vehicle maintenance intervals and costs?

[QuarterMillionMan]

A few times when getting an oil change at Jiffy Lube I would ask to have my transmission oil changed also but every time Jiffy Lube would tell to take it to the dealer for transmission oil changes. Now I see why.

[myrdale]

Our shop mechanic recommended against the transmission flush.

There is some truth in it.

The best way I've heard it put is "A car use to be taken care of wants to be taken care of. A car that hasn't been taken care of doesn't want to"

That is to say if you have been doing said flushes on some interval, then keep them up. If not, don't start at +200,000 miles.

Its my understanding that there are screens and orifices where trash and debris can clog up. Also even when doing flushes, it doesn't replace 100% of the fluid, only like 70% to my understanding.

My father's 1994 Chevy has never had anything beyond oil changes. It is good enough for hauling hay from the co-op, but that is about it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Full synthetic oil (not the cheaper blend) worth it or not. What about high octane fuel. I never get full Synthetic nor the cheaper blend and always just get traditional oil. Nor do I get high octane and always get the cheapest gas. Can someone convince me to buy synthetic or high octane gas?

[QuarterMillionMan]

2 of the easiest & fastest & possibly cheapest maintenance things are fuel intake air filter and cabin air filters changes. 5 minutes each is all that’s needed.

[ua_guy]

Full synthetic oil (not the cheaper blend) worth it or not. What about high octane fuel. I never get full Synthetic nor the cheaper blend and always just get traditional oil. Nor do I get high octane and always get the cheapest gas. Can someone convince me to buy synthetic or high octane gas?

In both cases, follow the recommendations in the owner's manual for your particular engine. Everything from minimum octane to type, weight and other specifications concerning your oil.

Most cars designed to run on 87 octane won't or can't do anything with a higher octane number, it's just a waste of money. Engines that require higher minimum octane (91, for example) can actually be susceptible to damage if you put in lower octane fuels and/or they will reduce power output. It's really not a good idea to skimp in that case.

If a manufacturer specifies synthetic or synthetic blend oil, use it. If they don't, and say conventional oil is fine, you can use conventional. In either case, stick to their recommendations for maintenance intervals.

Always selecting "the cheapest gas" comes with a caveat. 88 octane is something you might see in the Midwest and other places away from the West Coast and is usually cheaper than 87 octane, but it has a higher blend of ethanol, up to 15%.. Most newer cars can handle it, but check the owners manual. Some older cars can't/shouldn't handle more than 10% ethanol blend. Also watch out for E85...unless you drive a flex-fuel vehicle that take E85's high ethanol blend, don't use it. Your car isn't designed to burn it.

[bjl584]

Full synthetic oil (not the cheaper blend) worth it or not. What about high octane fuel. I never get full Synthetic nor the cheaper blend and always just get traditional oil. Nor do I get high octane and always get the cheapest gas. Can someone convince me to buy synthetic or high octane gas?

Lots of arguments about oil on the internet.
If you own a truck and do a lot of heavy towing and hauling, then synthetic is better.
A lot of new cars spec synthetic. The GF's Rav 4 runs 0W-20, which is only available as full synthetic.

I'm running Rotella T6 full synthetic in my diesel truck.
Everything I read points to synthetic oil being better for it, especially with high potential repair costs.

Follow the recommendation of your car for octane ratings.
Ethanol burns hot and can fry injectors, so make sure your car can handle it.
I'd run ethanol free if you can find it.
A local station sells it, and that's all I use in small engines (chainsaws, lawn tractor, etc.)
Ethanol is horrible on small engines.

[ua_guy]

Ethanol fuel blends have been around for a long time. Modern cars and small engines are all designed to run it. It will not hurt them.***
*The problem is ethanol breaks down and loses its octane faster than straight gasoline. If you're like a lot of homeowners who use their chainsaw once every year or two, the fuel sits. That's not good for any fuel system or engine, ethanol blend or not. Not letting a fuel system or engine sit for extended periods with old fuel in it is the key to success here, regardless of what fuel you use.
**Obviously, if a manufacturer says don't ever run ethanol blends in the fuel system, then don't do it.

I strongly recommend blending small engine gas with Stabil. That's helped avoid a lot of fuel system issues I encountered previously to using it, when small engines sit over the winter. I fill up my 5 gallon jug with fuel and then put in Stabil right away (there are other brands that do the same thing, lest I sound like a shill for Stabil). Stabil significantly slows the breakdown process.

We have a station with ethanol-free 92 octane by us. The price ($5.49/gallon) right now does not provide benefit in fuel economy or anything else compared to 92 octane ethanol blend, $0.30-$0.40/gallon cheaper , for any car that is driven regularly or equipment that is used regularly. But I do use it in yard equipment for the simple fact that our lawnmower sits 5 months during the winter at least, as well as some other tools with small engines.

