Anytime I go to service my car, my mechanic is always saying I overused the oil because it always comes out black. Now he was the same person that told me to change my engine oil after every 3 months and that's exactly when I change it.

Ok. It's obvious the 3 months count is not at all a very efficient method to know when to change your oil so I want to fall back on using Mileage.

Does any one know the Mileage when I should change the engine oil for my Toyota 2003 Camry, using Mobile XHP 1000 by 4.

If there's a general mileage for all cars, also drop it here.

Thanks.

1.For brand new cars that uses ordinary oil( i.e any of these oils u can buy sealed and branded ata filling station - 50 30W kind of oil - all those 2k -3k range wther Mobil ,Ap Total Visco 2000 etc)first oil service after 500 - 1000 mileage and then after every 5000 Mileage.
2.For brand new cars that uses synthetic oil ( Mobil 1- 10 - 15k per galon.. u can only get this at designated filling stations),first service oil service after 1000 - 2000 mileage, then after every 8000- 10000 mileage. eg VW Passat 2006 -2012 kind of cars..mind u all these small small toyotas ,hondas and nissans are excluded....am talking about latest saloon cars and jeeps....u know them when u see them.
3. For tokunbos as in 1. above..oil service after every 2000- 3000mileage.

Pls note that all these are regardless of dates/ days/ months. eg. if u service a tokunbo camry today and travel with it to abuja from lagos then back to kano and then to ibadan anda back....once the mileage reads as in above pls service..so u see tht u can service every week or month or days..depending on ur usage. chikena

MONTH DOES NOT REALLY HELP,IT DEPEND ON THE DISTANCE OR MILEAGE YOU COVERED.AT LEAST AFTER 2000 OR 2500 MILEAGE COVERED WITHIN YOUR AREA i.e FROM HOUSE TO WORK OR MOVING AROUND BUT IT DEPEND ON THE GRADE OF THE CAR.IF YOU TRAVEL LONG DISTANCE LIKE LAGOS TO KADUNA WHICH IS ALMOST ( 1460KM GO COME ) YOU CAN DO YOUR SERVICE.

i beg to differ from the position some of you took. Oil of a vehicle driven mainly in cities should be changed frequently, more often than one use for long distance. Use of vehicles in cities or short distances bring more wears & tears on such vehicles than one use frequently on long distance. Reason: story for another day.

Normally, you should refer to your owners manual. As for most Peugeots I know, the manual would instruct: Drain & refill oil (& change the oil filter too) every 7,500 km (5,000 miles) or at least twice yearly (every 6 months). So you are wasting your money changing oil & filter every 3 months, as far as am concerned. I dont know about other brands, though.

Ikenna.

Normally, you should refer to your owners manual. As for most Peugeots I know, the manual would instruct: Drain & refill oil (& change the oil filter too) every 7,500 km (5,000 miles) or at least twice yearly (every 6 months). So you are wasting your money changing oil & filter every 3 months, as far as am concerned. I dont know about other brands, though.

Assuming filter is changed you should be able to go 3000 miles without any doubt, but as usual based on what I have seen here, and in NAija last time i was there, I know you are using the wrong oil.

XHP-1000 is a 20w50 per spec

http://www.mobil.com/Australia-English/LCW/Files/Mobil_Product_Guide_South_Pacific_May09.pdf

Your engine could be damaged by improper lubrication, you don't judge motor oils by how they look in the bottle but by when they are at operating temp should be a 5w30.

Use the right oils and it will look clean at 3000miles

Ok. I think I'll go with Vanasiro's 2k - 3k miles per oil. Thanks guys.

What is the best oil to use for Nissan Pathfinder?

Nairaoil...

What is the best oil to use for Nissan Pathfinder?

i suggest you use Mobil 1-high mileage oil if the vehicle is a tokunbo like mine

This is very insightful, tnks a lot contributors. I ve learnt so much. I have a little probs, between carburetor nd injector which saves fuel more. My car runs on carburetor but I always wonder.

what oil is good for toyota camry 1999. I have been using the Total bottle oil i cant remember the name now. but it is around 6000 naira per gallon

i change mine whenever i start my menstrual period

palm oyel!

@sultaan, so what Engine Oil do you now recommend for a Camry 2003 and how long should it be used in your opinion.... I heard the Total brand states the mileage the oil can carry based on the numbers you see on the can. e.g Total 2000 will run 2000 miles, 4000 will run 4000 miles. What do you think?

what type of oil and filter wil be best for my fordtransit van 1998 model,diseal

Hey Nlanders. My toyota corolla presently is at 102k mileage and i service it every last day of the month, I DRIVE or I NO DRIVE...I use Mobil, the one of 3k...is this ok or just a waste of cash...ABEG make una advice me ooo

An oil change interval is one of the most the controversial topics on car maintenance. You only need to visit a few car forums to see this.
Having said that, I think the best bet for any car owner is to follow the instructions in the owners manual. Doing so will save you a lot of time and trouble.

New cars usually come with an owners manual so new car owners shouldn't have much trouble finding out the oil change interval. The story is different for used cars though - most used cars that land on our shores come without the owners manual. The easiest option for used car owners is to search online via google or any of the other major search engines. Several websites provide owners manuals and technical service bulletins available for download (as pdf files) at no cost.

