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Requesting Advice

May 15th, 2008 at 10:24 am

I have a 2002 Ford Focus with 106,400 miles on it.

My question is:

The manufacturer says I should change the oil every 5000 miles and my mechanic shop says every 3000. What is the correct number? The mechanic changes it at the 5000 number but shakes his head like, "big mistake". And, should I start to change it at the lower number since I have alot of miles on the car?

Does anyone know and have a SO that knows? All help is appreciated.

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Requesting Advice”

  1. aevans1206 Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 10:54 am 1210848879
    1210848879

    My Honda manual says change the oil every 10,000 miles. I don't change it every 3,000 either. I've heard both sides--manufacturer recommendation is OK and I've also heard that every 3,000 is better. I would say, though, that if your car has survived for 106,000 without major problem, then you've done just fine and saved yourself some money. Also keep in consideration, though, that as your car ages, it may need the oil changed more frequently. I'm sure I didn't help Smile

  2. littlemama Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am 1210851570
    1210851570

    I would say 3,000 miles unless you use synthetic oil, which in that case you can eisily go longer. Smile

  3. merch Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 12:27 pm 1210854425
    1210854425

    I have a BMW and use synthetic. The dealership says once a year for me.

    I would say if you do a lot of driving in dusty and cold winter areas, go for 3000. Otherwise, 5000 is fine. You could probably even go longer without damage to your engine.

  4. disneysteve Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pm 1210856336
    1210856336

    The manufacturer doesn't have any financial interest in how often you change your oil. You mechanic does. Who do you think you should believe? Of course your mechanic wants you to do it more often. That's how he makes his money. You've already gotten over 100,000 miles from this car doing what you are doing. Keep doing it and consider getting a new mechanic. Who knows what other repair work he will recommend that isn't really necessary?

  5. mooshocker Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 01:01 pm 1210856485
    1210856485

    Don't fix what is not broken. I use synthetic and get it changed about every 7k miles. Prior to that, I stayed at about 4k. Whatever you have been doing has earned you 100K + miles. Keep it up! Just like investing, don't change what is not broken. God bless.

  6. honeichild Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 01:25 pm 1210857926
    1210857926

    I would go with what the car manual says.

  7. A Nonni Mouse Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 04:35 pm 1210869311
    1210869311



    Conventional wisdome has ALWAYS been 6 months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first.

    However, even though your car is *only* 6 years old, it does have a ton of milage on it. I would go with the 3,000 miles in order to extend/prolong the life of the vehicle.



  8. tripods68 Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 05:21 pm 1210872108
    1210872108

    3000 is what Jiffy lube wants you to know. The rule of thumb: Always go with the manual book which say between around 5000 to 7500. I personally change oil every 5500 miles and never had any problem with my engines.

  9. klbb90 Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 09:33 pm 1210887192
    1210887192

    Thanks for all the advice. I have been changing it at 5000 miles but now that I am over 100,000 I'm considering scaling back to every 3-4000 miles. 4,000 sounds like a good compromise. I want the car to last 2-4 more years. When I move, my daily mileage use will be cut in half.

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