Engine Sludge Is A Serious Problem These Days! 

As a retired tech, I'd also add that we used to see people go their entire lease without servicing the vehicle so we'd get it back well sludged and in rough shape with 36,000 miles. Well those cars got an oil change and got sold. This could have been a sludge car that saw proper oil changes with the second owner, but the damage had already been done.

That's a big reason why I change my own. The shops keep the drain plug off for at the most 5 minutes and usually a lot less. I let mine drip for about 30 minutes or more. I guess I have issues with trusting people working on my car too.

Knowing Ford dealerships, the techs probably pulled the vehicle in..hit the vape pen and then pulled the vehicle out and put a new oil change sticker on.

I’ve been in this business for 30 years. We didn’t start seeing engine sludge issues until the manufacturers changed the interval from 3k to 5k. Then when they went to 7500k to 10k the problem really compounded. The customers I have changing their oil at 3k do not have ANY issues while the other ones do. If you’re going to keep a car for an extended period of time, I recommend every 3k. Remember these manufacturers are not in the business to keep your car that you bought 5 years ago on the road, they’re in the business of selling cars. The reason they changed maintenance intervals from 3k to 5k is to keep cost of maintenance down. There’s always a motive to what they do.

I use full synthetic every 3k. Ford Senior Master tech, 35 years experience. The OEMs receive CAFE credits for their 7500 mile recommendations. I do not know how many people realize that. Love your videos and thanks for great into.

I'd rather spend an extra $50 doing too many oil changes then $3500 to get the engine repaired because of not enough oil changes.

I tell my customers, " It never hurts your engine to change it early. It always hurts your engine to change it late." If you do 7,000 mile interval oil changes, you will do 14 oil changes in 100,000 miles. If you change intervals to every 5,000 miles, you'll do 20 oil changes in 100,000 miles. That's only 6 more oil changes in that time. 6 oil changes is a lot cheaper than a timing chain job with all the variable valve timing components. And that doesn't even address the issue with piston rings sticking and burning oil, clogging catalytic converters.

Conventional oil- 3,000. Synthetic blend- 4,000. Full synthetic- 5,000. Great video, thank you. One of my favorite channels!

Being a retired tech, I totally agree. You have to take care of the new technology! You don't get an engine rebuild for $1,500 any more! Listen to him folks.

I've been doing full synthetic 7,500 oil change intervals for years...I'll now be having it done at 5,000 miles. Thanks for the very information video. I'm a huge fan of ya'll.

Most people that claim to never have a problem with 10,000 mile oil changes don't keep a vehicle longer than 50,000 miles.

Excellent video! After 40+ years as a shadetree mechanic, I change my oil every 3,000 miles. Only internal engine trouble I've ever had with any car was believing Audi's 10,000 mile oil change intervals. Thank you for your objective and honest information.

Every 5k is easy to keep track of, especially when you have multiple vehicles to service.

Been a mechanic for over 40 years. The folks saying this is not possible in a short time frame don’t realize that engines today’s run at higher compressions and higher temperatures. The Fore Edge you got there is a 4 banger ECO Boost. Extremely high compression.

I have a 1998 e36 bmw with 217000 miles. Always used full synthetic oil. Recently changed the valve cover gasket. The inside still looks like new. Very clean.

My uncle told me this. A friend of his bought a "little old ladies car". It was very clean, 11000 miles, 15 years old. She only drove it a few miles to the store once a week, and every so often to get her hair styled. She was selling it to buy a smaller car easier to park, it will be due for oil change at 12,000 miles. He checked the oil it was a bit dirty but her knowledge of it needing an oil change gave him reason to think she took good care of it. She told the guy to just drive through town and come right back. She knew her car was very clean and didn't want to risk it getting damaged. The car ran great. He bought it. When he drove it home, it would not go faster than 40. He removed the drain plug but nothing came out. He knew it was full, so he poked the drain hole with a screwdriver and the oil came out slow. He removed the valve cover and it was really sludged up. He called a trusted mechanic and asked what to do. Put the valve cover back on, install the drain plug. Fill it to the hole with kerosene. Remove spark plugs and give generous amount of STP gas treatment to each cylinder. Let it sit for a whole week. Drain the kerosene. Replace drain plug, Fill with one quart transmission fluid one quart Marvel mystery oil, and top it off with cheap regular oil. Add another pint mystery oil to the gas tank. Remove spark plugs and crank engine to spit out the STP. Install new spark plugs and start it. Drive it 500 miles, change oil and repeat. But this time use good quality oil, drive 1000 miles before changing oil. The car should be running better. Then Change oil and drive 3000 miles. Remove valve cover and see what happened. The guy was stunned. With each oil change the engine ran better until it could cruise at 65 with no trouble. Inside the valve cover it was clean as could be

The vehicle was a lease with no service history... and there it is.

