When do you change your oil?
 

When cars first came with on board oil change calculators there was a lot of discussion around whether the owner should go by what the car says or something more frequent…

BMW kicked this off when they started including 4 years free maintenance. Owners quickly noticed that oil change frequency changed from every 3,000 - 5,000 miles to suddenly 12,000 or 15,000 miles. Although oil quality has vastly improved over the years along with engine manufacturing methods.

Two questions:
Approximately what mileage are owners seeing before the car recommends an oil change?

Do you wait until the car asks for an oil change or use your own schedule? (3,000 miles? 5,000 miles?)

Many thanks!

Per the OLM as that's what it's for.

I change my oil when the OLM tells me to, basically once a year but with only a few thousand miles on it. But I wouldn't have a concern going to 7500 miles.

What the owners manual says - every 12 months or when the OLM says to change it. Whichever comes first.

I changed my oil filter @ 2k miles, followed by the complimentary service from Chevy @ 6,900 miles (oil change, tire rotation, & DCT filter). Since then, I've followed the the OLM (which includes time) which has worked out pretty closed to once every year/7k miles.

Many thanks to all…..

I think for many C8 owners the “once a year” oil change trigger kicks in before miles….

I am currently not driving very much but but hope to get out there more with the warmer weather….

I will probably fall into the annual oil change category but I would start squirming if I got to 5,000 miles and had not yet changed the oil 🤣…. Old habits…

No more than 5000 miles on any of my cars. First one at 2450 on my C8. There's more junk in a new engine from break-in than folks realize. You're opinions may differ....

Once/year so far.
I'm hoping to drive so I need to do it more often.

I think listening to the GM engineers is the best bet versus someone's opinion on a car forum.

The OLM indicated "Change Oil Soon" at 2,500 miles and about nine months on the clock. I found out that the OLM is based on time and not miles, so the 2,500-mile message seems unrealistic. Since this is the original oil, I'm going to change the oil and filter anyway. When changed I don't expect to change the oil again until the transmission service is due at two years or 7,500 miles whichever comes first. can the OLM be manually set to correspond with the mileage or every two years?

The oil life is mileage and time. There is no two year requirement for transmission service. There is a "free" service you can get that expires at two years.

Per Owner's Manual:

Change oil and filter every 7500 miles or yearly (whichever comes first)...Even easier to just change oil and filter when the Oil Life Monitor says to do so!

:iagree:…. Or at 12 months before the last oil change.

The OLM will require a change at 12 months if actual driving conditions do not require it sooner. If you don't drive it at all, the OLM will go to 0% at 1 year.

At 7,500 miles and every 5,000 miles after that... easy to keep track of and below the "you must change the oil NOW!" warning. I'm getting my 3rd oil change since June when I picked up the C8.

JT

I change around 5000 to 6000 miles or twice a year. My dealer wants me to go to 7500 but I'm comfortable at what I do. Enjoy the ride

Twice a year, Spring and Fall regardless of miles or OLM

Thats what I always believed…. I worked a few Summers in a machine shop and have seen casting to machined part process. You’d be amazed where the tiniest chips from machining or polishing grit can hide…

The few times I bought a brand new car I would do a first oil change at 500 miles, the E46 M3 I changed the engine, transmission and rear diff oil at 500 miles. I think BMW actually required the diff oil change by 1,500 miles…. But I’m guessing…

If I really love and I mean love the car I could see following that…. I have spent a lot of time treating cars really well then selling them to folks that benefit from all my super maintenance 🤣

The car is beautiful inside and out…. It’s just gorgeous and so far drives very well…. But the tech, connectivity and complexity are a big minus… on many levels….

I change my oil in all my cars every 6000 miles or once a year using Mobil 1 oil.

"When do you change your oil?"

Usually on a Saturday; late morning or early afternoon. But that may change when I retire in a couple of years.

Once a year. Every spring. I do it my self.

I change the oil in my cars when the OLM gets down to 10% or less.

🤦‍♂️ 🤣

GM (a well as many vehicle manufacturers) spent a lot of time and money developing a system that indicates oil life based on individual driving habits rather than the archaic one-size-fits-all service interval that were in owners manuals. In many cases the oil change frequency was too short and in some too long.
The GM OLM has 3 pathways:
1. Engine revolutions – Oil life starts with a fixed number of revolutions and will decrease with each revolution. Cold / hot coolant temperature readings have multipliers that reduce engine revolutions quicker depending on deviation from a standard oil temperature for the vehicle.
2. Mileage from last reset – the OLM is capped at 7,500 miles (12,070 km).
3. Time – This pathway is a liner function. The oil life will drop to 0% after 1 year regardless of the amount of engine revolutions or how many miles since the reset.

