Comparing Costco Kirkland Oil to Mobil 1 After 10,000 Miles 

Been using Costco's oil for my 2 vehicles for more than 5 years and absolutely love it.

I stock up on the Costco oil when it goes on sale. Costco has a reputation to protect, that’s why their oil is of high quality, and their gasoline is top-tier.

My Honda I used Castrol I change 3k miles no matter what oil it has 355k miles on it now still runs good

Thanks for this test! Good to know Kirkland oil is good.

Thank you sir I appreciate and have used oil analysis to set drain intervals and double-check that what I'm doing is still working. Also you are right on when you talk about the difference between group 3 synthetics and the true synthetic there is a difference 'full synthetic' does not equal 100% synthetic it is a marketing term

This guy is quite smart and his content is organized, interesting, and relevant. Great stuff!

Thank you, this is the most informative oil lesson I have seen, with the numbers to back it up. I did not realize that synthetic oil can refer to a quality not the origin of the base oil.

One thing to remember is that some oils, most often the ones with inferior base oil characteristics require more additives in order to meet the automotive specifications. It could be that the additive concentrations in the kirkland is higher due to this, but unless you run a FTIR analysis you can't really know for sure. Thanks for the informative video!

If you live in "The City" or an urban area, your type of driving qualifies as Severe Service; idling at traffic lights, stop and go, short trips, shutting the car off before it's been driven for 30 minutes. Keep that in mind when selecting your oil and determining change intervals.

Thanks for doing the test. Very informative. I've been using the Kirkland oil now for years with great results as all my vehicles generally go to 250K miles or more. However, I change my oil every 5000 miles, not the manufacturer recommended 10K. Oil is cheap--engines are expensive. Especially if you use the cheaper high quality oil from Kirkland. I assume you ran oil to 10K miles to make for easy rounded up number test. But I would never recommend that change interval. The savings from prolonged oil intervals are peanuts to engine wear damage, particularly on turbo engines where the turbos spool at up to 30K RPMs and need oil to keep them cooled, thus degrading the oil faster. Just changed my neighbors oil on 2017 Honda CR-V and it was black because of the turbo even though it had only 6K miles on it.

Thanks for the video! I’m a 5k mi OCI guy with all of our DD cars.

I did 15K oil changes in my 2011 Kia Sedona for years using Mobil 1. Never had an issue, always passed smog, and the engine looked clean when I did the valve cover gaskets close to 200K miles on the van. Modern synthetics are great.

In my experience, just changing any oil on a regular basis (conventional oils 3000 or 3 months , synthetics 5000 or 6 months) usually result in long engine life…….for an average daily drivers … Performance engines are a different story…better oils typically is a better choice especially with turbos are in play.

Great video! You kept your oil analysis spreadsheet up throughout your detailed walk-through. Most other reviewers like more 'face time' and tend to rush through their presentations. I didn't have to pause the vid to absorb the info. Thank you, I'm headed to Cosco right now!

Thanks for making this, great info!

Excellent vid, very informative 👍🏽

Great commuter you have there. I rock a ‘12 civic coupe manual transmission and plan to run it for another 20 years.

True synthetic oils would cost a few hundred dollars a gallon. This is one of the first videos I have seen that actually gets this correct concerning PAO's and other "synthetic" oils. Just my two cents as a Tribologist. Two thumbs up and WELL DONE!!!

awesome info! i was alway curious about the lab analysis on kirkland oils

Great video, great information, I change once a year, and from now on it's gonna be Kirkland. Thank you

Thank you for sensible advice on oil change intervals

I’ll never do 10k oil changes but thank you for this good info

Great posting and kirkland & M1 similarities may explain why only those two burned more in my subaru outback. Once I switched to pennzoil or castrol, the burning was less. Also will be getting those Blackstone analysis for our older porsche boxster, especially for metal.

😮The last couple minutes talking about oill change interval is the best I've seen😃

I switched to Costco oil. Great quality like pretty much everything Costco has. Always changed oil every 5k miles religiously.

Costco Kirkland, Walmart Syntech, Amazon Basics, all made by Warren Manufacturing, and very good oil. Paying more on other brands isn’t going to get you much more. Just use a good filter and change your oil by 5,000 miles.

With high-mileage engines, I am most worried about fuel contamination / particulate contamination. Going to start buying Costco oil!!!

