensean]

we had a customer have his 05 magnum se towed into the dealership over the weekend saying the car was smoking and then locked up. would not start. after putting the vehicle on the lift we noticed the oil filter had been leaking and was stamped "factory installed". with 24k miles on the car the customer could not understand why we told him he was responsible and it is no longer under warranty. he said that not changing the oil had nothing to do with the motor locking up. one more thing, when you purchase a new car at our dealership, which he did, you get free oil changes for 5 years. FREE oil changes and still could not change the oil and he wants the dealership to pay for a new motor. what is wrong with peple.
sorry to ramble so much but this really goes through me sideways.

[Res18cuE]

Maybe he figured if you can go 100,000 on some plugs, you could do it on some oils!

[SilverMagRT]

Stupidity has no limits.

[fnkychkn]

he'll only make that mistake once. those 2.7L engines are unforgiving of neglect and are priced to hurt.

[NC-SXT]

Every once in a while we get them in the shop. My people document the hell out of them. I mean some of these people go 15 to 20k with no oil change. On several occasions my techs had to stick a screwdriver in the oil pan hole to get the oil out in globs. I just look at em straight in the eye and tell them "You have totally ruined the motor, It's toast now sorry."

[Aikidoka]

24K without an oil change. Jesus and I freak out if I cant get to mine if Im like 50 miles over the 3000.

[FactoryD]

I went 10,000 miles on a KIA trying to get rid of it.

[createdbyone]

now i've heard alot of difference on the good time to change oil. there are a few techs on this thread, so i'll ask. Im did a 3,000 oil change, and am switching to synthetic at 8,000 and will chagne ti every 5,000 miles. Good, bad, dont matter, what are your opinions.

[FactoryD]

Good question CBO. One that I'd like to the answer too as well.

[bigjim]

I have always done 7500 AFTER initial run in (25,000 for me). I have NEVER had an engine failure, Intrepid Sport (3.5l) is still doing Canada runs (450 miles one way) with 200,000 miles on it. Tranny oil changes every 20,000. All lubricated parts are original!! BTW 175 pounds of compression when checked last July when we were chasing a blown intake gasket. My RT is now on the 7500 mile changes (45,000 miles). Keep in mind my driving is a bit different than most here, I turn the key and burn a full tank of gas on cruise at 75.

[l1tech]

now i've heard alot of difference on the good time to change oil. there are a few techs on this thread, so i'll ask. Im did a 3,000 oil change, and am switching to synthetic at 8,000 and will chagne ti every 5,000 miles. Good, bad, dont matter, what are your opinions.

IMO the 3000 mile oil change was put out there by the oil companies to sell more product and filters and by alot of automotive shops to get the car in more frequently for a chance to sell more services. It really depends alot on your driving habits. Cars that are driven mostly short distances, say 3 miles to work, and left to sit all day and then only come back home should have the oil changed at 3000. Cars that are driven on a more regular basis can go 5000, and cars that see only long extended driving on freeways(not stop and go in rush hour) can go 7500. You still need to check your oil on a regular basis and if it seems excessively contaminated then adjust your oil change interval accordingly. Keep in mind that this is "JUST MY OPINION" and it will be wrong if yours is different.

[Fred]

This comes back to the maintenance schedule in the book... 6k miles for normal use, 3k for police pursuit and taxi cabs. Follow that schedule and you're straight down the fairway

[Netsrac]

I don't understand how this happened, I don't know about the dealships in the states, but here I get phone calls and notices in the mail when I need to change my oil or need service.

Is there not a service light that comes on after a predetermind amount of miles/km have passed since your last service? Then is reset after each service.

[boggart]

I'm at 3k until out of warranty. Best bet is to ask your dealer their interpretation of the owners manual and the recommended oil changes. My manual says nothing about it being ok to go longer because you have synthetic oil.

[Padre Dave]

I go 5,000 miles between Mobil 1 changes. I did the same on my last vehicle (PT Cruiser) and it now has 184,000 miles and burns no oil. I do the transmission thing every 12,000 miles on the PT after a rebuild at 90,000 miles (the PT is still in the family). I am getting anxious about not touching the Magnum tranny in the 35,000 miles I have had it. After an expensive rebuild on the PT, I get anal about transmissions. I know the RT has a better transmission than the PT did, but not having an accessible dipstick on the Mag causes me some anxiety.