Oil Change frequency

[Kejar7]

Curious as heck. I have a 2015 Reg cab short box. I changed the oil at 33000 km now I am at 43000 km a year later. My oil change gauge shows 50% life left.
Do I change by the oil life gauge or kilometres driven.
Last change was with synthetic.
Just wanting to see what the consensus is.
Not worried about warrant as it is long gone.

 

[Tom Davis]

My 2 cents worth is...If it has been a year I would change it. Mine sits a lot, as I travel for work between 6 and 7 months a year, and it still gets changed every 6 months, and I run synthetic all the time. Not saying synthetic isn't good beyond a year, but this is just me.

 

[RamDiver]

I choose to ignore the oil life meter and FCA and change it more frequently with full synthetic.

My truck mileage is now at about 21,000 KM, I aim for about every 6-8K, and at least twice per year.

They're (FCA) in the business of selling trucks and I'm in the business of doing what I can to keep my truck alive as long as possible.

This note is from a pdf manual for the '21 Ram 1500 Classic.

Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10,000 miles (16,000 km), 12 months or 350 hours of engine run time, whichever comes first. The 350 hours of engine run or idle time is generally only a concern for fleet customers.

My logic would be to half the recommended OCI. Oil changes are much cheaper than an engine rebuild or replacement.

.

 

[Mb7640]

I change mine every 5,000 miles which is recommended by the dealer out here in Arizona. I drive roughly 1500 miles a month.

 

[Wild one]

Curious as heck. I have a 2015 Reg cab short box. I changed the oil at 33000 km now I am at 43000 km a year later. My oil change gauge shows 50% life left.
Do I change by the oil life gauge or kilometres driven.
Last change was with synthetic.
Just wanting to see what the consensus is.
Not worried about warrant as it is long gone.

More importantly,who listens to AM anymore Way back in the 70's/early 80's 630 CHED used to be a good AM station though

 

[HEMIMANN]

I think the manual says xxxx miles OR 1 year, whichever is sooner. I'm not going to look it up at the moment, but this is typical for engines because - once oil is poured into the engine it can absorb atmospheric moisture. Without running the engine, the moisture doesn't get evaporated out. True even with synthetics.

Yes, I know water boiling temp is 212F / 100C @ sea level, but that is what is called the liquidus equilibrium temperature where liquid and vapor phase coexists equally. It's not an instantaneous change of state above or below this temp either - some water evaporates below this temp, some remains liquid above this temp.

 

[huntergreen]

I think the manual says xxxx miles OR 1 year, whichever is sooner. I'm not going to look it up at the moment, but this is typical for engines because - once oil is poured into the engine it can absorb atmospheric moisture. Without running the engine, the moisture doesn't get evaporated out. True even with synthetics.

Yes, I know water boiling temp is 212F / 100C @ sea level, but that is what is called the liquidus equilibrium temperature where liquid and vapor phase coexists equally. It's not an instantaneous change of state above or below this temp either - some water evaporates below this temp, some remains liquid above this temp.

Agree with Hemimann. Moisture in the oil is an issue regardless of syn or conventional oil. I would absolutely change at least every year. I would also make sure I got out on the hwy and get the engine up up to operating temp every couple weeks.

 

[ramsare4real]

Is that the Diesel engine you have?

 

[Jeepwalker]

I run synthetic oil in my snow plow jeep. 4.0, I-6. It's pretty much a winter vehicle/beater, doesn't see many miles. I go years between oil changes. Which is why I run Citgo synthetic. Changed it last winter... The sticker indicated last time i changed it was 5 years ago. The oil looked good and clean too. Not very dark. I think the time before that was around 4-5 year interval.

I'm not recommending that long of an interval ...just that the world isn't going to fall apart if ya go longer.

 

[Socalramfan]

For me, I’ve never exceeded 5,000k without an oil & filter change, and I run Synthetic.

Excessive? Probably, but do yourself a favor …. and at
least change the filter ever 5,000k even if you want to leave the oil in longer.