On Average, How Often Do You Change Your Saturn's Oil?

[Charlie]

On average, how often do you change your Saturn's oil?

[GmG]

3,000...or less. I always make note to plan on changing it around 2,500 so I don't go over 3,000. Oil is too cheap to chance it.

I started using Castrol GTX two changes ago, I love how it comes out clean ;)

George

[ItzJustMe281]

At the most 3,000 miles but I usually try to do it at 2,000 because I run it so hard.

[YELO_SC2]

I do it on odometer multiples of 3,000 so that it's easy to remember when to change. For example, my next change is at 36,000. Lots of other fun stuff to do during that mileage as well. :-D

[swoker183]

i change my oil every 3000 miles

[AjaxSL2Guy]

3,000 miles (5,000km's) here for sure!!! I use Valvoline 5w30 high mileage oil and am very happy with it. Oil consumption went down as well.

[spork]

Every 5000 with Mobil1. I'd say that is probably overkill too.

[bennett9000]

I round off to the nearest thousand, between 2 and 3. Usually it's about 2500.

[silverblueL200]

Every 3K to 4K, or 6 weeks.

[WKDave3]

try to change right around every 3k....except this time, gonna let it go 4k so i can just take it into Saturn at 120k

[MydnightMyst]

I pretty much don't do my Saturn by the mileage, but rather, by the month. Since she's a race car, I change it about every other month during the racing season, sometimes less often if I haven't raced much, sometimes more often if I've ran the wee wee out of her. At the end of the season is one last change and she's stored, only to be out for Saturn of Dayton South's Christmas party and a show or two...
:)

[eRic 02sc2]

every 3000 miles.

[ProDarwin]

Every 3k normally. If I go through a period when I am particularly harsh on the car, I change it sooner.

[Dr. Bob]

every 2500... whenever the odo ends in 0000, 2500, 5000, or 7500... it's time. With the size of our current motor pool, I can't keep track of them any other way.

[David 93 SL2m]

I have always changed the oil and oil filter every 3,000 miles but I've been thinking about doing it more often at every 2,500 miles instead. Oil changes are cheap insurance for long engine life.

I think it is more important to change the oil and oil filter at a fixed schedule (such as every 2,500 or 3,000 miles) than to worry about using brand X over brand Y.

(Hopefully this thread won't spawn one of those endless "Is synthetic oil really better" debates...!)

[MaxSL2]

Always changed at 3K with SL2.

Have changed VUE's oil at 3K then waited to 7K for next change.

Oil in the VUE just still looks too clean to change when it has "only" 3K on it.

Just using dino oil with either car, seemed to be OK with the SL2, with approx. 1 Qt per 3000 Ml. oil consumption over entire ownership. (bought at 44K, sold after buying VUE at 105K)

[rehm70]

I change my oil every 35,000 miles, with a filter change at 12 and 24,000 miles.

Hey David, there is NO debate whether synthetic is better than conventional oil, Synthetic IS better.

Layman's terms: Crude oil, when pumped out of the ground, does not lubricate, it is refined(cooked) to a certain temp and additives are blended to get the lubrication properties. What does your engine do to crude oil? It cooks(refines) it. The heat cycles slowly change the lubrication properties(thermal breakdown), the additives break down, and finally it gets dirty. That's when it needs to be changed.
Synthetic oil is produced in a laboratory and is engineered to lubricate. The synthetic base stocks used are FAR superior to crude basestocks, resisting thermal breakdown and allowing the oil to do it's job far longer. With the temperature resistance, the additives in the synthetic oil last longer, and if you have a clean, quality air and oil filter, the oil will not get dirty for a long period of time.
Engine oil can get "dirty" three ways; bad air filter, engine blow-by, resulting in gasoline impregnation, and short trips that do not evaporate the moisture accumulated when the metals of the engine interior have large temperature change.
Changing oil is everyone's perogative, but changing it at 2,500-3,000 miles is a waste of time, money, resources, and it pollutes our environment.
Most people don't realize that in Europe, they change oil between 8-11,000 miles.
They use the EXACT same oil we use. The 8-11,000 mile changes are on crude oil, not synthetic.
When I tell people AMSOIL has an oil that you can change every 35,000 miles, they think I am nuts, but when Europeans get 11,000 out of crude, 35,000 out of a synthetic is not unrealistic.
We are marketed by the major oil companies to change every 3,000. I find it hard to believe I get grief from people when I talk about extended intervals, and in the next breath, they talk how disgusted they are about the oil companies dominance and power!
Look at a Mobil 1 synthetic bottle of oil. You will not see any recommendations on intervals, because they are marketing mass sales.
Please do us all a favor, and check out AMSOIL.com
Help end our reliance on foreign oil, and keep our environment clean.

[Hiddenlites]

I change mine probably about every 2000 miles which is usually the mileage I put on the car in a 6 month period.

[XtremeGrandAm]

On all my cars I have always changed the oil every 3,000 miles or less in some cases

[Ready2Race]

I change mine every 2 months. I Never drive it more than 1000 miles during that time.

[Mentul77]

I change mine as close to 3000 miles as possible. Between school and work its sometimes hard to get enough time to take it to my parents' house, give it time to cool and then change it right at 3000. Thus, sometimes it is longer, I try not to make it much longer though.

[Galileo]

I do it every 3,000 miles but the last oil change I did was at about 4,700 miles..... that's when the change oil soon light came on. I don't like to make a habit of waiting that long with the 1.9L Twin Cam engine.