I drive an 07 Subaru Legacy with 280,000 miles on it and my wife has a much newer car and I probably drive her crazy about this but I'm like "do you want to spend $80 on an oil change now or spend 3k or who knows how much later out of the kids college fund later. I'm changing the oil". Biggest single thing you can do to prolong the life of your car.

My Dad taught me to change the oil every 5,000 miles back in the 1960's when we were using single weight "Dino" oil.. Many years later and many cars later, I still change oil at 5,000 miles. I'm old school, but it works!

The fact is you don't know if the oil was changed at all in the first 43k miles. This is not a very good test case. I can tell you the company I worked for before I retired had a fleet of 50+ vehicles (a mix of pickups and cars) and oil changes were every 10k miles. Most vehicles were sold when they reached 200k miles and in the 12 years I was there not a single engine died or had to be replaced. I change my personal vehicle's oil every 5k like clockwork, so I'm with you on the 5k intervals, but it would take more than this truck to convince me that 10k intervals spell certain doom. Enjoyed the video!

I’ve been using full synthetic name brand oil at 5000 for 15 years now on my GM vehicles. So far no issues, knock on wood!

As a shop owner and master "wrench" of 30+ years I have always recommended 3,500-4,000 oil change intervals and I often get the wary customer "fisheye" look of doubt with the comment that their owners manual recommends 7, 8, or 10K intervals, even sadder is the "lifetime" ATF BS! It's all a great sales pitch with little basis in reality. Personally I change my and my wife's oil about every 3.5K before the oil loses it's translucence, if you can't see the dipstick through the oil CHANGE IT! And ATF every 35-40,K! IMO VVT SUCK! PS, THANK YOU TOO FOR THE "MEDICAL" ANALOGY!

If most of your driving is short-runs where the engine barely warms up, that's Severe Service, and you need to halve your oil change intervals at minimum. Short runs, where the combustion ring blow-by of unburned fuel and moisture collects in the cold oil and never evaporates off. THAT'S how sludge forms. It's NOT 'lower quality oil'. If you don't have regular extended highway runs to 'burn off' the combustion ring blow-by of unburned fuel and moisture, you're going to get sludge build up. 5,000-mile oil changes will cut down on that sludge build up, but the solution IS NOT more frequent oil changes. The solution is at least weekly highway runs of 20-miles or more. Don't waste money on more frequent oil changes, when the real cause of sludge is the accumulation of combustion ring blow-by of unburned fuel and moisture. Make sure you get your engine oil hot for at least 20 minutes to burn it off and you won't have a sludge build-up problem!

I will ALWAYS agree with changing oil like you or anyone recommends, sooner than later!! Retired mechanic here also. There’s one BIG variable NO ONE ever puts into the equation. How many HOT miles is the vehicle driven between oil changes. In other words, is the engine driven just for short drives so it builds up sludge, (change sooner), or highway miles to get hot and keep the engine clean!! Again I agree with less miles between changes! But let’s use me in my vehicle, but ONLY when I drive long distance! I’ve driven to Alaska (from Michigan), in a month 11,000 miles, 28 days, that’s round figures 400 miles a day, and never changed oil, and never used an oz of oil in that time period. The first 5 days to Alaska & last five days coming home were sometimes 7-800 mile days. Get an engine hot, keep it hot, they run a LOT cleaner. So in retrospect I love your videos, but next time maybe ask customer HOW he drives between oil changes, very little & short runs, or longer runs and hot drives and let us know.

I personally drove a 1992 Dodge van and knew the mechanic who changed the oil every 10,000 using Amzoil synthetic. There were no engine problems at all past 220,000 miles. Since that time, I always change oil at 10,000 miles using synthetic oil and have had no engine oil problems over the last 30 years. Usually, I am the only one who touches my car because I have known others who had problems with some dealerships and mechanics. In my opinion, the engine we're looking at was not being serviced with synthetic oil or, perhaps, the oil was not changed at all by whoever said they were doing the service. This is more likely a mechanic trust issue than an oil change interval problem.

