Has anyone else seen the ads on TV for Mobil's extended oils? They now have motor oils that they claim are good for 5,000 miles, one for 7,500 miles and one for 15,000 miles!

I went to their website (WWW.MobilOil.COM) to check it out for myself, here is what I found out:

5,000 mile oil is a conventional motor oil (no synthetic or blend) with extra cleaning agents that is good for 5,000 miles.

7,500 mile oil is a synthetic blend with extra cleaning agents that is good for 7,500 miles.

15,000 mile oil is a full synthetic with extra cleaning agents that is good for 15,000 miles.

Hard to beleive, but that is what they claim.

While I was at their website, I took the test for my car (RT) to see what kind of oil that they would recommend. At the end of the questions they asked me, they came up with an easy out.....not enough data at this time to suggest what oil I should use. BUMMER!

I have been using a conventional oil (Pennzoil 5W20) and changing at 3 months or 3,000 miles - which ever came first. Bought my RT in July and only have 7,500 miles on it now, so I do it every 3 months. Have done 3 oil changes so far, did first one at 600 miles.

I plan to switch to a full synthetic (Pennzoil 5W20) and change oil every 4 months or 4,000 miles.........3 oil changes a year, to help keep costs down - versus 4 oil changes.
Will also be using a Purolator oil filter, their premium filter, #PL14670.

Any thoughts on the new Mobil Oils?


Bob

 

I just put Mobil1 extended life (15,000 miles) in my truck. The truck has 24,000 miles on it. No problems yet, in fact it idles smoother. I'm not gonna let it go for 15K, I'll change it at about 10K and change the filter about every 5K. If you use a better quality filter (K&N, Mobil1, Amsoil...etc, not Fram!) they say it's ok to let full synthetics run longer. I'm currently using the Mobil1 filter (M-204 for the 4.7L engine). The filter is about $11, but paying the extra dollars is worth it to me for not changing it as often. I also run some kind of fuel system cleaner whenever I change an oil filter. I've also done this with my Jeep Grnd Cherokee with the 4.7L V8, that has about 68K miles, it also runs like a dream.
Hope this imput helps.

 

What does extending the time between oil changes do to the factory warranty? Will it be voided because it isn't being changed at their required intervals?

 

In general if a car company says you must change your oil at Xmiles and you don't, you can kiss your engine warranty good bye. Look at it from your perspective - If you sold a car to somebody and they put used Wishbone salad oil in it and then towed it back and wanted a refund what would you say?????

 

I guess that was my subtle way of bringing up the fact that the warranty would likely be voided. I don't remember seeing anything in the owners manual about change the oil every xxx miles unless you use synthetic and then change it at xxx.

 

The owners book says you can change your oil at 3,000 miles or 6,000 miles, depends on the type of driving you do.

Most of my driving is in the 40 - 60 MPH range, so doing an oil change at 4,000 miles or 4 months, should not void the warranty.

My wifes car (Ford Crown Vic) has 100,000 miles on it and runs great, had the oil changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles. Bought it new in 1995, almost ten years old now and has to last two more years. Same transmission, same altenator, same water pump, etc.

Only had to do tires, brakes and shocks, also tuneups. and exhaust.

Bob

 

Awesome.

While on the question of warranty, what type of documentation must one have if they change their own oil?

(oh, and congrats on getting the new ride while making the wife drive one for 12 years, heh)

 

A while ago there was an oil interval study done with New York taxi cabs, might have been Consumer Reports. Their conclusion was - no difference in changing the oil every 3000 or 5000 miles. They used conventional oil (old dinos) in the study. I think they also recommended the industry adapt the 5000 avg rule to help save oil; but I would be surprised if places like the dealership or Jiffy Lube would want to make that recommendation and lose business because of it. I think most auto manuals recommend an oil change interval higher than 3000 miles.

I can't remember if they did any study with synthetic. I use synthetic through out my 1996 Formula Firebird (engine, trans, and diff) but could not tell you if it has made any difference. 83K on the car without any problems but it might have had no problems with conventional oil as well. I change the oil every 10K miles regardless of time. I live in Phoenix so I am not worried about condensation getting into the oil.

I am waiting for more info on the SRT8 as a replacement for my Firebird.

 

You have to keep purchase receipts of the oil and filters... Here's a tip though... Scan then to your computer or at minimum photocopy them. Most stores these days print the receipts on the thermal printers, and they will fade over a few months... Good luck getting warranty work done with a stack of faded blank slips of paper!

 

Usually none. In my 10 years at dealerships we have never asked a cutomer for records prior to performing warranty work. Some aftermarket extended warranty companies will ask for trans service receipts prior to doing major trans work.