I have a 2010 Toyota Camry 2.5L four cylinder with a 6 Speed Manual. I drive about 400 miles a week back and forth to work all highway/interstate driving. Going between 70 to 80 mph everyday 5 days a week. I still change my oil at the 5,000 miles mark. I do about 3 to 5 oil changes a year. Thats between 15,000 to 20,000 miles a year. I've been using Castrol for many years and i recently switch to Kirkland 0W-20 due to price point and availability. Pretty good so far. Im currently on my 1st Kirkland bottle now in my Camry. I have over 260,000 miles on the clock and the car doesn't burn no oil.

great informative video, did a good job of explaining the data.

Another thing to consider is how long one leaves the oil to drip. We have 3 cars- 2021 Tacoma, 2021 Crosstrek, and a 2017 Jetta. The Crosstrek is done dripping in 10 minutes. The Tacoma is more like 30 minutes, and the Jetta takes 90+ minutes. Let all the drips get out of the crankcase, as you would be surprised how much oil volume a little drip can make! When I took my Taco to the dealership for a "Toyota Care" free oil change, they only had my truck back there for 13 minutes. That was the last time I let somebody else change my oil. I do my cars every 5k. Arguable I should probably change the jetta sooner than that since it is a turbo. I use Castro European oil in the Jetta, and Kirkland and Mobil one interchangeably in the Toyota and Subaru. (They are both 0W-20)

Nice garage, very organized.

I first used synthetic oil in 1977. I purchased Amsoil back then and yes it was EXPENSIVE!

Great job easy to understand

Very informative. Thank you.

I am a faithful Valvoline Full Synthetic person for my two 2005 Corollas.... I would use Kirkland oil though and have thought about it... It does have a great price point....

Always been using Kirkland/Walmart oils for years at 4k miles with no issues but switched to ST advanced synthetic.

my ex works for Chevron engine oil department, even she uses mobile1 and not their own company's top oil, she does analysis on her own car after each oil change as well

Thanks for video and your experience. I think the point from this video and many other is today’s synthetic oil are all good enough and go the 10k interval. You have to find your comfort level be it 5k or 10k and then make sure you are consistent with changing it. Regular maintenance interval is the key. I personally do 5k interval based on my mixed driving and average 5k mileage per year. I have used Kirkland 0W-20 no issues. Mobile has YT video testing their mobile 1 on few cars driven over 100k with 10k interval. Engines were dismantled with minimal wear and clean.

Excellent presentation. A few comments that you may take any way you like., I have been using Mobil 1 in my cars since 1976. I have not had a single oil related problem with any engine since that time. Before that I had a major brand nonsynthetic oil lose lubricity and destroy an engine in a Plymouth and another oil failure from sludge build up destroy an engine in a Ford. Then again I had an AMC six that ran over 300,000 miles with no problems on that same brand oil. When I sold it the engine was still solid. I used to change synthetic oil every 10,000 miles, but I have seen some engines so sensitive to things like film build up that I am now changing 5,000-mile intervals.

The issue I have with these tests are that the Mobil1 wasn’t the Extended Performance or High Mileage. I don’t even like Mobil1 because Amsoil Signature Series, Valvoline Extend Performance high mileage, and the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum are far better oils with top quality oil filters are superior and I have the blackstone labs results on five vehicles. And Most vehicles are severe service usage. I recommend 5000-7500 max.

Great info…thanks. My former brother-in-law was a petroleum engineer. He was of the mind that the oil you used (assuming appropriate API rating and viscosity grade) was far less important than ensuring regular/shorter oil change intervals, especially for cars with inherent sludge problems created by poor design (e.g., Chrysler 2.7) or more complex engines, such as engines with cylinder deactivation systems. He used to say that full synthetic oils were clearly superior to conventional oils, but unnecessary for most people unless their car maker specifically recommended/required it (e.g., any turbo engine). As he explained it, using synthetic oil was like putting six legs instead of four on the footstool in front of your favorite TV chair. You could do it and your stool would certainly be stronger...but it would just make your stool more expensive and it wasn’t going to make it last any longer.

Great video thanks. I use Kirkland oil as well. What type of fuel system cleaner did you use? Thxs again.