I have a 2002 6.0 chevy silverado with 189k miles and used synthetic mobile 1 all it's life at 10k change intervals no sludge nowhere to be found when I pulled the valve covers just to see the valve train👍🏿...I think a contributing factor for sludge is short drives and not letting the oil get to operating temperature to burn off any moisture that has accumulated in the oil

I change the oil in my daily 2.0l commuter every 4k-5k miles. I recently had to replace the valve cover gasket (150k miles), which allowed me to see the condition of the cams...etc. The cams looked brand new; zero wear on the lobs and no sludge whatsoever. What you're showing makes it hard for me to believe the oil was changed consistently throughout its life.

I remember not long ago watching a RU-vid video of two recently retired Toyota engineers. They said if you want your engine to go 100,000 mi change your oil every 10k..... If you want your engine to go 200k change your oil every 3500 miles.....

I have a 2007 Corolla that got me through college and still have today in 2024. It has 289,000 miles on it. I’ve always changed the oil every 5-6k miles using super tech full synthetic. I actually took that engine apart last year and that engine was SUPER clean. Engine is still running today. I also have a 2008 Mercedes CLS 550 with 240k miles, still runs so amazingly and change that every 9k miles. Not every vehicle you can do this with. My 2013 F250 6.2 I change every 3k miles- 282k miles.

I’ve been daily driving a 2014 base Chevy Cruze 5 days a week for the last 7 years. I change the oil with full synthetic every 5k since I bought it used 7 years ago. It currently has 167k miles on it and it runs like a top! It doesn’t burn a drop of oil and there is no sludgein my engine. I replaced the valve cover recently and the engine looks clean.

I'm driving a 20 year-old car Oil changes at 3,000 m intervals With no problem whatsoever oil is cheaper than engine parts! I'm with you on the oil changes It's cheap insurance.

Speed Lake, an oil test expert made a video about extended mileage oil changes. OEMs push 10-25k change intervals, then the engine dies outside of the warranty period. It's a good video to watch. His channel is a good one to subscribe too.

5K is spot on.

I learned from my father about the importance of oil change on time. I do my own oil changes at 3k. Some people would say is overkill but after 12 years of ownership my car had never had any issues.

I can confirm your findings. I change my 4 vehicles with M1 advanced synthetic every 5k miles. The engine on one has reached 190k miles and when the valve covers were removed the valve train was clean as a whistle. The valve actuator screens were checked, also clean. I had a 36 yr old Toyota Celica I used standard 10w-30 oil in but changed every 3k miles. Valve train was very clean after 195k miles and 36 yrs. I had the oil pan off, and all the internals, under the pistons, crank etc all very clean. Oil changes will help keep the engine clean and is a must to make the engine run well over 200k miles. Any changes at 7-10k miles is asking for trouble.

I have a 22 Camry that takes 0W-16 oil and is recommended by Toyota to change the oil at 10K which came with 2yr/25k Toyota care with oil changes every 10k. I paid for every other oil change at 5k, I like peace of mind.

Congratulations on 100k subscribers 🥳🤩

I'm a retired chemist, I've been doing 10k mile oil changes (myself because I and many others don't trust the industry) ever since synthetics were invented. I have retired all my past vehicles at 300k miles with engines still running GOOD.

Just remember the manufacturers don't want your car to last a long time. They want you to come back and buy a new car sooner than later so their recommendations are not in the owners best interest. I don't care what oil is used, 5000 miles is the absolute longest I would go before changing it.

I drive my 2019 VW Mk7 GTI Performance now with 130.000km (~ 81.000 miles) on a 12.000km Oilchange Interval. At 128500km I changed my PCV in precaution (known issue for this engines). In the work I have a free look on my camshafts and they look brandnew. No sludge, all super clean. Result: don’t do longline service! Change your oil all 12.000km or max 7.500 miles and your car drive way longer.

I do full synthetic every 5K. I have gotten the crazy eye…..however I have never had sludge issues.

I drive an '02 Nissan Maxima with the 3.5l VQ35 V6 engine. This engine is known for timing chain guide problems. I'm right now at 196k miles and am having no issues at all with the timing chain. I fully believe it's because of the fact that I change the oil every 5k miles or less. I don't drive the car easy, it's almost all very short trips, and I even use the cheap semi-synthetic Supertech from Wal-Mart. The engine runs as good now as it always had.

