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Oil chemistry and engine technology have evolved tremendously in recent years, but you’d never know it from the quick-change behaviour of many car owners.

Driven by an outdated 3,000-km oil change commandment, they are unnecessarily spending millions of shillings and spilling an ocean of contaminated waste oil.

While the car-servicing industry is clear about its reasons for believing in the 3,000-mile oil change, customers cling to it only because they’re largely unaware of advances in automotive technology.

Among the 2010 models, the average recommended oil change interval, based on a normal service schedule, is about 7,800 km — more than double the traditional 3,000-mile interval.

The longest oil change interval is 20,000 km, for all Porsches. The shortest oil change interval is 5,000 km in some late-model Toyotas, but the carmaker has begun shifting its fleet to 10,000-km oil change intervals using synthetic oil.

Today’s longer oil change intervals are due to improved robustness of today’s oils, with their ability to protect engines from wear and heat and still deliver good fuel economy with low emissions, as well as tighter tolerances (the gap between metal moving parts) of modern engines.

Besides, the introduction of oil life monitoring systems, which notify the driver when an oil change is required and are based on the way the car is driven and the conditions it encounters.

Oil experts and car manufacturers are solidly on the side of the less-frequent oil changes that these formulation changes make possible.

Defending the 3,000-km interval
The quick oil change industry justifies its perpetuation of the 3,000-km  standard by saying that most people drive under severe conditions.

It repeatedly calls the 3,000-mile interval a good fallback position,  meant to be a guideline but not a hard-and-fast rule.

The quick-change industry’s deep fallback argument in favour of frequent oil changes is that they are a hedge against trouble. You can’t hurt your engine by changing your oil too often, so doesn’t that imply that it might actually help it? Well, no.

The right time to change your oil
So where does this leave the car owner who was raised on the perceived wisdom of the 3,000-km oil change? The short answer is to consult your service manual.

If your car has an oil life monitoring system, don’t try to second-guess it. Understand how it works and follow its guidelines.

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