So does anyone follow the 7.5K miles / 7.5 months rule?
 

That's stated in the instructions.

I'm a lower mileage driver, meaning I'll always hit the 7.5 month interval before hitting the 7.5K miles interval.

Do I really need to change my engine oil after just about 2.5K miles? That seems scammy...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...change-truths/

If you want to extend your intervals, you should do a basic used oil analysis (UOA) and find out to what extent you can stretch out oil change intervals.

... or, just follow the 7500/7.5 rule as stated.

-alex

I do mine every 3-5k. My STI's oil pan looks like-new inside as a result. IMO, buying oil in bulk and doing more frequent oil changes is a lot cheaper than having an engine go.

If you have the two year maintanace schedule you kinda have to if not you get no free oil. You get 3 oil changes from toyota. In two years. So mileage doesn't matter. But the time frame does.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

It's 4 free oil changes from Subaru.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

I am following it. Got my first oil change at 3500 miles. Second oil change at 7500 miles. Currently at 14500 miles and will be getting it change once I hit 15000 miles. Sad thing is, I got my last oil change in May 2013. By the time I get my oil change, it will have been 9 months (probably getting it changed out around the middle of February). Even though this car is my DD, apparently, I do not drive it enough :lol:Unless I do some serious driving between February to September, I will have only gotten 3 oil changes free :iono:

I'm following the sticker my dealership puts on the inside of my windshield as far as service.
First was at 3750 (I got it there at 3851). Next is another 3750 later.

I'll swap to motul 300v 0w-20 when my free oil changes run out. I'm told I can go a long time even with hard driving on that oil.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Agreed with UOA.

They will give you the best insight on running 8 month+ oil that has low miles on it.

I store my car for the winter months and I know that storing with used oil is not recommended. I change the oil just before the car cover goes on.

On the other hand, for a car that gets driven year round racking up low miles, an oil change every 7 or 8 months doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

So far, I have changed my oil at 3000 mi. The car is currently at ~7700 in storage right now for the winter. I plan to change it again before I put it back on the road (along with the trans and diff fluids). After that I plan to do it after every 5000 or long storage.

But why 5K?

If I changed my oil at 5K right now I'd be wasting a lot of good oil in my engine block.

There's really no need to change that early, unless you're tracking the car severely or you're boosting.

-alex

Well, I like to change it at least twice a year. One of those times will be before putting the car back on the road after storage. I only put 7-10k miles on per year, so I figured I'd just divide that in half. If I wait until 7500 miles, I'll end up changing the oil in September or October, a month or two before I store it again. Then the new oil will only get a few thousand miles before storage which seems like a waist. I'd rather not push the first fill to its limits and then barely use the second fill. I just try to even em up a little bit.

Either that or I'm just crazy... who knows. :bonk:

I changed mine at 1k and 4.5k then every 5k after that. I drive the hell out of my car and just don't like the 10k or more oil changes. I might be throwing good oil away but I myself know that the oil is clean. But everyone has their own way.

If it's free through Toyota or Subaru, just do it, b/c if a mechanical issue ever arises during the warranty period, it looks much better if you brought your car in on a regular basis for the maintenance schedule. A lot easier than having to pull out all of your maintenance receipts and what not.

Hell, I just went to Subaru in December for the 7.5 month oil change, then changed it in January only a few weeks and 100 miles later before my next track event, lol.

Personally, I just go with their program. It doesn't cost that much nor does it take that much time.