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Lifetime 5k Oil Changes Safe?


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Picked it up tonite, shocked when dealer told me as long as I own the car, I get free 5000 mile interval oil changes. Bulk dino stuff I assume. Safe?? Regular driver, 40 miles roundtrip to work each day.

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I've used Blackstone Labs on several other cars we owned over the years and their lab results prove out that going 7,500 miles on synthetic and 5,000 on conventional is completely reasonable. In one lab analysis, they flat out said that I changed the oil too early at 6,600 miles. I drive highway miles in non-dusty areas with no heavy loads. Blackstone verifies viscosity and other protective elements of the oil.

 

That's when I was convinced that 3,000 mile oil changes are bs.

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/\ wrong. almost everyone here does a 3k oil change and it has been that way almost sence cars were made. It is not overkill to do a 3k oil change. If you want to keep your cars for many years start with the 3k oil change.

 

This^ and I guess some people like black molassas for oil when they drain their oil. Few LGT can go 5000+ miles without having the oil topped off.:redface: Not sure about N/A.

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I go 3500-4K btwn changes and my Quaker State is still Brown :) change it. 5k will be fine you have to remember the thousands of NON enthusiasts owners( soccer moms, teenage girls, old men) that drive these cars and NEVER top it off btwn oil changes (when they remember to get it changed) and NEVER blow engines.

 

We as enthusiasts strive for the best, me included, so the 3-3.5K miles OCI is common to the common owner if the dealer tells them 7500 btwn or 5000 btwn you can bet that is when they have it changed.

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/\ wrong. almost everyone here does a 3k oil change and it has been that way almost sence cars were made. It is not overkill to do a 3k oil change. If you want to keep your cars for many years start with the 3k oil change.

 

^wrong, I do a 25K mile oil change with multi check at least three times a month and add if needed. Amsoil is all I have to say. I have had not problems and no issue what so ever. So for the haters out there go a head and say I should not change it every 25K miles. My car is a 2008 N/A no issues.

 

Also Black oil does not mean it is bad. Turbo desiel oil turns black after few hundred miles. Its the detergents in the oil that clean the engine and make it that color.:lol:

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Did a search...

Picked it up tonite, shocked when dealer told me as long as I own the car, I get free 5000 mile interval oil changes. Bulk dino stuff I assume. Safe?? Regular driver, 40 miles roundtrip to work each day.

 

so you have a GT or N/a?

GT = 3750miles

N/A = 4000 - 5000 with dino, or 7000 with good synthetic (EJ253 is pretty easy on oil)

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I change the oil in my '08 3.0R every 10,000 miles with Mobil 1 5w-30. currently have 90,000 on the odometer and haven't had a single problem with the car yet. Oil still has clarity in it after 10k as well so I could probably go further on it.

 

With current technologies oils are lasting a very long time. People are usually afraid to go so far but in all honesty the oil comes out clean every time.

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5k is a fine interval. I change my 2.5gt every 6k. It has 95k on the stock turbo.

 

Well count yourself VERY LUCKY....:cool::rolleyes: The 05s in particular have the Oil Screen in the Turbo Oil Line, and Subaru themselves switched to 3,750 OCI just to keep them from blowing Turbos....:wub:

 

I blew the Turbo-Up with religious 5K Amsoil oil changes, so it's not the oil itself but the clogged screen that's the issue:mad:

 

Basically In an N/A Car I'm sure you'd be fine but in Turbo I would stick to 3,750 to be safe.

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Well count yourself VERY LUCKY....:cool::rolleyes: The 05s in particular have the Oil Screen in the Turbo Oil Line, and Subaru themselves switched to 3,750 OCI just to keep them from blowing Turbos....:wub:

 

I blew the Turbo-Up with religious 5K Amsoil oil changes, so it's not the oil itself but the clogged screen that's the issue:mad:

 

Basically In an N/A Car I'm sure you'd be fine but in Turbo I would stick to 3,750 to be safe.

 

Sounds like Subaru has a problem with turbos and engine seals. I've owned numerous turbos and never had a problem going 5k and none of the Blackstone Lab reports ever showed an OIL problem. There was a known turbo seal problem, but that was a company recognized problem. Do Subaru's not filter out air and oil particulate well? Don't they recirculate the oil around the turbo shaft and cool it?

 

I stand corrected and would suggest that people run their Subaru's 3,000 miles and get a lab report to find out what the viscosity and properties are of the oil. If the oil tests out okay, bump it up to 5,000 miles. Always at minimum follow the manufacturers recommended oil change intervals. Change more often if you are in dusty or dirty conditions. Our 2.5i has 7,500 mile oil change intervals.

 

Guess I did think about the fact that Subaru has engineering design flaw on the mechanicals. I like doing the $24.00 lab analysis every 20K-30K, because it documents oil changes, oil quality and pride in ownership if a warranty issue comes up. It's hard to dispute empirical evidence that shows the oil has the right lubricating properties. Those are scientific proof....

