I have a 2000 Dodge Durango 5.9L R/T. Currently I use this vehicle as a spare, around town vehicle, so I am not accumulating many miles on the truck. I am using Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil as my motor oil and I am reaching the 6 month plateau. This is going to be my first oil change I am doing by myself, so I am looking for advice on when the oil should really be changed and not what the businessmen try to tell you.

I am seeing a lot of posts that the amount of time your oil sits in the vehicle is practically irrelevant, but this is the first subject matter I want to address. If this is not the issue, then should I be changing my synthetic oil every 6,000 miles? 10,000 miles? I am reading a lot also that 10,000 is common, unless there is discoloration. I am afraid that my lack of usage (3,000 miles in 6 months) may become an issue and that I should change my oil based on time and not mileage. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

4500-6000k or 1 year sounds right for you, I wouldn't put 10k on oil driving around town.

 

I have always belived that saying: "better safe then sorry" I always change mine every 3K or 3 months. And I also use mobil one 10w-30. May cost more, and may be a hassle but I want her to run as well as possible for as long as possible...But to each their own.

 

Im with roller red, I don't use synthetics in my D cause of my higher mileage, but i change very 3k or 3 months. 3k comes way sooner for me. Even if I ran synthetics I feel better with every 3k

 

factory suggests higher mileage change intervals than most people will run (i believe my manual says 7k miles on regular oil, seems too long IMO)


i believe that as long as the vehicle is being driven regularly that the changes should be done based on mileage, 3k miles is (in this day of advanced modern oils) too frequently, i change my oil at 5k miles (i use shell conventional oil), synthetic oil can safely be run longer, i wouldnt go above what the owners manual suggests for oil change interval (as i said i believe it is around 7k miles, if i remember to check my manual i will post the exact information)

just to explain where i got my schedule from, my father who has owned and driven cars for many years more than most of you have been alive (ok maybe not longer than hydra has been alive, but every one else :P) has been doing changes based on mileage only and have NEVER had a lubrication related problem. The reason they put a time limit on it is because many low mileage (they pick up miles slowly) vehicles pick up hours just as quickly as any other vehicle because they do alot of idling, idling causes carbon build up and increased fuel seepage(past the rings) into the oil and doesnt always get the engine hot enough to boil the contaminants out, as long as you dont do alot of idling you will be fine ignoring time and changing it based on mileage only

 

Oil can break down over a significant period of time though as far as I know. So Say u don't drive your D for 6 months, I would change the oil just for safe keeping

 

in my 04 Hemi I use Mobil 1 every 10k miles. It still comes out with a nice tannish tone to it. Anyone who uses synthetics and changes it every 3k miles is crazy. That is just a complete waste. 150k miles and runs like new.

 

I use mobil 5000(conventional) ..I change it every 5000miles-ish..If your wanting to run a fully synthetic Mobile 1..Why not Mobil 1 Extended Performance? It is recommended for up to 15,000-miles or one-year oil change intervals, whichever occurs first..

 

oil CAN break down you are correct, but if you read my post i stated that as long as the car is being driven regularly what i stated applys, however i would not expect the oil to break down just sitting there (at least not to the extent that its no good anymore) without being used, the big issue with the sitting is that contaminants build up in the oil which act as an abrasive and increase friction (oil is meant to decrease friction) which is an acceptable reason to change it to me.

this is a non issue if the car is being driven because the filter will be removing these contaminants as they get into the oil so there is no concern.

 

Ok, well considering my D does not sit around, since it is used roughly once a day to drive around town, with a rare appearance quickly on the highway, I should probably go with the 1 year interval on my Mobile 1 Extended Mileage Synthetic Oil? Since at the 6 month mark I have only reached 4,000 miles, I will probably hit the 8,000 mileage mark within that 1 year as well.