I've always done 3000-5000 mile oil changes on my cars, since the 1980's. I remember when manufacturers came out with extended oils changes, and I was like no way! I've never had a major engine malfunction on any car of mine. Whenever I sell a car, folks who know enough to remove the oil fill cap and take a peek are blown away how clean it looks inside.

Bought new 1986 Toyota truck with 4 cylinder 22REC engine as my only daily drivier for 38 years and 486,000 mile. Oil changes after break-in has been 5000 mile to the 100 mile variance with that "bad, bad, bad" Dino oil. Use Castrol GTX 10W-40, Purolator 10,000 mile filters, with occasional 6 oz mystery oil mixed. Not even 1/2 a quart oil burned between changes. Starts 1st crank within seconds and idles smoother than a 22REC should.

My father is a retired mechanic for the NYPD. Their entire fleet is almost Ford and 7.5-8k they would change oil. The amount to engines my father installed because of prolonged oil changes back then was ridiculous imagine now! I currently have 3 newer Jaguars F-TypeR,XF and F-PaceS. I Always use full synthetic premium oil and change it @5k or before. Jaguar dealership recommends to do an oil change 7.5k-10k or 1year. And to top it off they say the transmission fluid is a sealed unit and should never be changed. But ZF who engineered and manufactured the transmission recommends to change the transmission fluid and filter @50k miles. @5k the oil is already used up and dirty I strongly believe the supercharger adds wear on the oil and changing your oil more with more then 5k miles is gambling with your engine!

here in nz where we talk in kms 10,000kms (6000 miles) is the maximum a savvy person will go between oil changes. However dealers are now saying 15,000kms (9000 miles) between services, that is bullshit!

Oil should be changed at 5000 miles max ! These manufacturers are nuts !

I appreciate you making this video. There are so many people insisting that that auto manufactures know their engines best & will always recommend whatever is best for the consumer. Yeh, right... Then you have those who say they only plan on keeping their vehicle for 50, 75, or perhaps 100K, and they don't really care if the next guy has problems, as long as they don't have to pay much for service work while they own the vehicle. I'm one of those guys that has usually traded vehicles off or given them to one of our daughters @ around 75-100K miles. I have always serviced my vehicles @ decent intervals, changing oil every 2,500 miles back in the 60s & early 70s, then switching to every 3,000 miles as oils improved, & then switched to every 5,000 miles when the really good synthetics became available. I really don't care if one of my used vehicles will get handed down to one of my daughters, gets sold to a friend, or gets traded off where some complete stranger will purchase it. I want my vehicles to get the absolute best care & service possible. I treat them as if I was going to keep it forever & actually want it to perform & look like new as long as possible. I want to know the next owner will get the most well cared for vehicle possible. At this time we own a '21 Honda Passport which we're told to go off the maintenance minder and a '23 Toyota RAV4 hybrid, which has 10K recommended service intervals. Both get oil changes ever 5K. I'll add one more comment & then sign off. With any vehicle I've run over 100K, I've gone back to 3,000 mile services & I've recommended my daughter do the same thing. Keep up the good work guys and keep giving us great info.

Oh, I believe it! I still change the oil every 3,000 miles. It is getting dark by that point, and I am going to get it OUT! The EPA pushed the auto makers to extend those "recommended service intervals". And ANYTHING the government wants is SELDOM good for us. I had to replace a head gasket on my wifes car at around 100,000 miles. and the engine surfaces were clean, with a nice golden color. I won't change anything I am doing.

Wow, I am astounded at the amount of sludge in that Ford Edge. I'm sitting here looking at pictures I took of my Ford 5.4 after pulling the valve covers off, and everything is spotless... cams, springs, rockers... zero varnish, sludge or discoloration. This is after owning the truck for 40k miles and doing 4 - 4.5k mile oil changes with Pennzoil Platinum.

Excellent video! I change my vehicles at 4,000 - 5,000 miles. As you say oil is cheaper then an engine rebuild. One question I had was what sort of conditions has the vehicle been driven. Short trips where the engine never really warms up to regular operating temps could be a sludge builder. Also if the thermostat is stuck open where it doesn't reach normal operating temperature could be a factor. I'm still driving a 1986 Camry and 2006 Camry with no problems. Maintenance is the key.

