Should I really go 7,500 miles on an oil change. I had it changed once already at 7,500 miles. Took it to the Dodge/Mistubishi dealership in my area. Only Dodge techs were there and suggested changing every 3,000 miles. Not sure why my info screen shows every 7,500 miles if they want it changed every 3,000. I mainly drive on state roads, maybe stopping at three red lights on the way to work. So I don't hit much traffic where I would start and stop alot. I keep it around 55-70mph on the way to work also.

I asked a similar question before. The dealer wants you to get it changed every 3000 because its more times your at the dealership paying them money.

If your a daily driver, every 5000 should be fine.
If your a hardcore driver, lots of city miles, starting stopping, high speeds, etc, every 3000 should do the trick.

on any car you should change it every 3000 OR every 3 months. DIY FTW!!!! Really its not that hard... don't be lazy. Avoid the dealer and your wallet will be happier.

i changed the oil in my 07 f-150 3k religiously, I did it myself too. Just regular oil and a regular filter every 3k. I dont trust synthetic but you can go for it + its pretty expensive

Do it yourself every 3,000 miles. The money you'll be saving now doing it yourself will save you tons from the stealership's prices.

That... and your car will love you for it... assuming it had feelings.

I do it every 5000 miles on the scion because thats what the owners manual says. And its still cheaper to go to midas and get it done there for $21 - $25 then do it myself.... 4 qts of oil at $4 a qt, $6.99 for a filter. plus I then have to go out of my way to dispose of the oil.... I do it myself though because my hours conflict with theirs.


If you are driving it like the factory thought you would drive it and you use the factory oil I see no reason why you can follow the scheduled oil changes. If you are spirited and are going to use the factory oil I would bring it down to 5000 miles or less.

dang i have 8100 miles and havent changed the oil yet

I go to the dealership.
not that I cant do it myself, but they just dont charge a hell of alot to do it.
$15-$25. I'd rather pay that than mess w/ it myself.
If they were charging more I'd probably still pay.
I change every 3k, but I do alot of travel for my job and regular life and I hurry everywhere cuz I dont have alot of time to relax, so I guess I drive harder than most.

I drive 60 000+ miles a year and changing oil every 5 000 miles and have no problems. Even after 5 000 miles oil look pretty good, so no need to do it more often. My 08 lancer GTS with 78 000 miles on it and my previous cars with 200 000+ miles on it is proof good enough for me, but it's up to you.

great thanks, I wonder if the oil that is supposed to go into the Lancer is different than the oil that goes into a dodge. On Saturdays when I take it down for an oil change the Dodge techs are there. I know that the weight of the oil may be different, but in the onwers manual it says to make sure it's certified or something. I do not know where to dispose of oil so I would rather have the dealer change it. They did want to charge me $20 to rotate the tires, I figure I could do that myself.

$20 to rotate tires is not bad. It truly is a pain in the ass without a lift.

you can give your old oil to walmart... who knows what they do with it, but they will take it. Just put in back into the old bottle

They use it for heating purposes. Most muffler shops will too.

I change my oil every 3000 or close to it....and I take it to the dealer. When I bought the car they gave me a coupon book for free oil change up to 99,000 Miles I think...eventhough the dealer is 30 miles away, its still well worth it to pay for gas and get my oil change done every 3K miles for nothing....

I found it odd that the warranty and maintenance manual recommended 7500 mile oil changes. So I did a little research. According to several websites and the guys at 3 different parts stores, 3k mile oil changes are a waste of money, resources and time. Contrary, to the popular belief that 3k oil changes are cheap insurance policies. The quality of the oil filter is the most important issue here. All motor oils are held to certain requirements/standards by law. Conventional oil changes should be every 5k miles according to everything I have seen. Synthetic motor oils are for high performance cars and give superior lubrication with longer intervals between oil changes. The controversy with synthetic oil is cost vs benefit. What do you guys think?

Not true... synthetic is better in everyway for every car. Unless you drive an antique.


Ya'll should read this if you have a chance.... it will answer a lot of questions
The truth about oil

You can save $5 every couple of months but that 3k oil change is going to save your engine in the long run. But hey its your car.... you do what you want with it.