How Often Should You Change Your Oil?

You know you should change your oil at regular, reasonable intervals to make sure your car runs smoothly, but a common question remains: How often should you change your oil? What is a reasonable amount of time — or mileage — between oil changes?

Oil change frequency
Before we dive into the different conditions that can impact oil change frequency, we must understand why we even need to get an oil change! Dirty oil just doesn’t do the job as well as fresh oil does. The additives in dirty oil boil out, contaminants form in the crankcase and eat metal parts, and water collects over time and forms sludge.

The oil holds more and more abrasive particles of metal suspended in it, and these particles wear away the parts of the engine the oil is supposed to protect.

Oil changes in optimal operating conditions
How often to change oil can be dependent on the car manufacturer — some manufacturers suggest that oil be changed every 10,000km or more, but that’s based on optimum operating conditions, and the manufacturers are the ones who get to sell you a new vehicle if your old one wears out prematurely.

Although new vehicles can run longer on the same oil than older ones can, and improvements in motor oil have extended its efficiency over longer periods of time, to be on the safe side, you might want to change your oil every 7,000km or every six months, whichever comes first.

If you’re a freeway driver who goes on a lot of long journeys at high speeds, you can probably extend the oil change interval. But on anything but the newest vehicles, don’t go longer than 7,000km between oil changes. And never, under any circumstances, go farther than the manufacturer’s recommended maximum interval between oil changes.