Synthetic is better oil period, but there is a cost/benefit and "good enough" may be plenty. For example, our motorhome's engine isn't spec'd for synthetic, just regular 15w40 heavy duty diesel oil. We run a synthetic blend (Delvac) to increase the resilience of the oil to high temperatures when towing, but we don't need the extended drain interval as the engine doesn't accumulate many miles during the year. The synthetic blend is significantly cheaper than Rotella T6 and our drain interval is 8k miles or 1 year. It takes 7.5 gallons of oil so that adds up quickly!

Which reminds me...I don't even want to get into the diesel voodoo around bio fuels. There's B20, and premium diesel, and everyone has an opinion about what should and shouldn't be run. More than 100k on "whatever is available" hasn't resulted in any major problems for us!

[myrdale]

What about high octane fuel. I never get full Synthetic nor the cheaper blend and always just get traditional oil. Nor do I get high octane and always get the cheapest gas. Can someone convince me to buy synthetic or high octane gas?

From my understanding....

Higher octane fune does not get you better mileage. Higher octane fuel is less likely to detonate when compressed.

For those who don't know, a cylinder goes through four steps.

First the piston pushes down to, to push out any exhaust.
Second the piston pulls up, air flows in and fuel is injected as it does.
Third the piston pushes down, to compress the air/fuel mixture.
The air/fuel mixture is ignited by the spark plug.
Fourth the piston is pushed up as the gases expand.
It then repeats.

If the air / gas mixture ignites before the cylinder is fully compressed, it will push against the piston as it is coming down. This causes issues.

If your car runs fine on low grade (87 octane?) then run on that.

Higher octane fuel isn't cleaner or better.

The larger concern would be where you buy fuel. It is arguably better to buy from a location that does alot of business, such that their tanks are being turned over regularly. I try to avoid the Mom & Pop stations in the middle of no where and opt for the stations near the interstate or those at Ingles / Kroger instead.

If you're concerned about politics there are arguments against Texaco or BP.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm told all new cars need synthetic? So everything we have need synthetic now?

[kork13]

I'm told all new cars need synthetic? So everything we have need synthetic now?

Many/most new cars do use synthetic, to my knowledge. I've loved it -- for my VW Golfs (current & previous), the designed service interval is 10k miles or annually. Made car maintenance super easy.

[srblanco7]

Many/most new cars do use synthetic, to my knowledge. I've loved it -- for my VW Golfs (current & previous), the designed service interval is 10k miles or annually. Made car maintenance super easy.

Our vehicles estimate "remaining oil life remaining". What's everyone's thoughts on whether that's a reliable guide? In most cases, I'm changing oil around 7500 miles (full-synthetic).

[kork13]

Our vehicles estimate "remaining oil life remaining". What's everyone's thoughts on whether that's a reliable guide? In most cases, I'm changing oil around 7500 miles (full-synthetic).

Honestly, it's probably one of the most reliable possible options for timing of oil changes. I assume it follows one of two methods: either (1) it just keeps track of your programmed mileage interval (3k, 7.5k, 10k, whatever), and gets reset during oil changes; or (2) It uses a light/sensor pair to actively monitor the contaminant level in your oil (more contaminants = less light passes from light to sensor), then when it hits a certain level, it cries uncle & asks for an oil change. Either way, it'll help you to not forget to do timely oil changes.

[ua_guy]

Our vehicles estimate "remaining oil life remaining". What's everyone's thoughts on whether that's a reliable guide? In most cases, I'm changing oil around 7500 miles (full-synthetic).

It's generally* reliable, and recommended by most manufacturers that you heed its warnings.

*Across several automakers, they've revised their oil change intervals and reprogrammed these oil life monitors to recommend shorter intervals. One such example was the early GM 3.6L V6 engines in the later 2000's. Sludging issues were plaguing this new generation of engine and GM recalled the vehicles and shortened the oil change interval recommended by the oil life monitor.

Personally, I change my cars with synthetic every 5,000 miles. It's a very easy interval to remember. By oil analysis and manufacturer recommendations, changing every 5k is unnecessary, but for ease of timing/maintenance this is the interval I'm sticking with. Oil is cheap and I'd prefer to over-service than under-service.

[myrdale]

Personally, I change my cars with synthetic every 5,000 miles. It's a very easy interval to remember. By oil analysis and manufacturer recommendations, changing every 5k is unnecessary, but for ease of timing/maintenance this is the interval I'm sticking with. Oil is cheap and I'd prefer to over-service than under-service.

My Tacoma recommends every 10,000 miles. This actually gives me some heart burn. Starting at 100,000 miles, I intend to start doing every 7,500. Maybe its superstition on my part as I have no oil studies to back that up.

[QuarterMillionMan]

My oil change indicator light just came on and I reset it without changing my oil. I will reset it for the next 1 or 2 times as well before changing the oil. To me it's a nuisance. I should though upgrade to the full synthetic oil when that time comes.