Path 1 is an algorithm that identifies cold starts, high load, sustained high speed, short trips, short trips in cold weather etc.
Path 2 is odd since other OLM systems do not use mileage as a factor. Mileage does not directly effect oil quality. Possibly included to coincide with published schedule.
Path 3 is to ensure oil additives have not depleted so 1 year.

Annually, unless the OLM says otherwise.

At least twice a year. About 500 miles or so. But then again, most of those miles are autocross or track time.:D

Follow the owner's manual & OLM. My Corvette is annually because it sees ~1k mi/ year. Btw - my BMWs are 7,500 - 10,000, not 12-15k :thumbs:

For those who did a DIY oil change on a new C8 when you had 1,000 to 1,500 miles, did you reset the oil monitor to zero?

I use the OLM and service interval as a minimum, but replace oil more often due to some track use.
I am also adding oil to engine to keep the level up where it is supposed to be.

The OLM takes into account service interval... Are you saying you are burning/ losing oil tracking it?

It's based on far more than time or mileage. It's a very sophisticated algorithm. It won't go more than 1 year or 7500 miles, but depending on how you drive it could be much less. The description linked below is quite a few years old, and the current system is probably even more refined.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1606731541

I wonder how many oil threads I've read since I got my first computer in 1995(Gateway). I've been on forums for my cars, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles and yard equipment.

I drove BMW’s exclusively for decades and have seen all sorts of oil change intervals and other changes….

a quick Google of “2010 BMW oil change intervals” resulted in several answers. The first three were

From German Cars of Sarisota
- your recommended service interval for an oil change is every 12,000 miles or 12 months

From Bimmerpost
​​​​​​- 7.5k miles or every 6 months

From Santa Monica BMW
- Even your BMW owners manual’s recommended an oil change every 15,000 miles

My car uses oil regardless of tracking. I did a lot during breakin. Now maybe 1/2 qt between oil chgs.

:iagree: Don't overthink it

My Chevrolet app popped a "schedule service soon" message when the OLM hit 20%

When the light comes on. Always at the dealer.

We are in 2024, so I'm not sure what relevance google results for 2010's have? My 2011 Z06 manual just says when the OLM tell you to change it or 1 year (no mileage requirement). The 2023 Corvette manual says to check the oil at 7,500 mi and change if necessary or at 1 year.

My owner's manuals for my '22 & '23 M vehicles both say 10k or 12 months. The service indicator may recommend changing it earlier depending on driving conditions. Obviously manufacturers' recommendations change over the years. Doubt it anything to do with BMW covering the regularly scheduled maintenance or Chevy not covering it. :thumbs:

Y'all don't forget, that the OLM is calibrated to make the engine last for 3 years, or 60,000 miles. Which. ever comes first.

After that...well.....

Actually, the powertrain warranty is 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Agreed my trusted certified Vette mechanic told me trust the OLM. The GM engineers know best and the OLM accounts for many factors...no need to change earlier. GM would not tell you something that could cause warranty claims and cost them $$$. 3k mi was always too often, 5k about normal in past, but with better metals and better technologies 7.5k should be more than adequate.

As is most car manufacturers if you follow that logic. Toyota has a similar warranty and engine oil change intervals. Their engines generally last hundreds of thousands of miles miles just following the maintenance intervals in the owner's manual (which are as long or longer than the C8's). So the duration of a powertrain warranty doesn't mean that you can't expect the engine to last the life of the car if you follow the recommended change intervals.

Got to love those little reminder stickers the dealer puts on your upper left windshield regarding next change suggestion. I had my car's oil/filter changed just yesterday and they suggested a mileage that was 5,000 more than current or three months. So much for the factory system. :ack: :rofl:

Everyone has a "belief" system by which they operate. Some follow more modern recommendations, others more legacy (like what they did in 1955). Hopefully, We all "justify" why we're doing what we're doing and not just operating on some aged rote training we received as a child. Assuming those who want to change engine oil in a 2020s MY car at twice or more the rate engineering recommends, the question to you is: What is your expectation through the life of your ownership experience? Is it your plan to own the car measured in years or decades?

I ask, because, for me, I haven't owned a car longer than 3 to 4 years, max, but average 2 years, since 1990 so I cannot justify some imaginary engine extended life scenario that is measured in decades (maybe some do). I follow the factory/engineering recommendations for the cars I own. The "cheap insurance" argument never worked for me and no one ever discusses or shows any evidence of how many more miles a factory stock engine has lasted past any reasonable ownership interest. And that is a factory engine that hasn't been modified or rebuilt or major oil related repairs.

