When to do oil change

[AmyF]

Just got my 2013 charger with 27k miles.  The sealer got it from a fleet company and said they are sure it recently had an oil change but didn't confirm when.  I've out about 1700 miles on it since I got it.  Wondering when I should get the oil done? I was figuring around 29500 miles or so  . I checked the oil and it looked good. Bugging me not knowing when it was last done.

[JB400]

It used to be that you changed the oil every 3,000 miles.  But, with today's oil and machining, I've heard it can go up to 5,000 miles. If there's any question, I'd go ahead and change the oil now, and then start your own service records.  It'll give you peace of mind. 

Welcome to the forum

[Homerr]

Changing oil is cheap insurance, just do it now and you'll have peace of mind.

[moparnation74]

Welcome to the forum!!  And Post a pic!

Change it now and start fresh.  As a previous member said it is cheap insurance!

[Dino]

Today's oil goes way past 3000 miles and some even claim to go as high as 15K, but why take the risk?  I'm with the rest, oil is cheap and much too important for the longevity of your ride to take a chance on. 

[lloyd3]

On the theme of oil changes, do you folks change your oil at the end of the driving season, or at the beginning?  My car is going to be put away for winter here fairly shortly. It was beautiful today, but it can't last much longer. Historically, I don't think about oil changes until the first few times I'm out and about in the Spring, but are there any advantages to storing a car with fresh oil instead of last Summer's?

[Dino]

In the grand scheme of things I doubt it matters.  As long as you make sure you're oil is always good and you don't wait too long, either is fine.  I change it when I have several thousand miles on it, whenever that is.  If you want to make it a routine then I would change it when you take it out of storage.

[Baldwinvette77]

Todays cars with their modern computers and such can make oil last longer than before, less gas saturation, and quicker warm up times for less water contamination, 10,000 kilometres is whats recommended here for late-models, but just check your owners manual?  

[don duick]

I like to do an oil change around ten oclock on a sunday morning  

[AmyF]

Not sure what happened to my post earlier. I did get the oil done and decided on synthetic. The shop marked 5000 miles to next oil change.  When I had my precious car (2010 chevy cobalt nought new ran up to 137k) I changed it every 5 to 6500 k miles

[AmyF]

Lolol not precious -previous.    Typo. Cobalt was a great reliable car just not much comfort.

[green69rt]

I do all my cars at 5000 miles now.  No big reason other than it's an easy number to remember.   

[charge69]

Amy, if you had the shop put synthetic oil in your Charger, you should be good for at least 5000 miles.  Depending on the synthetic, (my friend uses Royal Purple in a Cummins diesel) you should be good for at least 10,000 miles!  I do not use synthetic oil in my Charger (use GTX 20-50) but it is a 1969 and likes the Castrol I use.

I do not put many miles on my Charger as it is not a daily-driver like yours but you should be fine with what you are using.

By the way, Welcome here but this is more of a classic (66-74) Charger site! A lot of members have new Charger/Challenger cars also.

[AmyF]

I should add I have a devilish commute. 94 mile round trip commute daily. I put all 137000 on my '10 cobalt and it's still running fine. I'm hoping to have the same luck with my v6 charger

[Cooter]

With todays vehicles, and VVT, one can certainly push oil past 3k miles....
however, even the Amsoil rep will tell you when going 7-8-9-10k mile oil changes, one must still change the filter at 3k.

Hadda 275k mile  Chevy Trailblazer come in with VVT codes. Owner swapped solenoid valve, check engine light came right back on. Same code. I simply changed oil filter and hasn't been back. After 3k miles filters go into bypass. Pumping dirty oil through engine.

[moparnation74]

I should add I have a devilish commute. 94 mile round trip commute daily. I put all 137000 on my '10 cobalt and it's still running fine. I'm hoping to have the same luck with my v6 charger

That is a long commute.  I am sure on nice days you do enjoy traveling it in your charger!

[thatoneguy87]

Previously worked at Autozone. Don't judge, but i was the commercial manager and went through some seminars and yes a lot of the new oils can go that far without changing but i stick with 3k or 5k depending on synthetic or none. There are those few that say you can go for 15k but it is requirement that you change the filter every 3k to 5k most don't know that. but to each is their own i would rather change it more often than not enough. And on the now or in the spring i would change it in the spring. The reason it was 3k or 3 months was that the oil will start to break down and separate so if you change it now you would want to change it again in the spring. but again to each is their own.

[lloyd3]

I'm convinced! I'll do it next spring when I wake her up from her winter slumber.

[thatoneguy87]

I'm convinced! I'll do it next spring when I wake her up from her winter slumber.

[odcics2]

I believe your owner's manual recommends 7,500. OR when the 'CHANGE OIL' light comes on.
MoPar filters are good for that interval.  Heck, that's all they use for all the durability testing! 

Factory fill is conventional Pennzoil 5w30. The 3.6L was designed to use 5w. Using 10w will decreasel MPG with no other benefit.
Unless you are racing your car professionally, synthetic is no benefit either. 

I change my daughters  '12 Challenger 3.6L oil and filter every 5K and reset the oil minder.   
Like mentioned before, easy to remember!

[c00nhunterjoe]

I use mobil 1 full synthetic in my 07 rt. Every 5k. Im at 145,000 miles, doesnt burn a drop, still runs low 13's on stock tires.

[green69rt]

I think you can pick a number that feels good for you, I picked 5K.  Too short and you are wasting money. Too long and you risk the engine...  So what's right??  Part is personal preference and part is a little engineering sense.  Don't go overboard but do pick a interval that works for you...  Sounds like 3K may be too short, 15k may be too long.  That's a large range to work with.  Start conservative (3500 miles) and work from there.  Use good filters and good oil, for sure.  Think about the risk of going long on the interval, $20 oil change vs a $10,000 engine.

My  

[odcics2]

I think you can pick a number that feels good for you, I picked 5K.  Too short and you are wasting money. Too long and you risk the engine...  So what's right??  Part is personal preference and part is a little engineering sense.  Don't go overboard but do pick a interval that works for you...  Sounds like 3K may be too short, 15k may be too long.  That's a large range to work with.  Start conservative (3500 miles) and work from there.  Use good filters and good oil, for sure.  Think about the risk of going long on the interval, $20 oil change vs a $10,000 engine.

My  

You do any more miles than what the owners manual states and you blow the warranty.  Period.  If you do changes yourself, document everything...   

[green69rt]

I think you can pick a number that feels good for you, I picked 5K.  Too short and you are wasting money. Too long and you risk the engine...  So what's right??  Part is personal preference and part is a little engineering sense.  Don't go overboard but do pick a interval that works for you...  Sounds like 3K may be too short, 15k may be too long.  That's a large range to work with.  Start conservative (3500 miles) and work from there.  Use good filters and good oil, for sure.  Think about the risk of going long on the interval, $20 oil change vs a $10,000 engine.

My  

You do any more miles than what the owners manual states and you blow the warranty.  Period.  If you do changes yourself, document everything...  

That's a possibility, but I've never had a dealer ask for my maintenance records.  Maybe because I've never had a $5000 engine replacement.   Most of the good ones will not even ask, but you could run into the occasional A*  hole.

Edit note: all my recent cars indicated an oil change interval from 3750 to 7500 ( I really need to check.)   So if you change every 5K or 6 months I think you would be ok.