12th Aug 2006, 20:33

"Sometimes I would go 10,000 miles before I would ever have to change the oil."

Try and keep the car for 200,000 miles with that oil change interval. It won't happen. Of couse, if you buy a new car every few years then you won't even have the car long enough for any significant problems to occur... So, don't say that your japanese car is great because you can go that long without having to change the oil. ANy car can go that long, though it isn't too great for the engine.

9th Oct 2006, 18:51

Oh it can happen. I have that oil change interval with my Buick Lesabre. I've been really beating that car and it's still alive after 225k miles.

10th Oct 2006, 13:42

My mother has a 2005 Trailblazer 4x4, and I can assure those who are questioning it that it is a very nice ride, and to my knowledge has been utterly reliable. GM has improved their quality over the past couple of years, and it shows.

1st Nov 2006, 21:52

Mine is 2005, so far the check engine light has failed, the CD player has failed (and this is being addressed as common problem by GM, I saw it in a document in their website), and now at 10000 miles I have the clutch fan problem with the jet engine sound.

Also the painting in the radio buttons is cracking out...

Very nice ride, but little attention to detail.

: (

31st May 2011, 20:02

My Toyota has 750,000 miles on the original engine and transmission with no issues. My dad's Chevy was dead at 95,000 miles, even with excellent care. He is now a happy Toyota owner like me!

1st Jun 2011, 13:50

With regard to comment 20:33, I have to say that it appears that oil company scare tactics have resulted in yet another urban myth. Changing oil at 10,000 or more miles is perfectly acceptable in any car using full synthetic oil. Full synthetic does not break down or degrade like cheap oil does. When first introduced, synthetic oil was recommended for up to 25,000 mile change intervals. After the oil companies realized they would lose money that way, they began a massive mis-information campaign among dealers and repair shops to scare people into changing at ridiculously low intervals, such as 3000 miles. Since most people know nothing about cars, the scare tactics worked.

I routinely change my oil at somewhere around 8,000 to 12,000 miles. None of my vehicles has ever had a single problem in well over 100,000 miles. My co-worker changes the full synthetic oil in his Cadillac at 25,000 mile intervals. He has had no problems either. At 100,000 miles he has only changed oil 4 times (counting changing the original oil for full synthetic at 3000 miles).

The longest my family has ever kept any car was 325,000 miles (a Ford), but none of our cars has ever had any oil-related issues using full synthetic and 10,000 mile or greater change intervals.

1st Jun 2011, 16:38

Just make sure you check it regularly. See, most average drivers that go to Jiffy Lube and don't ever lift the hood of their car, will kill a car in two years if they let the oil go that long. Any car will burn off quite a bit of oil in 10K miles. My rule is change it when it is dirty... dirty enough where you can't see through it easily. Once there is that much crud in your oil, it will start to wear on the engine parts faster. Dirt is grit, and grit creates friction. The cleaner the oil, the less the friction. Any good mechanic will tell you a $25 oil change is cheaper than a $5K engine. Letting it go for so long is like playing Russian roulette with your engine. It is a bad idea to let a 20 minute oil change go for so long. If you do it yourself, you can get it done for under $20.

Good luck selling your cars too. Having a good maintenance record with receipts of oil change intervals is becoming the norm for private sales. I would quickly walk away from a car that only had the oil changed every 10K miles. The way a car is driven greatly affects the oil, so if you don't know how it was driven, as in a used car, at least if the oil was done every 3K to 5K miles, it is a safer bet it will last.

1st Jun 2011, 17:20

750000 on the same engine in the Toyota seems implausible unless you meant 75000.

2nd Jun 2011, 11:42

Dirt and dust still comes into your intake in normal driving. I oil my K&N air filters, but there's dust still. Cold also generates water short trips, and collects in the crankcase. I change my synthetic every fall, as my cars are less than 2500 miles year, and I like Napa Gold filters. I want clean fluid with spring startup. I have only bought 1 engine just over 7 grand. I like being proactive vs reactive today.

2nd Jun 2011, 12:28

"Any car will burn off quite a bit of oil in 10K miles"

Not mine. Our current GM vehicle has 100,000 miles on it, and has not had the oil changed in 11,000 miles. It is still on the "full" mark. Modern cars (domestics anyway) don't use oil. I never even bother to check the oil in any of our three cars. They are never low. I just change it about once a year. Years ago cars used oil (our Honda used a quart every three weeks), but no domestic since about 1990 uses oil.

3rd Jun 2011, 11:45

All engines experience a certain amount of blow-by when they run. Unburned fuel, water and other combustion byproducts blow past the rings and end up in the crankcase. Also buying cheap gas is an issue. The higher the mileage on the engine, the greater the amount of blow-by. The PCV system siphons most of these vapors and moisture back into the intake manifold, which helps keep the oil clean and reduces the formation of acids, varnish and sludge. But if the PCV system isn't working, is plugged up or the oil isn't changed often enough, the oil soon becomes saturated with contaminants, and sludge starts to form inside the engine. If this sludge is not removed, it can be very damaging and will eventually cause the engine to fail. Why not just change your oil instead of risking an engine failure?

3rd Jun 2011, 20:46

"but no domestic since about 1990 uses oil."

Not true, our '96 Ford Taurus was smoking oil very badly at 130,000 miles. Our '04 Ford Focus was constantly blowing blue oil smoke at only 140,000. My neighbors '03 Chevy Silverado began using a quart of oil every 1,500 miles at only 23,000. I've seen plenty of examples of domestic vehicles that badly burn oil. I can't speak for my neighbor, but all of our cars got their oil changed every 3-4,000 miles, and we DID check our oil. We use synthetic oil, and have been using it since it was first available pretty much.

5th Jun 2011, 13:10

Yeah, I am not sure where they got their information from. I have seen plenty of later model domestics spewing the old blue smoke. No car line is built that well these days! Maintenance is key and oil changes are crucial. Not changing the oil for 10K miles is suicidal to your engine. Even synthetic oil gets dirty, and once you get oil saturated with dirt, there is nothing but excessive wear on the internal parts of your engine.