January 12, 200719 yr I have a '06 Outback Wagon and I have been following the maintenance schedule listed in 2006 Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. Based on the booklet, I should be taking the car in every 7500 miles for oil changes and tire rotations. I also I don't consider my driving to/from work to be "severe driving conditions". The wagon now has 15k miles so I was going to take it in for its second service. So the question is - is 7,500 miles between oil changes okay or is it too long? The first and last time I brought the car in for service, I felt like the place was pressuring me to bring it in every 5,000 miles.
January 12, 200719 yr I have a '06 Outback Wagon and I have been following the maintenance schedule listed in 2006 Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. Based on the booklet, I should be taking the car in every 7500 miles for oil changes and tire rotations. I also I don't consider my driving to/from work to be "severe driving conditions". The wagon now has 15k miles so I was going to take it in for its second service. So the question is - is 7,500 miles between oil changes okay or is it too long? The first and last time I brought the car in for service, I felt like the place was pressuring me to bring it in every 5,000 miles. It is important to read Subaru's definitions of "severe driving conditions" in the owner's manual. As a former service consultant at a dealer (but not a Subaru dealer) I'm willing to bet that your definition of severe driving conditions and their definition of severe driving conditions won't match. Subaru's "severe driving conditions" may include "frequent short trips" or "extended operation in temperatures above or below (whatever)" or "stop and go/city traffic conditions". And that list may go on and on..... You should look thru that owner's manual page-by-page until you find Subaru's list of "severe conditions". If the owner's manual doesn't make it clear, contact Subaru customer support and ask for a printed list of them. Don't give them a chance to stick you with the line "lack of proper maintenance" if you have a warranty concern...
January 12, 200719 yr Author According to the booklet, examples of severe driving conditions: - Repeated short distance driving - Driving on rough and/or muddy roads - Driving in dusty coniditions - Driving in extremely cold weather - Driving in areas where road salts or other corrosive materials - Living in costal areas - Towing a trailer
January 12, 200719 yr I would suggest that you do an oil anaylsis and not go over the warranty recommendation even if the oil anaylsis shows different...here in Canada, Subara takes a more blanket approach by classifying all driving to be extreme so that they have themselves covered for all the extreme weather that this country provides (-40 to 100 above F )( the coolant mix from the factory is 60/40 to accomadate the colder weather)...in my manual and on their Cand. web site it states that oil changes are to be done at 3750mi or 6000kilometer...I will eventually get the oil checked on my newer car to determine when it is necessary...I also understand in the States that there is no recommended service for the A/F to be changed out..while here they do have a prescribed mileage/kilo interval
January 13, 200719 yr 7500 miles is plenty frequent oil changes. That's what I do, and I subject my car to track-driving, and generally thrash it to the redline - only once the engine is warm of course. The Euro car manuals stipulate servicing at just under 10,000 miles.
January 13, 200719 yr Interesting how various countries have different oil change intervals etc...no doubt, to go 10,000mi you would need the best oil and matching filter....but then again I don't think most Europeons ever expect to get 250,000-500,000kilo. out of their cars while also being able to pass emissions as is mandated in some places... 7500 miles is plenty frequent oil changes. That's what I do, and I subject my car to track-driving, and generally thrash it to the redline - only once the engine is warm of course. The Euro car manuals stipulate servicing at just under 10,000 miles.
January 15, 200719 yr I have a '06 Outback Wagon and I have been following the maintenance schedule listed in 2006 Warranty and Maintenance Booklet. Based on the booklet, I should be taking the car in every 7500 miles for oil changes and tire rotations. I also I don't consider my driving to/from work to be "severe driving conditions". The wagon now has 15k miles so I was going to take it in for its second service. So the question is - is 7,500 miles between oil changes okay or is it too long? The first and last time I brought the car in for service, I felt like the place was pressuring me to bring it in every 5,000 miles. in reality unless you live in a squre state and your commute is you and a groundhog traveling at 60mph on a traffic free road, you qualify as servere. You know, in all honesty, do what you feel like. An engine costs 5-7000 dollars to rebuild from the dealer. There is no such thing as too many oil changes. If you feel its too long, and it makes you feel uncomfortable, do it at every 5000. Eurpoeans dont drive nearly as much as we do, so dont go by their numbers. nipper
January 16, 200719 yr Some Europeans may not rack up the miles as fast you do Nipper. Swedes rank do easily rank high for example. They live in a big country, with plenty of remote areas that dictate the need to drive. Others may even stress their oil more than you, since they so much stop-start city driving, where each run is too short to really warm the engine up. On a sidenote: Consider that Skoda/VW/AUDI Diesel engines have intervals set at 30,000km! (The old 1.9 liter engines have 50,000km service intervals!)
January 18, 200719 yr just like my dodge sprinter...depending on the style of driving 18,000-30,000mi between oil changes at the chrysler dealership...I let them change the oil to keep up the warranty... Some Europeans may not rack up the miles as fast you do Nipper. Swedes rank do easily rank high for example. They live in a big country, with plenty of remote areas that dictate the need to drive. Others may even stress their oil more than you, since they so much stop-start city driving, where each run is too short to really warm the engine up. On a sidenote: Consider that Skoda/VW/AUDI Diesel engines have intervals set at 30,000km! (The old 1.9 liter engines have 50,000km service intervals!)
January 18, 200719 yr wouldn't it also depend on the oil you are using? dino oils break down and go bad, use a good synthetic, Amsoil has a blend of synthetic designed for 7500 mile change intervals. I'm out of warranty so i use full synthetic and run it at least 15,000 miles, changing the filter at 7500. I'll run it up to 25,000 if it doesn't look extremly dirty. synthetic doesn't go bad, it just gets dirty - if it's still clean....keep going
January 18, 200719 yr a combination of synthetic oil and an excellent filter..the canister style replaceable filters on the modern diesels are designed to pull out 10 microns or less...one of the reasons why the oil can be extended ...in theory the filter on my vehicle is good for 32,000mi... wouldn't it also depend on the oil you are using? dino oils break down and go bad, use a good synthetic, Amsoil has a blend of synthetic designed for 7500 mile change intervals. I'm out of warranty so i use full synthetic and run it at least 15,000 miles, changing the filter at 7500. I'll run it up to 25,000 if it doesn't look extremly dirty. synthetic doesn't go bad, it just gets dirty - if it's still clean....keep going
January 18, 200719 yr a combination of synthetic oil and an excellent filter..the canister style replaceable filters on the modern diesels are designed to pull out 10 microns or less...one of the reasons why the oil can be extended ...in theory the filter on my vehicle is good for 32,000mi... The other reason deisels can go so long is the huge capacity truck deisels have. nipper
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