Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again - you all really need to distinguish between a “low oil” indicator and a “change oil” indicator. One can be very bad and one is not.

if a light comes on after only 4.5k, it's not change oil. op is burning oil somewhere or didn't put right amount last time

Once again, what “light” are you talking about? Your “change oil” light has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual fluid level and would not tell you if you were low or burning oil.

Anonymous wrote:Again - you all really need to distinguish between a “low oil” indicator and a “change oil” indicator. One can be very bad and one is not.

if a light comes on after only 4.5k, it's not change oil. op is burning oil somewhere or didn't put right amount last time

Anonymous wrote:I have a subaru that I'm supposed to change every 7500 miles but due to the issue PP mentioned, I end up changing every 4-5000 miles. My car burns through oil.

PP - my car has a "check engine" light that comes on when the oil is very low.

When my reminder light comes on....I think its when the oil is at 15%

I have a subaru that I'm supposed to change every 7500 miles but due to the issue PP mentioned, I end up changing every 4-5000 miles. My car burns through oil.

Anonymous wrote:Again - you all really need to distinguish between a “low oil” indicator and a “change oil” indicator. One can be very bad and one is not.

+1

My car manual (Toyota) recommends every 5000 miles. The change oil light starts coming on at 4500 miles as a reminder. It comes on briefly when you start the car and then turns off. It stays on longer as the mileage increases, and then stays on permanently when you hit 5000 miles.

I usually change somewhere between 5000 and 6000.

Again - you all really need to distinguish between a “low oil” indicator and a “change oil” indicator. One can be very bad and one is not.

My car is a Subaru. I’m supposed to change it every 6,000. If I go a little past that, I sometimes get the light. Freaks me out. So I’m about to just change it every 5,000 to be safe.

Is your car a Subaru? There was an earlier thread about this. New cars use zero-weight oil, which reduces friction but also may cause the level to drop. So this is not just a Subaru problem but common to many new cars. And I have also heard that you can't just add regular oil when the level is low, but you have to find this special oil, which not all gas stations carry.

I do what the manual says. In the case of my car, that’s every 10,000 miles or one year - whichever comes first. I have got the “maintenance needed” indicator but I have never got a “low oil” notice. If you are following the oil change schedule and your car ran out of oil, something is seriously wrong. It’s possible they used the wrong size drain bolt. Have you noticed a puddle of oil when moving the car?

We drive 15-20k per year on each of our vehicles. I change it twice a year and oil use synthetic oil, even though I drive old pieces of crap that I bought after they had passed 100k miles.

Anonymous wrote:My oil light came on after 4.5k miles. Is this normal? It seams pretty quick to need another oil change to me. I am getting the oil changed today, but just wondering if it seams about right or something I should be concerned about. I think the light comes on when the car is 2 quarts down in oil.

What do you mean by "oil light?" Cars have an indicator that you are low on oil. You should rarely see this because of course you check your oil regularly and would know if you were down a little. If you do get a low oil light, you should pull over immediately and check the oil. If it's just low, drive to the nearest store or service station and add oil. If there is no oil on the dipstick, call a tow truck, or call someone to bring you four or five quarts of oil. It would be extremely dangerous for your engine for you to continue to drive the car.

Now if you are talking about a "change oil" indicator that newer cars have, that's a different story. These are computerized indicators that will display based on the miles you drive AND your driving conditions. If you drive a lot of stop and go low speed driving, your oil change indicator may come on at a different interval than someone who drives a lot of highway miles, for example. Look in your owners manual for suggested oil change intervals. It will vary by vehicle.

I do it once a year, which is what is recommended on all our cars. But checking your oil levels and adding a quart is different than changing it. It doesn’t seem to happen much anymore but adding oil used to be a regular thing.

My oil light came on after 4.5k miles. Is this normal? It seams pretty quick to need another oil change to me. I am getting the oil changed today, but just wondering if it seams about right or something I should be concerned about. I think the light comes on when the car is 2 quarts down in oil.