Synthetic Oil Change Interval

Changing the oil in your car is critical to avoiding engine problems. What if you switch to synthetic oil? Is there a different synthetic oil change interval that applies to your car?

Synthetic oil is often touted as a new lubrication product. In truth, it has been around since the 1970s. It just wasn’t that good and wasn’t marketed towards consumers. Over the years, it has improved dramatically and now is marketed so aggressively that it can apparently bring small animals back to life and cure the housing crisis!

Synthetic oil is created in a lab. It is a combination of chemicals designed to maximize lubrication and heat removal among other benefits. Synthetic oils are sold as 100 percent synthetic products or mixed with traditional oil. They are designed and touted to last longer and lubricate better than your basic mineral based oil.

So, does using synthetic oil change the interval for replacing the oil in your car? It depends. There are a number of factors to take into account. Let’s take a quick look.

Warranty

Every new car comes with an initial warranty. You should follow it to the “T”. Failing to do so can invalidate the warranty, and that is usually an inexpensive nightmare. One of the aspects of the warranty is the oil change interval. Follow it. Failing to do so can invalidate the warranty. Fortunately, most cars also come with free oil changes during the warranty, so you don’t really have to worry about anything. Just take your car in when indicated.

Oil Filter

The oil is only one part of the engine protection system. The oil is only as good as the oil filter. Oil moves debris away from the moving parts of the engine. The oil filter obviously captures those parts. Although your synthetic oil might be in great shape, the system can be compromised if the oil filter is clogged up with debris. For this reason, you should massive mile accumulation between oil filter changes. Again, it is best to stick with the recommendations in your owner’s manual even if you are off warranty.

Special Situation

There are cars that still need the oil changed every 3,000 miles or even less. How can this be so? They usually have some unique component in the engine that is compromised when oil reaches a certain debris saturation level. The typical Toyota V6 engine often calls for this due to some element in the timing chain supposedly.

Generally speaking, the synthetic oil change interval really shouldn’t be much different than what the manufacturer recommends with regular oil. It is better to do it far too early than late. Engine repairs are very expensive. 

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