Originally Posted by
Mark
I suggest reading your owner's manual, because there is more than one maintenance schedule. The owner should be deciding which schedule to follow not the dealership.
You may feel comfortable with 7,500-mile oil changes, but someone like stevedmc has 213,336 miles on his Mirage. His dealership is doing 5,000-mile oil changes for free. What is this dealership gaining by doing them more often?
I take notice of what’s working for others. When your car has over 200,000 miles, you may be able to say the same with 7,500-mile oil changes. Then again, we don’t know that? We don’t all drive under the same conditions, & the variables aren’t the same in each case either.
I’ve been changing oil in my own vehicles for 40+ years. I don’t mind changing oil, & it would feel odd to pay someone for that. If I lived near a dealership that offered free ones, I would take advantage of that. The cost of oil & filters has really increased in recent years. Most of my vehicles have been conventional oil. In my mind, synthetic oil is still new. I’ve been using synthetic for about 5 years now. Changing synthetic oil every 3,000 miles would defeat one of the purposes of using it. I totally get that!
There are two maintenance schedules for our Mirage in the United States. One schedule recommends oil changes as early as 3,750 miles, & the second one recommends 7,500 miles. 5,000-mile oil changes are not unreasonable or wasteful by any means, & they fall in between these two different schedules. I can’t say with 100% certainty that I drive under the conditions of schedule 1 or 2 all the time. If you do & feel comfortable with 7,500 oil changes, that’s fine. Mine is going to get changed somewhere between 5,000-6,000 miles. I respect everyone's opinion, but I am still going to do what I feel is best for my situation.
I’ve taken a number of longer trips with my Mirage this summer. I’ve really pushed it hard on some warm summer days, & it has performed really well. Having said that, it’s a small engine that only holds 3 quarts of oil. My other larger vehicle takes twice that amount. It’s really nice that 3 quarts of oil do the job of 5-6 quarts in larger engines.
Two different maintenance schedules for vehicles have been around forever. I don’t think a person has to argue which one is right. I think a person should do what they feel is right for his or her particular driving style. I added a F106S Fumoto oil drain valve to my Mirage (first time for any vehicle), & you can change the oil filter standing up. Changing the oil & filter on the Mirage is so simple.
I really don’t think anyone should be critical of someone else changing his/her oil in the 3,750 to 7,500 mile range.