I've been doing 10,000 mile changes for about 20 years, driving around 35,000 miles a year on my main work vehicle. Mix of highway and city. I currently have 310,000 miles on my 2014 3.6l Durango and it's running great. My previous 2006 Mazda was sold with 250k and still running great. I used Mobil1 full synthetic for a long time, then switched to Kirkland a few years ago when it came out. Let oil drain completely every time....and run wix/napa gold filters. Don't even check the oil between changes...probably should start doing that lol

Before it was Costco, I bought PriceClub oil for my Toyota Supra did a change and went on a trip. After 500 miles, the oil pressure disappeared. I checked the level and it was fine, so I limped home at low speed. After another oil change (with real oil) everything was OK. More recently I have used Walmart and Amazon oils without problems, but it may be a while before I try Costco.

good job thanks for the vid

Recently saw a Project Farm video comparing a number of synthetic oils. According to the UOA’s , SuperTech did slightly better than the Kirkland version. Essentially, they are identical. Just saying this because if you don’t have a Costco membership or don’t want one (like me), you can still get a quality synthetic oil at a great price. $18.99 for a 5 quart jug .

Kirkland=Super Tech Full Syn/10k=Amazon Basics Full syn. For all intents and purposes same oils made by Highline Warren, formerly Warren Dist.

You are correct on many things but some things I think need clarification. If you have a naturally aspirated engine and drive all highway miles, going 10K miles between oil changes shouldn't be unreasonable providing certain things are met. First Synthetic oil. Second (and possibly more importantly) using a high quality oil filter that can go at least 10K miles. If your oil filter gets used up at 5k miles, you will have another 5k miles where the filter does nothing. So the filter is important. All oils that follow their designated specification should be OK and then it is a matter of brand preference. A Dexos 1 oil is a Dexos 1 oil. However if you drive lots of city/stop and go driving and/or have a turbo engine with GDI, I think going over 5K miles is pushing it. With City v high driving, it isn't so much the mileage as it is the hours. You do 10 hours of high miles at 75 miles and hour v doing 10 hours of heavy traffic where you drive 200 feet, stop for 2 minute and drive another 200 feet. What is the difference in mileage? what is the difference in hours used? GDIs with Turbos are another animal entirely, these motors need oil that is spotless. Changing every 3-5K I don't think is too much after everything I have read. For somebody like you I think using a quality synthetic oil (and they all pretty much are) with a high quality filter (I think overlooked by many people) is just as important. If you want to know about which filters to buy, there are a few guys out there that cut open and inspect filters. Whip city is a favorite of mine but others are out there too. You'll learn more about oil filters than you ever cared to. But you'll learn which filters to buy and which to avoid.

I use Kirkland 0w-20 in my 06 Ranger 2.3, 206,000 miles, Napa Gold filter, changed once a year at the end of summer, spends its life short hopping (commute is 1.3 miles each way) or in the hills on dirt roads, no added oil between changes. MIL 2013 Equinox 3.6, 81,000 miles, Kirkland 5w-30, Napa Gold filter, changed when the computer tells me to (between 5,000 and 8,000 miles) and zero issues. 157,000 on my 2013 Altima 2.5. Oil change every 15,000 miles, Ams Sig 0w-20 and Ams oil filter. 20% short hops, 80% 10 miles or more; zero oil added between changes. 19 Santa Fe 2.4, Ams Signature 0w-20 every 15,000; 10% short hops, 90% highway, zero oil added and 55,000 on the clock. Long intervals do not bother me on my long distance vehicles.

Should I wait for my dashboard check engine light on an oil change monitor notification before my oil change? Should I still change my 2011 Lexus RX 450h's oil, even if my SAE 0W-20 synthetic oil is a clear amber color (not dark), after 3 years of driving 1000 miles only?

Nice job

2007 Acura RL with 397,000 miles on it and I've always use OEM filter + Castrol Syntech oil on it. Finaly gave it to my son.

Excellent. I have a 2006 Matrix (Corolla) 4WD with 223,000 miles and it runs perfect. Been using Kirkland 5w-30 for the last 100k miles and M1 (at $25/jug) before that with 5k OCI and OEM filter I recently bought 4 jugs for 68 bucks online. Vehicle used for ride share/delivery. I think I've saved over $4000 doing my own oil changes

Interesting. Looks as good as M1 here. I use Walmart Full Synthetic, which I believe is the same oil as the Costco and Amazon oils. All from Warren Industries and quality products. Recent oil change in my V-6 Silverado is noticeably different than the Pennzoil Platinum that was in it. Engine is quieter on acceleration, much quieter once at speed, and normal engine noises are more subdued at idle. I used a Fram Ultra filter and have been doing so, so the only difference is the oil. I do the changes myself. Very impressed. If I had a Costco near me, I'd run that without any concerns.

