Posted on 12/19/2025

You probably see a lot of different answers to this one. A quick lube sticker says one thing, the dashboard says another, and a friend swears they go twice as long with no issues. Meanwhile, you are just trying to avoid an expensive engine repair. The truth is, the right oil change interval depends on how and where you drive, and how honest you are about those habits. Why Oil Change Intervals Aren’t One-Size-Fits-All Every trip slowly wears down the additives in the oil. Heat, short trips, stop and go traffic, and towing all speeds that process up. A car that spends most of its time cruising gently on the highway can usually go longer between changes than one that lives in city traffic and cold starts. Service schedules in the manual reflect this. There is usually a “normal” schedule and a “severe” one. Most people like to believe th ... read more