These videos are so informative. We just bought a new Rogue. Never owned a Nissan, a turbo or a 3 cylinder. My oil changes will be no more than 5000 and closer to 4000. I’ve learned that these turbos use that oil as well. I’m hopeful for years of service, and as such, we strive to drive our cars easily

COULD WE SEE YOUR D-SLUDGE PROCESS ,,,,,,,,?????????? THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT !!!!!!!!!!!

I have a 2016 Escape with the 1.6L engine, and I don't push that one past 5,000 miles. I usually have mine done at the dealership, but when I don't I buy the Motorcraft 5w/20 oil and Motorcraft filter and take it to the only other mechanic I trust. I have around 125,000 miles on that one now and plan to trade it in soon. I honestly don't think I'd ever be comfortable running over a 5,000 mile OCI. It took me a while to go to 5,000 from 3,000.

I’m not an automotive technician or a shop owner just a DIYer and I learned from my late Dad about the importance of changing the engine oil. I’m retired and my car is a ‘12 Chrysler 200 Touring convertible. My vehicle has the early version of the Pentastar V6 with four overhead cams and Camshaft Phasers and it is important to use a good oil with good detergent capabilities. I’ve been using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5W-30 since I bought it used in early 2017. I change the oil about every 3,000 miles and my car currently has 76,000 miles.

Thank you for the information. I was thinking of doing the extended oil change intervals but after seeing this video I’m going to 5000 mile oil/filter change interval with full synthetic and you have a new subscriber. Thanks again.

Congrats on 100k! Love the channel and tik toks

I have always done my own oil changes since my first car back in 1980. When I was using dino oil I changed every 3k miles. I changed to synthetic oil (Amsoil) in the late 90's and bumped up to 5K miles or 6 months whichever came first and still do this to this day. None of my vehicles have had any internal engine problems.

I’m a firm believer in the 5k oil change. Full synthetic or semi. Doesn’t matter oil brake down. Idc amsoil or Wally World special.

When I got my new 2005 VW Jetta GLI my mechanic told me the trade magazines were saying the 1.8 turbo engine needed full synthetic rather than conventional. (Believe manusl said conventional) I took his word and only used that oil even when other places tried to say conventional. Drove for 13 years with 180k miles and traded up for an Audi. Car still drove like a dream. I also do break in period and do first oil change after that 1000 miles just in case anything from manufacturing came loose. Love your car by maintaining it.

I recommend 6000 miles , great video , congrats on the 100k , good job , thanks , much appreciated

Thanks! You've convinced me to buy a brand NEW Corolla LE, instead of a used 2016 Camry LE with 100,000 miles on it.

I use a 💯 % full synthetic "Amsoil"for the engine transmission rear axel and transfer case. Excellent video!!! I've always said leased vehicles there's no incentive for the leasee to look after it.

I recommend every 6-7.5k if you run a good full synthetic so it can be done with the tire rotate. The important thing is to change the oil at the end of every winter. Much of the problem is oil gets diluted with fuel and condensation from cold starts during winter and then the oil breaks down quickly. Many people run compromised oil into the summer heat and that's when the sludge starts. Auto repair shops won't tell you this because they like steady business through out the year.

That vehicle probably went 44,935 miles before it saw the first oil change. It looks like it didn't start getting regular oil changes until the second owner bought it.

We (Bouchillon Performance and Automotive, Charleston SC) have been recommending 5k LOFs with full synthetic for years for these reasons. Also if it reminds them at 5k, you'll be lucky to get them in by 6k, whether sticker only or with your CRM system, etc.

You should try doing a few oil changes using Valvoline Restore and Protect oil on this. I would love to see what it does on such an excellent specimen.

I change oil myself and do it at 5,00km = 3000 miles. Never had a serious engine problem in my life. Did one experiment with full synthetic and it was clean up to about 9,000km then went dirty very quickly.

I still change my oil at old school recomendations. Every 3000 miles.

I have a 26 year old Ford truck it runs great never had any problems. I change my oil every 3,000 miles, full synthetic. A clean crank case is a happy engine!

My wife struggles to understand why I insist on changing her vehicles oil before the computer tells her it's time. 5k miles, man. That's what we do in my home shop. Tires get rotated at that time, as well. And congrats on 100k subs, guys!

