How many miles can you go over oil change sticker

Here’s the scenario: You head into the quickie lube garage and drop $30 or so for an oil change. As you drive away, you notice a sticker in the upper corner of your windshield telling you when you’ll be due for another oil change—the classic “three months of 3,000 miles.” Unless you want to waste money (and use more oil than is necessary, which is bad for the environment), don’t trust the sticker.

An auto maintenance article in the Boston Globe reminded me of the 3,000-mile myth. I think many drivers suspect that changing the oil every 3,000 miles is overkill, but they want to play it safe and protect the life of their vehicles—and hey, it’s only $25 or $30 here and there. Some drivers push it an additional 1,000 or 2,000 miles, but even changing your oil that frequently may be unnecessary. Depending on your car, you might be able to drive 7,500 or even 10,000 miles between oil changes without putting your vehicle’s life expectancy at risk.

Another key point in the Globe story is a warning about the pressurized—and public—upsell that drivers are subject to when bringing a car in to get serviced:

“Those quickie oil change places have spent a lot of money on marketing and studying what drives people to make retail decisions,’” said Tony Blezien, vice president of operations for LeasePlan USA. “And one of the things they have found to be most effective is to call people out in front of their peers. It’s almost as if the customers are embarrassed and feel like they need to buy those extras.”

Of course, you can save money by changing your car’s oil and doing other routine maintenance yourself. It’s just not for everyone, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, the DIY method can cost you in the long run. Thirty bucks is money well spent if it means your engine isn’t going to cease. But spending $30 twice as often as you need to is doubly annoying. Some oil change specs from the Globe store:

Oil Changes: The “three months or 3,000 miles’” mantra for how often oil changes need to be performed has become so common that many drivers don’t realize that it’s an oil industry marketing pitch. Blezien said drivers should check their vehicle’s owner’s manual to see what the manufacturer recommends, as some newer vehicles can go longer in between changes.

Some newer vehicles are equipped with a warning light that tells the driver when the car is due for an oil change, and in some cases it may be up to 6,000 miles in between visits. “The important thing there is once that light goes on, you should get your oil changed within two gas fill-ups of your vehicle,’” Blezien said.

Read your owner’s manual to find out about the recommended oil change schedule. That’s the only way to really know what to do. What’s funny—in the aggravating, drive-you-crazy way—is that you can even bring your car into a dealership to get an oil change, and a worker there will put the same 3,000-mile warning sticker on your car, knowing full well that the vehicle in question only needs oil changes every 5,000 or 6,000 miles.

If you’re not sold that the 3,000-mile rule is a myth, check out some quotes on the topic from Consumer Reports, NPR’s “Car Talk” guys, and other experts.

The I-Team is examining the motor oil myth and the conflicting information. You could be wasting money on unnecessary oil changes.

It's a question that may be driving you crazy. Which do you follow: the little sticker the mechanic puts on your windshield or the manual that comes with your car?

The I-Team did some digging to find out how you can save money. But first, we asked people on the street: how often do you really have to change your oil?

"Probably about 3,000 miles," one person said. "Because I actually look at the sticker that they put inside that tells you when you're due back again."

But you may not have go every 3,000 miles like that sticker on your windshield suggests.

"Like every 5,000 miles - that's what the recommendation is from the manufacturer," another person said.

Car makers' recommendations now vary by the type of car, type of oil and how you drive.

"I would absolutely go with the manufacturer," said Tom Appel, publisher, Consumer Guide Automotive.

In Morton Grove, Appel told the I-Team that there are several reasons for that advice.

"What's happened is oil has improved. Car engines have improved," Appel said. "And just the two things working together have meant that people can go longer without an oil change."

Appel said you should open your glove box and look at your owner's manual. He showed us one example for a 2016 Nissan.

"And they recommend 5,000 miles or 6 months for each oil change with no qualifications, so if you own that car, 3,000 miles is just a little bit too soon," Appel said.

ABC7's sister station in San Francisco took the same car to three different auto shops and got three different answers ranging from every 3,000 to every 10,000 miles.

The I-Team checked with the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association and the Chicago Automobile Trade Association. Both recommend following manufacturer guidelines which experts say keep you covered under your vehicle's warranty.

The CATA adds that: "For years, quick-lube oil change specialists have pushed the mentality that oil must be changed seasonably or every 3,000-3,500 miles. That's certainly not the case today, and likely never was."

"They are going to spend less money on oil changes and it's going to be better for the environment because we are not disposing of so much motor oil," environmentalist Mark Murray said.

The bottom line is: read your owner's manual. In newer cars, pay attention to warning lights that tell you when you need service. And if you've lost the manual, you can try to look it up online, call the manufacturer or get help from a service manager at a dealership.

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