How long can I go without changing my oil?
Asked by hobs89 Nov 21, 2015 at 09:29 PM about the 2016 Mazda CX-5 Touring
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I bought a 2016 Mazda CX-5 7 months ago and only have about 2850 miles
on it, which shows that I don't drive often or very far. According to my
manual it's suggested that I should change my oil at 5000 miles or at 4
months, whichever comes first. The dealership told me 6-7 months would
be the cut off point to which I should get an oil change if I don't reach 5000
miles. Is this accurate? And could I go longer without changing my oil if I
don't reach the 5000 miles even if it takes me 12 months to do so? Thanks!
5 Answers
It can't hurt to change the oil at 3,000 miles but 5,000 miles on synthetic is perfectly OK. I would not worry if you go a full year between changes.
I never understood why they say oil has a time limit, when you buy it, it never has a best before date on it, change it every 3,000miles would be ok
changing the oil as often as possible does not hurt your car- it helps the car to have fresh, clean oil- always- it is easy and it doesn't cost much- so why not change it? That is a nice car, why cheap out? I don't get it-
Using synthetic oil I would go 7,500 miles or 1 year which ever comes first. Following the information in the owner's manual is helpful also, read it.
GuruD95WT8 answered 8 months ago
The downside to changing oil 1x/yr is what's known as "change of season" and/or change of environment that occurs in the upper midwest - the large temperature changes that occur more in the upper midwest and upper east coast and much less in more temperate zones. There are more opportunities for condensation to occur with the engine and migrate into the oil...changing oil every 6 months minimizes this effect. At least this is what Porsche claims.