This will be anecdotal and I know YMMV:
In the 1970s, I bought a brand new Datsun B210 for my wife to drive as a DD. This was BEFORE all the modern technologies in engine materials and petroleum products. From day one I absolutely hated the car and regretted ever buying it. I decided not to do anything to it except drive it; not spend a nickel on it unless it was a safety issue or it failed mechanically. We put 80,000 miles on it without EVER changing the oil. It still had the factory fill and factory oil filter. I only topped it off if/when it dropped to a quart low which was pretty normal, not excessive. I changed tires and brakes once on the car, that's all. Frankly, nothing went wrong with it the entire time we owned it, and as far as I can imagine, it might still be running.

My car maintenance and servicing "belief system" is always based on what the manufacturer recommends...

My dealer, who stripped my aero shield bolts, didn't top off my DCT when he changed the filter and probably didn't do the required flush... Put one of those on my windshield and DID NOT reset the oil life monitor. Not going back there...

not a bad idea to look at a lot of his videos. Lots of learning potential. For me especially .

Yep, it does that. But as long as you change it before 0% you're good and within warranty requirements.

And little green men from Mars will eat your brain if you don't wear a tinfoil hat. Even if what you wrote WAS true, I suspect few Corvette owners get anywhere near 60Kk on their engines before trading the car for a new one.

Those stickers are designed to drive service department revenue, nothing else. 3 month oil changes haven't been relevant for 40 or 50 years.

Today's oils AND metallurgy are orders of magnitude better than when 3 month / 3,000 mile oil changes were needed.

I watch the OLM and change when I get to approximately 20% remaining.

You beat Me to it😂😂😂

In Warranty:

At 2% remaining in Oil Life Monitor, to satisfy the warranty monitors.

Out of Warranty:

It will likely be long long gone, but if not, every 10,000 miles with full synthetic like any other engine. It was good enough for my 5.4L supercharged highly modified Ford Lightning that I drove 110,000 miles and abused like a fool, it will be good enough for an over-built naturally aspirated V8 that I drive like a granny.

The engineers have conflicting goals such as service price per mile, preserving dealer service revenue dollars, and longevity. I only care about longevity. They are definitely smarter than me, but I have the goal clarity corporate denies to them.

Precisely whenever the indicator... indicates. That is until the warranty expires. :yesnod: :lol: :thumbs:

I worked a decade of my career for a company that provided us with cars to drive that they leased. We were able to purchase the cars at the end of the lease which was 2 years or 75,000 miles whichever came first at a huge discount. Most of us that bought the cars they drove did so because they were so cheap and so we did all of the required maintenance on them which the company also paid for. What was crazy was how many employees with free cars would also never do any maintenance on them at all. Not a single oil change from new until 75,000 miles. My point is none of those vehicles were ever burning oil excessively or having any issues at all. Would those engines have lasted another 100K miles? I would bet money on it that they would have if just continued to be driven. Did they have excessive wear and tear from lack of maintenance? Of course they did but those were extreme examples compared to the average car on the road. I Always wondered who ended up buying those that were completely unmaintained and returned to the leasing company for resale.

Sigh….

the post I was replying too said their BMW oil change intervals were 7.5-10k miles not 12k or 15k but it only took 30 seconds for me find BMW oil change intervals of 12k - 15k miles.

I used 2010 because I had a 2010 M3 and it was the first car that popped into my head.

If you were driving BMWs when they first came out with full maintenance for 4 years or 50k miles every owner noticed how the recommend oil change intervals changed drastically from 3k - 5k miles to 12k - 15k miles. It was obvious BMW suddenly decided oil changes could be extended when they were paying for it. Of course some owners, many owners, said the 12k interval was to make the engine last as long as the warranty and kept to the old 3k - 5k miles….

There is a local BMW independent shop that does a great business replacing bearings in BMWs….

This was discussed at length on forums and in car magazines of the day…

First my 1988, 1993 Vettes, stated in the owner's manual change oil at xxxx miles or 12 months whichever occurs 1st. For those with Garage Queens who think that is silly, the 1993 Owner's Manual before the OLM was in the corvettes added:
If most drivers are less than 4 miles change oil every 3000 miles or 3 months whichever occurs first! See below

You're changing every 12 months (or 3 months) NOT because the oil is worn out-it's contamination. The worst thing for oil and engine is cold starts where the pistons have not expanded form the 2500 combustion temps and big gap from piston to cylinder wall. Combustion blowby and some raw gas go into the oil. If that oil does not get hot enough long enough to evaporate most of the water of combustion it forms things like sulfuric acid that eats metal when parked! In fact, miles and time were poor indicators BUT all we had. The OLM considers many variables NOT just time and miles. For example, it monitors oil temp after cold starts and IF IT DOES NOT GET HOT ENOUGH LONG ENOUGH to evaporate most of the water of combustion it will shorten the 12 months to a lower time!