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I've got a 2.5i and don't have a turbo and didn't realize that Subaru's recommend changing the oil in their turbos that often. Here is a quote from Subaru:

 

Due to heat generated by the turbocharger and carbon deposits contained in exhaust gas, the oil in a turbocharged engine will deteriorate faster than the oil in a naturally aspirated engine. Therefore, special care should be taken to use the proper grade oil and to monitor oil deterioration.

 

Under normal driving conditions, the recommended oil and oil filter change interval for turbo vehicles is every 3,750 miles or four months, whichever comes first.

 

I didn't realize this. It appears turbos require oil changing every 3,750. That is really unusual in my opinion, but you should do it to maintain your warranty. It makes me question the engineering and design of the Subaru boxer turbos. I've owned three turbo cars and the last two allowed 10,000 between oil changes (I did them at 6-7.5K).

 

Do the Subaru turbos run hot and coke on the impeller shaft? Do the boxer engines run dirty?

 

I stand corrected and wouldn't recommend going 5K between changes if Subaru says to do them at 3.75. Pretty amazing. I apologize...

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I have an N/A and have made three 5K mile OCI's with mobil1 5w30 full synthetic. The car burns about a quart of oil off after 3-3.5k miles. I am now on my first 5k mile OCI with pennzoil ultra 5w30 full synthetic. after about 4k miles the car has burnt a quart of oil. I am going to try amsoil next but I am beginning to think that there isnt an oil out there that will last 4.5-5k miles before it burns a quart off. Has anyone used kendall oil? But anyway the point of this post is to say that I have done several oil changes at 5k miles and havent had any issues yet with my N/A.
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I have an N/A and have made three 5K mile OCI's with mobil1 5w30 full synthetic. The car burns about a quart of oil off after 3-3.5k miles. I am now on my first 5k mile OCI with pennzoil ultra 5w30 full synthetic. after about 4k miles the car has burnt a quart of oil. I am going to try amsoil next but I am beginning to think that there isnt an oil out there that will last 4.5-5k miles before it burns a quart off. Has anyone used kendall oil? But anyway the point of this post is to say that I have done several oil changes at 5k miles and havent had any issues yet with my N/A.

 

The dealer told me that 7.5K with the NA is acceptable. Do subies burn oil? Have they improved the engine?

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The manual syas you can go up to 7500 miles but thats in the best of the best conditions and 3xxx miles are the severe weather OCI's so I would say 5k miles is a good medium and safe, thats what I do mine at. As for knowing if subies burn oil, mine does after 3.5-4k miles but I've only used 2 kinds of oil so we will see what amsoil does for me. ABout the engine improvement ? I think every car manufacturer could stand to improve their engines a bit!!
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The manual syas you can go up to 7500 miles but thats in the best of the best conditions and 3xxx miles are the severe weather OCI's so I would say 5k miles is a good medium and safe, thats what I do mine at. As for knowing if subies burn oil, mine does after 3.5-4k miles but I've only used 2 kinds of oil so we will see what amsoil does for me. ABout the engine improvement ? I think every car manufacturer could stand to improve their engines a bit!!

 

Our last couple cars would go 7.5 on synthetic without a problem. Both were turbo 4 cylinders that I would do periodic oil analysis on and have the oil test out with flying colors. Didn't burn any until 95,000 miles with the one engine and never used oil in the other.

 

I have read and heard that Subies used oil in the past. Did they fix that? Does the engine have anything to do with it?

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I've got a 2.5i and don't have a turbo and didn't realize that Subaru's recommend changing the oil in their turbos that often. Here is a quote from Subaru:

 

Due to heat generated by the turbocharger and carbon deposits contained in exhaust gas, the oil in a turbocharged engine will deteriorate faster than the oil in a naturally aspirated engine. Therefore, special care should be taken to use the proper grade oil and to monitor oil deterioration.

 

Under normal driving conditions, the recommended oil and oil filter change interval for turbo vehicles is every 3,750 miles or four months, whichever comes first.

 

I didn't realize this. It appears turbos require oil changing every 3,750. That is really unusual in my opinion, but you should do it to maintain your warranty. It makes me question the engineering and design of the Subaru boxer turbos. I've owned three turbo cars and the last two allowed 10,000 between oil changes (I did them at 6-7.5K).

 

Do the Subaru turbos run hot and coke on the impeller shaft? Do the boxer engines run dirty?

 

I stand corrected and wouldn't recommend going 5K between changes if Subaru says to do them at 3.75. Pretty amazing. I apologize...

 

You must be new to Subaru oil debacle.

:-)

 

When Subaru released 05 Legcay GT they had 3750 miles OCI for heavy duty and 7500 miles OCI for regular duty. The oil specification was "anything 5W30" is good for most conditions.

Roughly one year later Subaru changed OCI for turbocharged cars, they cut it in half without changing oil specification. Probably a lot of warranty claims caused this change.

In 2010 or 2011 Subaru speced synthetic oil and 7500 mile OCI is back again for turbo cars.

 

I guess if they prescribed synthetic oil from beggining it would be 7500 all the time.

 

I suspect engineering spec was blocked by marketing as synthetic means expensive and SOA did not want to do this.

 

Krzys

 

PS 05 GT, 141K, stock everything, 7.5K OCI - AVCS solenoid failure

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