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Time for a change... | pad patter 8.1.17

keepscrappin

keepscrappin

ScrapWithTheWind
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Apr 2, 2010
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an oil change that is... hehe. I just got home from dropping my Honda Pilot off for an oil change, tire rotation and computer updates at the dealership. I've had my vehicle for almost two years and this only the second oil change it's needed. I don't put many miles on it. It only has 11,500 miles on it and most of those were put on when we drove to Disneyland last Fall. I take it in for an oil change when it gets to 15% oil life. The reminder popped up on my screen last week, but the dealership has been so slammed that today was the first day they could get it in. I was thankful that they have a free shuttle service so I didn't have to wait around half the day for it. They were already running an hour and a half behind schedule this morning, so I hope they can get it finished up before the shuttle service stops this afternoon.

The sticker on my window said that I should take it back in for the next oil change 6 months after the first oil change or at 15% oil life. That would have been back in January, but it didn't need it. I have never gone by the monthly schedule because I just don't put that many miles on this vehicle. I do like to take care of my cars, but I don't feel it's necessary to change the oil if it's still good. I've always gone by oil life instead. Sometimes, I think the service centers put those dates on just to get you back in sooner. I know when I used to go to Jiffy Lube, they would put the return sticker at like 3 months out. There's no way I would need an oil change that much. I always look at the manufacturer's recommendations and go by that. It says oil change every 7,500 miles or 12 months, so I go with that.

How about you? Do you take your vehicles in when the sticker says or do you check your oil and/or wait until the oil life light comes on and you really need to get it changed?
 
My car has a button that tells me how much oil percentage is left... so the closer to 100% the better. I go by that information rather than the sticker from the oil change place. :) Plus, my oil is synthetic and supposed to last double what the place advises. I end up going usually when there is 20% left... but have definitely put it off close to 0% before! Shhh....


Hmmm.... I should check my car today! Thanks, Kayla! :)
 
I just got my first car that has an oil life percentage button on it and I haven't checked it lately lol
I never go by the sticker the oil change place puts on there. They always put it at 3000 miles and that really not necessary at all. They just want you back in there more often haha. But I do use it as a gauge so I know how long it's been. I usually try to change mine around 5000-7500 miles. I put a lot of miles on my car during the school year... sometimes around 100 miles a day. It will be interesting to see what the oil life thing in the car says when I remember to check it.
 
About 3,500 miles, or whenever I remember. Remembering is the hard part, especially when my DH hates window stickers and immediately removes then. He remembers when it's needed next - I don't. I can't remember anything anymore...
 
My car tells me when it needs to go and then the dealership usually follows up with a phone call. Makes it super easy!
 
I never have any idea when I need an oil change. I totally ignore the little sticker on my windshield :)

My hubs will bring it in for me and get it done. I leave all the car stuff to him. I consider that an "outside job" which is his responsibility LOL ...like cutting the grass, taking out the garbage....and taking care of my car. Then I don't mind doing all the cooking which I'd rather do than outdoor chores.
 
Here's what usually happens. My oil warning light comes on. I check the Jiffy Lube sticker on my windshield and exclaim, "How can it have been 6 months already?!!" :giggle

And reading about some of you having buttons that tell you how much oil you have left makes me feel like my 2004 minivan is old!
 
michelepixels said:
Here's what usually happens. My oil warning light comes on. I check the Jiffy Lube sticker on my windshield and exclaim, "How can it have been 6 months already?!!" :giggle

And reading about some of you having buttons that tell you how much oil you have left makes me feel like my 2004 minivan is old!
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I was just telling DD 17 yesterday that I need to teach her how to pop the hood and actually check the oil levels in her car. Having the buttons is so nice, but sometimes I do think it would be a good practice to check when you get gas. I learned to do that when I got my driver's license. You never know if or when the computer will go berserk and you don't want your engine burning up.
 
I change my oil whenever DH announces "I bought oil for your car." And then he disappears outside for a couple hours and comes inside a complete mess. He has a log book for each car and writes down all services done; I'm assuming oil change info is in there. He knows the oil can last longer than stated, but IDK if he actually lets it go until 7500 miles. Maybe until 5000.

I'll be honest: I wish he'd just take it somewhere to get its oil changed cuz it takes such a chunk out of our Saturday. But he loves working on the car, so I don't say anything.
 