Yep use the very sophisticated OLM and forget I need to change at 2500 or 5000 miles because oil is cheap! Not so cheap anymore! :lol:

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As I indicated my BMW oil change intervals are 10k or annually, unless the vehicle indicates it's needed sooner. All required maintenance is still included & they go by when the vehicle indicates service is needed. They also change the oil at the 1,200 mi break-in service, so you're getting at least 4-5 free oil changes out of them going by the standard schedule.

After that I'll do my own service like I do on all my vehicles. Tbh, I read about as many repairs on Corvettes as I do BMWs, just like I do with Jeeps. Vehicles that have a very mod-heavy ownership are going to experience more mechanical issues.

GM only pays for 1 oil change so why their recommendation of 7,500 mi when it used to be simply when the OLM indicated it needed to be changed?

There is no stated requirement to change the oil at 7,500 miles in the manual
 

None of the Owner's Manuals ever say "change the oil at 7500 miles". The manual says every 7,500 miles to check the oil life and change the oil if needed. In later manuals, wording was added that strongly suggest that the max is 7,500 miles - but it just not explicit. The fact is, the manual say to go by the OLM. They do also say at least once a year, but as we know, time is included in the OLM - so it all boils down to the OLM.


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Yet how does one know if a change "is needed" at that time if the OLM does not say to change it? I can see GM relying on that 7,500 mi "check" to put it back on the owner if something came up pertaining to warranty coverage. Just the way GM has operated over the years. Like I mentioned in a previous post my 2011 manual has no mention of recommended mileage at all, just follow the OLM or 1 year.

Maybe someone that has put at least 7500 miles on the car in less than 12 months can comment about any remaining percentage left on the OLM. I was never able to put 7500 on my C7 in a year or so far on the C8. We just don't have that long a toy car driving season up here for me to get those kind of miles on mine.

Yes that statement alone does not define "if needed". But there is this "When the remaining oil life is low, the CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON message will appear on the display. The oil should be changed as soon as possible." and this "When the system has calculated that oil life has been diminished, it indicates that an oil change is necessary. A CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON message comes on. Change the oil as soon as possible within the next 1 000 km (600 mi)." In other words, its needed when the message appears. I agree its really unnecessary to check it at any specific mileage - but it is necessary to pay attention to the message when it appears, regardless of mileage.

I don't think anyone has ever reported getting to 7.500 miles from the last change and not seeing a change oil soon message. My guess is it will always go to 0 at or before 7,500 miles. If you don't drive so much, its going to be dominated by the 1 year requirement. If you drive a lot (more than 7,500 miles in a year), it will be dominated by a combination of miles, revs, temperature the items stated in the manual ("This is based on a combination of factors which include engine revolutions, engine temperature, and miles driven").

As Andy noted there is NOT mileage number. The OLM will display on the right side of the dash when there is ~10% oil life left. Have to press OK to cancel. It will do that every time you start the car decreases the %. You can always check the dash display for % Life Lift.

It's ONLY the OLM which is much more sophisticated and complex than simple mileage. Miles have never been a good indicator but all we had. :Let's see where those good highway miles with few stats and stops and only ~75 hp propelling the car at a steady 70 mph? Or were they poor stop and go City miles with many starts and stops. Nope mileage is not a great indicator. For example:

• The OLM monitors the oil temp after a cold start
• If the car frequently is used for short trips and the oil does not get hot enough long enough to evaporate much of the water of combustion
• It shortens the 12 month minimum time to change.

It also used total revolutions and other variables in addition to miles.
My 1993 Vette before there was an OLM stated this in another way in the Owner's Manual (See Below)

• If most drives are less than 4 miles
• When most trips are in stop and go traffic
• When it remains below freezing and most trips are less than 10 miles

CHANGE OIL EVERY 3000 MILES OR 3 MONTHS WHICHEVER OCCURS 1ST!
So Garage Queens that are only driven a few miles to go to the store need to change more often. The OLM will say change sooner than 12 months. Fellow who worked with the GM engineers who developed the OLM said there are a number of things it monitors that can decrease time to change BUT NON that increase!

FROM THE 1993 VETTE OWNER'S MANUAL
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The C7 service manual indicated that the maximum TIME before the OLM would count to zero was 12 months, and the maximum MILEAGE before hitting zero was 7500 miles. I haven't looked in the C8 manual, but suspect the same is true.

It says this "If driven under the best conditions, the engine oil life system may not indicate the need for vehicle service for up to a year,", and it says this "Under severe conditions the indicator may come on before 12 000 km (7,500 mi)." As far as I can tell that latter statement only appears in the 2024 Owner's Manual. It is the closest statement I have found to saying, or suggesting that the maximum is 7,500 miles. I'm pretty sure the max is 7,500 - its just not stated explicitly.

Every 6 months regardless of miles for me.