I have been using Kirkland 5w30 for my 2010 Yaris for years, and recently, got a 2004 GMC Sierra 5.3 which also uses the same 3W30, so it makes sense for me to continue to buying the two bottle box as it makes it easy for me to make my regular oil changes, but also my vehicles are running great! I drive them fairly hard, moslty on the freeway, especially the Toyota, which is our daily driver. Toytota last change at 165k and truck at 202k So I average around 5000 miles with a good filter.

Well done

What about the “Base” oil pennzoil PUP oil uses since it’s made from Natural Gas? Is that the “Best”? What base oil does Amsoil use? I change the oil (PUP) in my ‘19 Power Wagon by the hour meter, not the mileage.

Warranty will ask for your maintenance records. 10K is not recommended by most manufacturers.

Kirkland is exactly the same as super tech and Amazon oils. Can’t beat it for the price. I use valvoline synthetic high mileage or Penzoil ultra. Great informative video Thanks

Dusty conditions and temperatures above 90 degrees F calls for a more frequent change.

Do you recommend shaking these synthetic oils prior to use as some have said the additives may fall out of suspension.? Thanks for a good video.

I had a 2017 Mercedes 1.6 Turbo and changed the oil every 5k. The oil was always black. The car was driven 80+ % urban/city. Now I drive a 2023 Toyota 2.5 NA hybrid and at the first change at 5k the oil look almost new. Same driving profile.

Since I have a high performance engine, 3.5 Ecoboost in my 2019 Raptor, I change my oil every 5,000 miles or annually whichever comes first with Costco 5W-30 and the Motorcraft FL-500S filter.

I would imagine then , that SuperTech would be right up there with the Kirkland since it’s also made by Warren Distribution.

Good score for Costco but a better +++ rating for Blackstone, their tests are the best for the $$$. Bob in Nevada

Do they have a high mileage blend?

My first oil change on my performance motorcycle in the mid 90's resulted in a 200 rpm idle speed increase with Mobil 1. That sold me. My current Silverado and Tahoe each have 200,000 miles with no mechanical problems and no sludge. What was the difference in mileage(or did I miss it)?

Ive been using pup on my ram 5.7. Shpuld I give kirkland a try? Why mess with a good thing.

If I read the containers correctly they're both Dexos spec which is going to give you excellent performance. Supposedly the WalMart Supertech and Costco Kirkland are sourced from the same blender and since the Dexos spec versions of both are exhibiting such good results, they are raising the prices close to the name brands. However the Kirkland goes on sale every several months and seems like the best value to me. Thanks for publishing your study. That Corolla may run a half million miles...

Love the SVT flag. Had two Contour SVT’s back in the day. Wish Ford made some comparable today.

Nice video.

is the Kirkland base stock composed of petroleum base or natural gas base ? (Amsoil and Pennzoil Ultra Max are Natural gas base stock)

My car recommends the 0-40 dexosR type oil. Only the dealer had it & it was expensive. I don’t take my car to the track, so do you think I must go with type R, or the regular Mobil 1?

The 10,000 mile oil change interval was driven by European regulations which wanted to reduce the consumption of oil by extending oil change intervals. So for my VW’s I only use oils that meet VW specifications.

Racing green. Beautiful color.

Changing your oil every 5k miles or less is the most important thing you can ever do for your engines

Oils are like the old VCRs , 3 companies make it but 100 make labels .

I agree wholeheartedly that there is no “one size fits all” answer when it comes to oil change interval. I do a lot of short drives during the week (although in the weekends I do longer drives), and therefore I change the oil every 3000 miles. The reason I think I’m not overdoing it is that the color of oil is pretty dark after 3000 miles. Oil is relatively inexpensive but a modern engine is not…

Good testing and info. Thanks for bringing this to us. I think for these tests, a fuel additive should be used every 2000 miles. But use a lubricant type, and the same one, so the test will not have another variable. Use the recommended concentration. I agree that 10,000 miles on an oil change is ok for 90 % freeway driving, AND a fairly new engine (less than 100K miles). 5000 for mostly city driving.