[VTHokie00SL2]

I used to change it religiously every 3000, but more recently I've been doing it every 4k to 5k miles. I drive a lot these days, so 3k miles goes by in no time. It's such a pain to change it every 3k, so I just keep an eye on the oil and add a little between changes if necessary.

[Qlara]

Mobil 1 every 5-7k after the Oil Light is on....and I'm free to do.

[Darvell]

Every 3000 miles with my new Quad Coupe, while it's new, but every 4500-5000 in my SL2 with 170K on it.

Darvell

[SkyKingAGI]

I try ro get as close to every 3000 miles as I can. Use dino oil. Thinking of trying synthetic in my VUE when it's time to give it it's first change.

Ken

[youngbishop]

Most of the time it is between 3000 to 6000, it depends on how much I am running my car. I my first oil change was at 3000 the second oil change I waited until my change oil light come on. Want to make sure that it work. I kept a close eye on the oil.

[SilverNickelQC]

Every 5k with me, i use Mobil1.

[ttreibel]

Every 6K or 6months on the 2002 SLone with Wix or K&N filters and Mobile 1 5wx30w and 6K or 6 months on the 1995 SLone with Wix filters and Mobile 1 0w-40w

If I used Fram filters I would change them ever 1K they are POS if you don't believe me saw one in half it's worth the 5 bucks for the entertainment. Use Saturn OEM or K&N or Wix they are the best Delco's are OK. For airfilters Wix are better than the OEM the cars run noticably better with them installed!

[matt2791]

Hello

My Ion's first oil change was at around 2900. The "Oil Life Monitor" told me it was time for the next oil change before 5900. I've been to Jiffy Lube three times- the fourth time was to be at 11725 (so said the sticker) but here I am at over 13k and I'm waiting for that "CHG OIL" light to come on...

[BrenSaSC2]

On this saturn I'm trying to keep up with all the regular maintenece-tune ups and such...things like that that I just feel better about my car with. I actually am trying to baby this one a little more (in other words attempting to prevent the inevitable oil burning process)

[trunx]

I'm at over 11500kms and am still waiting for the oil monitor to go off.

[hasitha]

I voted 3000 because that is when I change oil on the 97sc2. But we run the 02Vue until 6000miles, or 6 months, or until the change oil light comes on. Usually the Vue runs about 6000 miles in 6 months. The sc2 takes about 4 months to cover 3000 miles.

[Kender]

I change mine every 3 weeks! Which is every 3000 miles for me, and she is still going strong. Burns a little oil, but I can't complain.

[BrenSaSC2]

Originally posted by trunx
I'm at over 11500kms and am still waiting for the oil monitor to go off.

I would recommend NEVER to go by that oil indicator light. That is set to go off about every 3 months-NOT by mileage. So if you're a person taht drives a lot more than 3000 miles in 3 months, you should keep track of it yourself and not by that light.

[SW2Muck]

I usually try to shoot for every 3000 miles, but many times it ends up being closer to 4000 miles when I changed it. In my old SW2, I once went 5000 miles before I changed it! I usually don't try to stretch it out that much, though, just to be safe.

[bodie]

3,000 Miles. 2.2 with timing chain it pays in the long run to be safe.

[FL ION BY]

service plan with saturn, so every 3,000 for sure

[reebee]

I was going to ask, but BrenSaSC2 just answered my question. I was wondering if the oil light came on because it had some sort of sensor that says the oil is "dirty" and needs to be changed or if it was programmed to light up every 3000 miles, or what.
So, really the light is just a reminder so we don't forget?
Oil was changed once after 3000 miles, but don't remember when that was. I'll have to dig up the papers to figure out when it's time. 3000 seems to be the popular vote.

[SilverNickelQC]

It was every 5k w/ Mobil1, but i now switched vehicles and now its every 3k. I got the Service Plan from Saturn.

[Galileo]

Originally posted by BrenSaSC2
I would recommend NEVER to go by that oil indicator light. That is set to go off about every 3 months-NOT by mileage.
Actually, that's not really true. The monitor takes into account other things like how many times the engine is started, the RPMs the engine is run at (ei city vs. highway driving), temperature, and mileage. As such, it could illuminate at 3,000 miles or as much as 7,500 miles. ;)

[SaturnSdn]

With Mobil 1 ....................... every 6k

[Mudpuppy]

Changed every 3000 mi. (94 SL2 with 242K mi.-still running fine) Just sold it and got 04 Ion 2. Looks like the filter is a little easier to change on this vehicle, guess I'll find out when I get 3000 mi!

[TheSaturnKid]

3K or ten weeks-

Religiously!

[silverbullit2000]

Every 2,500 to 3,000 miles, some people say this is overkill, but whats $20, for a clean running engine.

[David]

Originally posted by spork
Every 5000 with Mobil1. I'd say that is probably overkill too.

I agree. The oil change light in my L200 usually comes on after 3,200 miles. I do my best to ignore it or reset it. Usually change oil around 5,000 miles.

Own a L200, 2002
Previous car for last ten years, BMW 325E (Nope I didn't run synthetic in this because of the oil leaks. Ran Valvoline and had a trick oil plug that let me flick the valve to change my oil.

[David]

Originally posted by spork
Every 5000 with Mobil1. I'd say that is probably overkill too.

I agree. The oil change light in my L200 usually comes on after 3,200 miles. I do my best to ignore it or reset it. Usually change oil around 5,000 miles.

Own a L200, 2002
Previous car for last ten years, BMW 325E (Nope I didn't run synthetic in this because of the oil leaks. Ran Valvoline and had a trick oil plug that let me flick the valve to change my oil.