I change my oil around every 4500 miles, and I always use full synthetic oil. I stopped using Mobil One after many, many years of use because it tends to cause varnishing. I swapped from it to Pennzoil Ultra Platinum for a while, and it was very good. Now, I am using Valvoline Restore and Protect, and I have been very happy with it so far. I think the most important thing besides changing the oil regularly is to buy a high-quality oil filter. I swear by Purolator Boss oil filters. A must-have.

It should be taken back to the Ford Delarship and confront the shop manager for an explanation. This video should also be sent to all the oil/filter companies claiming their product will last 10,000 - 20,000mil. It´s nothing more than FALSE ADDVERTIZING!

I bought a 1993 Ford Escort GT with the Mazda BP5 engine brand new. Take the valve cover off and you saw an engine with absolutely no sludge. It was a 30 year old car. I would get compliments on how nice the engine compartment looks. Some Ahole ran a red light and totaled it.

I change my oil every 3 k miles great video

I've been doing 10k OCIs with M1 oils for the last 46 years in my Ford's including the engines in my 4 cyl Duratechs. I get 200-400 k before selling and they still perform great.

I'm just a random 30 year old guy who was raised holding a flashlight for my old man as a kid I'm not a master mechanic. I can do a bit of work on vehicles but I'm not fully rebuilding a motor. I change the oil in all of me and my wife's vehicles every 3-3500 miles with full synthetic and a 10k mile rated filter. Every time no matter what and I do it myself so I can physically look at the oil to see if there is any change in how it's looking. A set of ramps is literally 60 bucks there is no reason not to

I have a 24 year old Sebring and a 18 year old PT Loser. Both get changed every 3,000 miles with walmart full synthetic. $25 dollar oil changes at home. No oil issues or leaks.

Pour some fuel into it, button it up, drive it for a few days, then drain it, fill it with oil and put a new filter. I change my oil every six months, in March and September. Still clean inside the engine, 267,000 miles. No ticking, oil burning or leaks. I just drove it from Florida to Canada and back this summer. It is an E39 528i M54 that I have been driving it for twenty years. I bought it when it was four years old. It gets 25 mpg.

I have a 2000 Tahoe with collector plates; 63k original miles. I don’t drive it 5k miles per year, so I change oil every 6 months using Mobile 1full synthetic. Runs smooth like a champ.

Big CONGRATS on achieving 100k Subscribers!!

Absolutely. Direct injection and turbos break down oil faster than ever. I change with premium synth at 5000. No dealer or quick-change for me. When the oil comes from a drum, I can't tell what I'm getting.

Of course no one is going to believe you. Clearly this vehicle did not have a single oil change done until 43k miles.

2012 2ZRFE engine, Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20, OE Toyota cartridge filter. Oil installed 4/15/20, drained 4/29/23. 8,320 miles. First year was 100% city driving, many short trips. Second year was 50/50 city short trips and freeway 20 mile trips. Third year was all short 2 mile trips and driven HARD even when cold in winter. I sent in a sample to Blackstone Labs when I changed the oil and I was so afraid of what it would look like. I was speechless when I got the results. TBN was still 2.3!!! Insoluables were .3% and viscosity was perfect. All wear metals were totally fine. Compared to the previous sample I sent in with 5,000 miles and about 1 year of time, this sample was excellent. Blackstone suggests running till 10,000 miles for this current fill and retesting to see if 10k is where the oil is truly unusable. After 3 years and 8,300 miles of severe service abusive driving the oil is still (almost) good as new. I don't know how these engines are sludged up with 7500 mile OCIs. Bonkers.

Scotty Kilmer would agree with you all. 😂 I do too. I went from 3k to 5k on an old Toyota and that was a mistake. The car’s oil was never dirty or burnt 🥵 till I started going 5k. After that the engine never recovered even when I stayed religious at 3k. I got several years and miles out of that old Toyota. But the lesson of what happened to the car’s engine will stay with me forever. 😊😅😊

I also do full synthetic at 3.5k miles just because of all the new solenoids dependent on oil pressure and clean oil. It is an inexpensive way to keep your car running for 10 years. I do the changes myself with the OE filter. (Honda). I saw under the valve cover of a 200k mile ISF that had the 3.5k mile oil changes and that thing looked brand new. Ever since that, I am a believer.

You'll never hurt an engine changing the oil to much!