Please get your owners manual and read it! For most modern cars, the owners manual will list the viscosity rating, oil change interval (mileage and time), API classification/rating (very important!) etc. for the motor oil needed by your car. This will help you in your buying choices and save you from being confused or taken by dubious mechanics.

Some owners manuals go even further in helping the owner/user by specifying different oil change & sevice intervals for different operating/driving conditions. In these manuals, the oil change interval for "severe" operating/driving conditions is shorter than that of 'normal' operating/driving conditions. Since driving/operating conditions in most of Nigeria would definitely fall under "severe" , (a lot of stop-start/go-slow driving, particularly in the cities, high temperatures/humidity, poor road conditions - mud, sand, etc.), i would guess most users would find the owners manual very useful.

Get it and read it!

your car will last long if you change the oil after every 3000 miles

also at least every 2years make sure you get an engine flush and dont forget to change the oil of your transmission

Well as for what brand of Oil you should use ,I recomend go to your user manual, if you dont have one go to the car brand website and seeek advice
As for when and howlongfor you should change your car oil,I suggest you go by the milage wether you doing city or highway comuting it dont realy matter, your Engine runs or is meant to run at a constant temp.So if your manual says every 3k miles or 6months which ever comes first and it is recomended that you must change Oil filters when ever you change your oil as it makes sense, no sense serving new wine in an Old used bottle.

My advice to you is that stop wasting your money on a dumb as*s mechanic. In Europe (Italy) if your mileage is not 20000km no mechanic will service your car and every mechanic needs to sign on your service manual of that particular car in case there is problem and it is only mechanic that will give your road worthiness document.

Due to Nigerian hot weather and our oil, I would advice you to service at every 10.000km you drive. it may take you 2months or 2 years to complete that 10.000km. For me I just service my car after 13months. and that is what I have been doing in the past. Dont mind those hungry mechanic, they want your money regularly.

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am learning.........

this is the simple answer to the question asked

your got two choices

1 follow what user manual of your car says meaning they encourage you to change over certain covered mileage eg if was bought new change when it reaches 12000miles then at 23000 etc

2nd option is do it every year thats what most people in the UK

Here in UK some people take it to the dealer the dealer stamps the service book for those who dont want to heavy bills from the cars dealer they take it to normal garage to be serviced but one key thing is done you get all the reciepts of the things that got changed this will help you when you want to sell the car the buyer might ask for service history and you will show him/her all the reciepts

dont worry about the oil being black becoz it always turn into black

those are the service interval i got for your car they start form 10000 but each service has its on spefic things to check condition and some to change at that time

this from AUTO DATA 2007 for those who are fimilar with AUTO DATA

I THINK THE GRADE OF OIL AND THE DISTANCE MATTERS A LOT. I USED THIS MOBIL OIL ON MY MAZDA 626 AND DISCOVERED THAT MY CAR SMOKES, SAME STORY WITH VISCO 2000 AP. NOW AM USING ONE OIL RECOMMENDED BY A MECHANIC AND THE CAR IS AS CLEAN AS EVER. EVEN AT 700KM THE OIL STILL MAINTAINS ITS COLOUR.

I am learning.

SANCTO: I THINK THE GRADE OF OIL AND THE DISTANCE MATTERS A LOT. I USED THIS MOBIL OIL ON MY MAZDA 626 AND DISCOVERED THAT MY CAR SMOKES, SAME STORY WITH VISCO 2000 AP. NOW AM USING ONE OIL RECOMMENDED BY A MECHANIC AND THE CAR IS AS CLEAN AS EVER. EVEN AT 700KM THE OIL STILL MAINTAINS ITS COLOUR.

@SANCTO.. so, what is the name of the oil recommended by your mechanic?

It depends on the type of oil and the mlieage. Using a grade of 20w50 or there about an average of 2000- 2500km not miles is advseable. but if you can afford mobile 1 or total 7000 grade, then u may do oil and filter change between 6000- 8000km. that's what i've maintained and my engine has been with no problem for up to 9 years now.

Well As for me. I work on with "maintainance Required" Light.Once it pops up on the Dash I get my oil Drained and Replaced with a New filter.

About Viscosity of oils...to be honest we basically have 20W50 flooded in the Market When I 1st got my 06/07 Accord I searched for the recomended oil but to no avail

Now I stick to using mobil 20W50 I guess its because of our high temperature we don't need to use the manufactures spec(correct me if am wrong) in nigeria.

OP: Am sure you camry has a "MNT RQD" light. Change your oil when it comes up and reset the oil lifer after each service.that's what I do.

i call B.S. on most of the suggestions in this thread.

Yes in almost ALL cases in the User Manuals of the most common cars in Nigeria, it is advised to changed your Oil and Filter under the "Severe Schedule", i.e. 2,000 miles.

but in reality, DO NOT WAIT till even the 2,000 miles thing IF using the regular Oils (e.g. 20W50, etc).......change your Oil and Filter at 1,500 - 1600 miles MAX and you Engine, Seals etc will last beyond what you expected.

even at 1,500 miles IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD, there are some very tiny amounts of sludge in the expelled oil due to the weather and the driving and road conditions, just that you don't notice it.

and NO, you are not wasting your money.....how could anyone have such a gross thought when spending money to protect you and your car from future colossal failure expenses and unexpected disappointments?