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There’s a common myth that you need to change the oil in your car engine every 3,000 miles, is the true? Exactly how many miles can you go over an oil change?
Basically, if you use synthetic blends or conventional motor oils, your oil change intervals should be 5,000 to 7,500 miles. On the other hand, if you use fully synthetic motor oils, your oil change intervals should be 10,000 – 12,500 miles.
Yes, driving your car up to 10,000 miles before changing the oil won’t cause any damage to your engine.
However, when you’ve driven more miles – past your oil change interval range, that’s when you should be worried about the health of your car engine.
Oil Change Interval Myth
Already, you have an interval you follow to change the oil in your vehicle engine. If you decide to skip the interval at some point, that could be the worst decision you’d made so far.
Yes, oil is the “blood” of any engine, and what the engine needs is “clean” oil. The oil in an engine (even if the engine is not being used daily) would get dirty over time and need to be drained out.
A dirty oil would rather mar the performance and functionality of your engine, which can lead to a serious breakdown. In a bid to avoid such a scenario, automakers indicate the interval for an oil change in the owner’s manual.
But, sometimes, their oil change intervals are too early; thus, you may want to plan a seemingly suitable interval for yourself. Well, whichever interval you choose is good, but your mileage bracket shouldn’t be too far from what’s specified in your owner’s manual.
For example, if your manual says 3,500 – 5,000, you can adjust to 5,000 – 6,000. On high-end modern cars, you’d get a notification on your dashboard when the centralized computer believes you need to go for an oil change.
Driving with dirty oil can cause a lot of costly damages, and you definitely don’t want that to happen.
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How Many Miles Can You Go Over An Oil Change?
Well, you actually need to go for an oil change if you’re reached the interval. However, it is yet safe to drive up to 500 miles over an oil change. If you exceed this mileage, you’re simply putting more stress on the engine.
The more you keep driving over an oil change interval, the dirtier the oil in your engine gets. When the oil must have contained so many particles and create mucks in the engine, your car would start exhibiting unusual signs, and possibly break down.
How Long Can You Go Without An Oil Change After The Light Comes On?
The icons on your dashboard don’t just illuminate – something have have triggered the illumination. So, if the oil change icon or notification appears on your dashboard, you really need to change your oil as soon as possible.
However, you can still go a few miles (up to 500 miles) safely before getting signs that something is not right in your engine. Well, some drivers don’t pay attention to their oil change intervals – they oil change their car’s engine oil when they deem it fit.
Related Posts: How Long Does Synthetic Oil Last?
How Often To Change Oil If Don’t Drive Much?
Okay, you have a car parked in your garage; it’s not your favorite ride, so you don’t always go with it, but you’re concerned if you also need to change its oil?
Actually, auto manufacturers recommend changing the engine oil on any vehicle at least twice in a calendar year. This applies irrespective of whether the car is driven every day or occasionally.
Thus, even a car that is only driven once a month needs to get an oil change at least two times a year. In this scenario, you don’t calculate the oil change based on mileage, you calculate by months.
For example, you can decide to change the vehicle’s oil every 5 months. This practice is to keep the engine from rusting. An oil that has stayed long inside an engine would gradually get darker, which is not good for any engine.
What More?
You shouldn’t go over 1,000 when you’ve already crossed your oil change intervals. When you feed your car engine with clean, smooth oil always, it’d always deliver the best performance, and also last longer.
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