oil change

This is true....the number of times your tires rotate on pavement is totally irrelevant to how worn your oil is. Many years ago, even with oil changed every few thousand miles, engines would only last 100k....sometimes less. Nowadays, it's common to see twice that and then some. One great difference is the RPM's (number of revolutions per minute) that engines spin. This directly relates to the lifespan of oil. For example, if you changed your oil at 5000 miles, your engine has spun a particular # of RPM's. With todays cars, it would take approxiamtely 10,000 for your engine to turn the same number of times with the same amount of wear on your oil. Hope this helps.

ya get it changed . coz the fact in the manual id true. it is no hard and fast rule that u gotta change after a year only. it does depend on ur driving habits. http://chevrolethhr.net/photos/

i change mine every 3000 miles

According to GM, they invested a couple of million dollars on this diagnostic system. It analyzes your driing habits such as highway driving vs. your city driving, avg rpm, etc. GM swears by this and recommends changing your oil in accordance with your on board diagnostic system. Even your owners manual will recommend this. I've owned my 07 HHR for 3 years, and I have had no issues with this whatsoever. Do what the manual says and you'll be fine!

so because your engine has made it a whopping 4 years you think that its ok? you seriously believe that risking a $5000 motor repair is worth skipping regular oil changes? ill spend the little little extra cash on oil rather than risk my engine.

just keep in mind the research auto companies put into things like oil wear is gemerally done on a rolling road and doesnt take into account realworld stop start driving or load from exessively dusty conditions, etc. id never recommend more than 1 year or 10000miles for oil changes on a modern engine.

The auto companies DO put lots of time & effort into the oil life algorithm. Fine and true. But bear in mind that a significant part of the decision process is that the auto company needs to help manage your cost of ownership. If the maintenance schedule calls for fewer services the reported cost of ownership is lessened. A lower cost of ownership increases a vehicle's value over it's lifetime. This value is in conflict with us as owners desiring longest possible life from our engines, transmissions and other components. The oil companies add a "package" to your motor oil. It has many components, but the thing I come away with is that the base additive is there to offset acids produced in the engine. When the base is gone the acid can then work it's evil in your crankcase and moving parts. At this point the oil's cleaners are also done and the oil has begun to look dirty too. As you can probably tell by now I believe in changing oil on the oil companies' schedule or if it gets dirty or smelly. I have 1 vehicle with a GM oil life monitor but it's older than your SSR, it's a 2002 Lesabre. It usually tells me to do the oil at around 6500 miles. This car gets 95% of it's use at 65 MPH. It has 133,000 miles on it. It was my parents car and when they went to trade it I bought it for myself because I knew it had been well kept. I would check you oil level & condition and check that your monitor is working. 13000 miles is too long to run your oil unless you are willing to allow the engine to wear out prematurely. Sure you will get to the end of your warranty. But most vehicles now made can get past 200,000 miles. If your oil looks all sludgy you ought to change it with cheap oil, run that for a week then change it again with real oil. Use Synthetic if you want to run long change intervals, it is made to go that far. It includes the additives I mentioned and it is more highly refined. Synthetic oil stays on engine parts better (overnight) so that when you start your engine cold it has lubrication. That is a great life extender. 13k miles, not me. It's a lot less costly to you and the environment to keep an existing vehicle running correctly than it is to replace it. Quote:"just keep in mind the research auto companies put into things like oil wear is gemerally done on a rolling road and doesnt take into account realworld stop start driving or load from exessively dusty conditions, etc. id never recommend more than 1 year or 10000miles for oil changes on a modern engine." I believe the monitor system actually takes into account engine operating temp, revolutions turned, throttle opening etc. The dusty conditions remark, well any one in most of the US drives under conditions that automakers call severe, so use the severe schedule on your maintnance guide.

Oops, misspoke. I see the OP has an HHR.

". At this point the oil's cleaners are also done and the oil has begun to look dirty too. As you can probably tell by now I believe in changing oil on the oil companies' schedule or if it gets dirty or smelly." As a tech school grad, I was taught many years ago that oil that looks dirty means it's doing its job. It doesn't take much carbon to "stain" the color of oil to black or near black, and I would much rather have that carbon and other deposits suspended in oil (and then trapped in an oil filter) rather than sticking to the heads, cylinders, valves, rings or any other wear component of my engine. "oil companies' schedule"? Its always been my understanding that any maintenance schedule pertaining to a particular make and model of a car should only come from (and be adhered to) by the manufacturer. One thing that hasn't been mentioned regarding the useable "life" of oil is this--time. A relatively unknown fact is that, although motor oil has improved some over the years, the properties of oil will deteriorate over time, whether being used or not. This is especially true in areas of great fluxuations of temperatures. Bottom line is this--it is highly adviseable to change your oil in a years' time or less, regardless if driven 5000 miles or 500 miles. This is especially important in northern areas where temperatures can range from sub zero up into the nineties depending on the season.

My HHR averages an oil change every 6000-7500 miles. I use a full synthetic oil(5W30). You will only go a year if you drive your car sparingly. The manual just suggests that this is a possibility, and that you should not go over a year without an oil change. The advancements made in synthetic oil technology allows the oil to last up to 7500 miles. The old adage of changing your oil every 3000 miles is out the window nowadays. Do your research on this and you will see that I am right!

Everything you ever wanted to know about oil and lots more --- http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

for the first time, i tried to go by the oil life indicator. i think i'd not go past 5 months without a oil change. it was just too contaminated (approx. 3k miles/ 8 months on a 2012 camaro).

I do an oil analysis and change my oil when the test indicates the oil has a low TBN or higher than normal (wear metals, fuel dilution, etc.) Oils today last much longer than the old school theory's. If I do have a problem with an engine, it should show up in my oil samples first. For instance higher silicon levels indicate that your air filter needs to be changed. Increased Potassium indicates antifreeze is leaking into the oil, possibly need to change the head gasket. For those with warranty concerns, save your sample reports, and if the oil tests show the oil is good, they will not be able to decline your warranty issue based on not changing the oil at 3,000 miles or whatever your manual says. Changing the oil too soon is not going to hurt the engine, it just wastes your money, and contributes to damaging the environment.

Oil doesn't wear out. Many larger users re-refine it. For extra safety, change the filter every 6 months. Don't use a cheap filter.

Oil does break down, oxidize and accumulates dirt and acids.

That's what filters are for. The detergents and additives put in by the refiners makes oil go much longer.

You can change the filter and I will change the oil and filter - to each his own. I have millions of miles withe zero lubrication issues on my engines and I go hundreds of thousands of miles on each of mine.