Not planning to keep my car for more than 100k miles,but not planning to destroy my engine either. I use the Super Tech full syn and change my oil every 4-5k miles.

That lovely JVC on top of your shelf.... still works?

Don't forget all the start/stops with almost all new cars with the auto-off/on at the light feature. I hate it, thankfully I only have to just press the button to turn it off. So grateful I don't have to hold it down for 5-10 seconds.

I’ve always used Motorcraft (semi synthetic) on all my Ford trucks with good results, no oil consumption between changes at 5,000 miles or one year whichever comes first, Pennzoil on my other SUV’s, I’d say just go with a good quality oil, my cousin for example uses Castrol oils for his vehicles, my father favored Valvoline, we have a family history in construction work traveling hundreds of miles a week to different job locations, we’ve all had cars well over 200,000 - 300,000 miles a few at 450,000 plus miles.

Interesting but the maintenance light comes on at 5k miles which the manufacturer made it but 10k oil changes is never gonna happen on any of my cars. I personally use Havoline Pro-DS since 2018 which I change at 6 minths regardless of miles. Fuel system cleaner luke BG 44k platinum is key if used once a year. Great video information.

It is possible that the fuel additive freed up the top piston ring. The additive gets pushed into the top ring during the compression stroke. Better ring sealing keeps fuel from passing the rings.

Even though i am that guy who uses what the manufacturer recommends i cannot say costco stuff is bad, i have found that many kirkland products are just as good if not better than the competition, i wouldn’t be scared to use any of there products

Mobil 1 0w20 $50++/10gal. Kirkland $29.99/10gal (on sale right now). Kirkland just as good. Every oil change for my fleet is 23 quarts across 4 cars. Been running Kirkland in my Suburban from 30k to about now 83k. Doesn't burn a drop between 5k changes. Now startup noise. My Acura with 135k miles... Kirkland for about 80k miles. Excellent running engine not oil burning at all.

The subject of oil filters has been brought up in the comments. Did you use the same brand filter in all your testing and what filter do/did you use? (I know… opening another can of worms…)

My understanding is that TBN is an older standard that is not dialed into oil condition as well as the metric called oxidation. Have you considered getting a used oil analysis for another lab that provides that such as Speediagnostix?

What filter was used? Did you use the same type each time? some filters can filter better than others because they have higher efficiency. This will make a difference in some of the impurities you see in the oil.

We suggest a fuel system cleaner once a year. Usually, we suggest the fall to ensure cold weather start reliability.

Where do the averages come from, that is my issue. Are the averages specific to this specific engine with this level of mileage ? I highly doubt it.

I've switch from Mobil 1 to Costco oil and save 50% percent over Mobil 1. i don't feel any different driving with costco or mobil 1 oil?

Sir: What group of synthetic oil is the Kirkland oil belong to ? and who is the OEM for the Kirkland oil. Thanks.

My 2004 Toyota Matrix still runs like new, using regular motor oil, changed every 3000 miles.

I once asked a trusted source if I should use synthetic in my new daily driver. He said, "Don't bother. Just add one of these to each oil change." Then he plunked down a steel quart can of Bardahl oil supplement. I did that two or three times-didn't do analyses. No problems but I switched to M1 anyway because of convenience. I've also read that the manufacturer of store brand motor oils depends on where you live. In the South, it may very well be Warren. In the NE or MW or West, it may be Mobil or Chevron or any other company capable of refining motor oil.

You should check out penzoil platinum vs ultra platinum. These are cheap but extremely high quality oils

I’ve always been a mobile one guy but just picked up 2, 5 quart jugs at Costco for 38.99

Running 10k miles before changing the oil is a bit long in my opinion. In my opinion, full synthetic oil should be changed at about 5k/6 months. Don't forget to check the oil level every 2k miles (depending on whether the car is old or new), check it more often on older cars. I participate in a lifetime oil change package from Mazda on my CX-5. So I feel very secure about this, because I use the car very little, so every 6 months/2k miles I go to Mazda to change the oil. I don't know how long the motor will last??

Thanks for posting this. But, I say the following out of love…: Brah - change your oil every 5,000 miles. If you can’t do this, then try every 7,500 and see how much you notice the difference.