Mine gets changed about every 5-6 months. It usually hits about 4-5000 miles by that point. It basically is my commuter vehicle and rarely leaves town. So far, going 16 years on my truck at over 220K miles :D It's starting to feel cramped with my kids getting big. My son is almost as tall as me and he's only 12! :cry
 
I want an oil change button!
Ours gets changed when we think about it. Which is about 6ish months or so or around 7000 miles. But now I want to check and see what the oil recommends!
 
Yup we have a "newer' vehicle so we have the oil change percentage indicator. Easy peasy!
 
Hubby does all of our auto changes/repairs (unless it is really big like a transmission repair). He writes the miles down and then tells me to let him know when I hit an X mileage. Unfortunately I put alot of miles on my vehicle since work is about 35 miles one way but he takes excellent care of the vehicles.
 
What is this "oil life" light of which you speak? :giggle I don't think I've ever owned a car new enough to have one!! I actually thought I was upgrading to a luxury vehicle when I got my 2005 Toyota Highlander last year and it had not one but TWO trip odometers available (and, OMG, cup holders)! So I use one for keeping track of the mileage between oil changes and the other to keep an eye on my fuel economy (I zero it every time I fill up). My little Honda del Sol doesn't have such a luxury (I forgive it, though, since it's a convertible), so we just jot down the mileage whenever the oil is changed.

We're actually pretty much sticklers for changing the oil in our cars every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, and my husband does it for us- it takes him a lot less time than getting it done elsewhere, and he's a lot less expensive, too!
 
We have nothing like this, no stickers, no gauge %.
I have never changed the oil in my car (11 years) but she gets regular services when she is supposed to so I guess "they" change the oil then?
 
When the display gets to 5% I let DH know, When it gets down to 2% he does an oil change provided it's not winter. If it's cold then one of us takes it to get done.
 
First car I ever "owned" was the Hyundai Sonata that had been my husband's for 5 years when we met. One day the "check filter" light came on, and I just went to Canadian Tire and bought some oil and a filter, read the Owner's Manual, and changed the oil and filter. I thought I had seen my Dad do it when I was a kid, and had a rough idea of what needed to be done.
Weird thing: my Dad insists he has never changed his own oil. He's a carpenter, not a mechanic. He thinks I saw it on a movie as a kid and made a false memory. But, it's a really vivid, really specific false memory. Like I remember his specific instructions on how to check the oil level, and I remember putting blocks in behind the back tires before he started to do the work.
My husband comes from a family where there are no carpenters or car mechanics. He thought I had lost my mind when I crawled under the car to drain the old oil. He now books his service appointments months in advance so I don't get any ideas...
 
Huh. I didn't even know these percentage buttons existed. I have a 2009 Dodge Caravan. Definitely nothign fancy about my vehicle and that make/model is known for burning oil (didn't know that when I bought it) so I make sure to change mine every 3000 miles. It takes me a long time to get there usually since we live about a mile from everywhere we go. The grocery store is 8 miles away and that's about the furthest I go on a weekly basis. :giggle
 
Juliestcyr said:
First car I ever "owned" was the Hyundai Sonata that had been my husband's for 5 years when we met. One day the "check filter" light came on, and I just went to Canadian Tire and bought some oil and a filter, read the Owner's Manual, and changed the oil and filter. I thought I had seen my Dad do it when I was a kid, and had a rough idea of what needed to be done.
Weird thing: my Dad insists he has never changed his own oil. He's a carpenter, not a mechanic. He thinks I saw it on a movie as a kid and made a false memory. But, it's a really vivid, really specific false memory. Like I remember his specific instructions on how to check the oil level, and I remember putting blocks in behind the back tires before he started to do the work.
My husband comes from a family where there are no carpenters or car mechanics. He thought I had lost my mind when I crawled under the car to drain the old oil. He now books his service appointments months in advance so I don't get any ideas...
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Look at you go girl! WOOT! I'm the handy ma'am at my house, but I've never taken on a oil change. Probably because I didn't want to climb under the car and get all messy and oily. And then there's the problem of disposing of the old oil. It's easier for me and cheaper for me to just pay someone else to do it. I bought the advantage care plan at the dealership for $99 that includes 3 oil and filter changes, 3 tire rotations and 3 car washes. I figured that was a pretty good deal and I wouldn't have to get dirty in the process. :agree
 
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