Mileage between oil changes has minimal impact on whether the engine has sludge. Distance traveled in vehicle when daily driving is the main factor in whether the engine develops sludge…Driving short distances every day..”less than 20 miles a day is the Major contributor of sludge build up in an engine…Why??? Moisture!!! Humidity!!! An engine has 1:20 a certain amount of moisture in it every morning at start up. The engine needs to burn off this internal moisture along with getting to the proper temperature for the oil detergents to function properly….. if it does not sludge will begin to build up… my two cents…. I’m a retired mechanic of 40 years… hope this helps some folks….

When I was in the industry I always told customers that oil changes are cheaper than engines and recommended 5k oil changes.

I have a 2018 Escape with 2.0 Litre engine. I have owned it since new and do oil changes every 5000 km. 10000 mile oil change intervals is crazy.

I ran a maintenance facility for a decade, as manufacturers began to extend intervals to 10,000 and 15,000 on some makes and models I warned customers not to exceed 6000 mile intervals, only a few listened.

I just watched a video where an old lady bought a french car from a dealership brand new. She had all the maintenance done at the same dealership. She got to 60k miles and the engine blew. She was quoted a new engine. Had the car towed to a forensics mechanics who checked it and found that the engine was covered with thick sludge and there was no oil in it. She asked the laywers to write up a summary to the dealer and now the video is not available which means the case was settled. This means even dealerships have bad apples. I either do the service on my own or I watch it being carried out. In this case I guess there was no oil change during the lease because it's no ones interest. Then the buyer came around and bought a new-ish car with 40k that was a wreck. The first couple of maintenance are the most important ones for the longetivity of the car!

I am a groceries delivery guy on my own vehicle i put around 50 to 60k miles a year. I do oil changes between 5 to 7k on full synthetics. With a half quart of ceramic oil life extender by stp. The car is almost 160k in 3 years no issues. My starter is going other than that i have done regulsr stuff brakes belts tires and i do have a manual transmission i do tranny oil swap every 6 months. I just did coils and sparkugs at 150k i do the coils and sparkplugs when my rpms are not stable. The car is a 1.6 nissan versa manual. Cheers!.

About to hit 240k on my 2.5l fusion. All oil changes done between 6500-7500 miles with 5w-20 synthetic blend. I need to to change the valve cover gasket and am interested to see what it looks like after watching your video. Engine still running great.

2019 honda civic coupe ex-t. Been doing 3500 mile oil changes since new. Valvoline 0w20, then switched to valvoline high mileage 0w20 . Wix XP (made in usa) filters. Im at 73,000 miles now, and it still runs and feels like new. Change my pcv valve every 30,000. So many people these days dont change their pcv valves, and they need to with todays engines and the stresses theyre under.

Thank you for this! I worked in the Oldsmobile Engine factory in 1972. In those days, engine oil was an unknown chemical mixture, that varied from batch to batch from the same company, much less from competing companies. The design-engineers knew this and accounted for it. I learned in that factory the importance of the oil change. Just as Sherwood says at 5:00, the cost of multiple oil changes is cheep compared to what this car now needs. BUT ... times have changed, and they design engines to much tighter tolerances now than they did 50-years-ago, and I did not know that I needed to get the oil changed more often than the manufacturer's recommendation.

I top off my oil with Type F about a week before I change my own oil. I go 5k. My last two vehicles that didn't get rearended went over 300k and I drove them up on the wrecker when I replaced them due to electrical problems.

I have a 2013 Ford Edge 3.5 V6 with 140,000 miles. I change the oil every 5000 miles with full synthetic. Pull the valve cover and it looks brand new with no sludge what so ever. Do the maintenance. I used to have a 1998 Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0 straight six. It had over 500,000 miles on it.

I have a 19 year old Honda (174,000 miles) that calls for oil changes every 7,500 to 10,000 miles. And that's what I've done during those 19 years, typically between 7,500 and 8,000. On top of that, I've always used the cheapest oil I can find at Walmart. Car still runs great, and as far as I can tell, no sludge. Only started using synthetic oil 3 or 4 years ago when I could no longer find the regular oil at Walmart. I do drive in a relaxed manner, so I'm sure that helps as well.

I must agree. Any, even synthetic oil molecules get smashed-up and contaminated over time. Reduced viscosity and staining is inevitable if left for too long . Mileage is key.