# Oil change interval



## altima96gxe (Apr 23, 2004)

My Altima manual says oil change every 7500 miles. But regular mineral oil doesn't seem last that long. Does anyone know what type of oil comes with the new Nissan vehicle, synthetic or mineral?


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## eleuthardt (Dec 12, 2002)

altima96gxe said:


> My Altima manual says oil change every 7500 miles. But regular mineral oil doesn't seem last that long. Does anyone know what type of oil comes with the new Nissan vehicle, synthetic or mineral?


My 03 came with regular dino juice, and the book says to change every 3750 or 7500 depending on driving habits. I switched to Synthetic @ 10k miles and still change the oil every 3k. I do drive short distances alot, and in heavy traffic. Plus, Dallas is hot and dusty so I like to keep everything clean and smooth.


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## KA24Tech (Feb 2, 2004)

The manual says every 7500 but I highly recommend it be changed every 3K miles with conventional motor oil but with synthetic you can go a little longer. I run synthetic in my turbo cars and a synthetic blend in my daily driver but I never run them over 3k miles between oil changes.
The reason the factory says every 7500 is because they are rated on operating costs by consumer groups and the press so they stretch it out as much as possible so that reliabilty isn't compromised. Check out some of those free maintenance plans like BMW has where they pay for oil changes but it is every 9-12k miles (cheap skates), but someone who cares for their car will pay for several oil changes in between.

Troy


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

I pretty much agree with *KA24Tech*. The manufacturers seem to put a lot into keeping the on-paper maintenance costs down.

If you drive like an old granny and rack up a LOT of highway miles really quickly in nice weather, you might be fine with that interval.

But really, you're abusing/neglecting your ride ... and saving only pennies in the process.

On the other side, 3,000 miles is a bit brief, especially if you are using a premium Group II+ base oil with a good additive package or a true synthetic like Red Line, Mobil 1 or Amsoil. Any oil will last that long ... and wear reduction during this period will not be better with synthetic under most temperatures. Wear reduction when the oil is fresh (not oxidized) is more about the additive package.

With most modern "SL" oils, going to 4,000 miles is no problem. With a decent REAL (PAO/ester) synthetic, 5,000-6,000 miles is no problem and if you want to push it further, you need to do it incrementally and check using UOA (Used Oil Analysis).


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## nissan service rep (Jun 18, 2004)

altima96gxe said:


> My Altima manual says oil change every 7500 miles. But regular mineral oil doesn't seem last that long. Does anyone know what type of oil comes with the new Nissan vehicle, synthetic or mineral?



Nissan recommends changing the oil every 3750 miles.....every model every year.


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## Bror Jace (Apr 26, 2003)

_"Nissan recommends changing the oil every 3750 miles.....every model every year."_

*rep*, that's the "severe" service, correct?

If you read most of those severe vs. normal definitions, almost no one falls into the "normal" schedule.


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## xlindax (Aug 28, 2004)

Bror Jace said:


> I pretty much agree with *KA24Tech*. The manufacturers seem to put a lot into keeping the on-paper maintenance costs down.
> 
> If you drive like an old granny and rack up a LOT of highway miles really quickly in nice weather, you might be fine with that interval.
> 
> ...


I am in agreement with you about modern "dino" oils. Most any of them are good for 5,000 miles or 6 months. I see no point in using synthetic oils unless you are going at least one year or 10,000+ miles on a change. An exception might be if you have a turbo. Otherwise, any dino will get you to 200,000+ miles with change intervals of 4 or 5,000 miles, or 6 months.

My 1999 Maxima, purchased in April of 1999, has had an oil change every October and April for the last 5 years. I am retired now, and the mileage on the changes has varied between 2200 and 5300 miles, depending on whether or not I went on a vacation trip. I leased this car in 1999, and purchased it at lease end. Because it was leased, I went back to the dealer for my service. It has never required any warranty service, just oil changes, and other routine maintenance. The dealer has always used 10W30 motor oil. It got its 1st oil change at about 5,000 miles-6 months. It had used 1/2 quart of oil during break-in, and none in the last 5 years.

3,000 mile oil changes are for the benefit of JiffyLube, etc.


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## Jamilu (Jan 24, 2015)

Hello Good day. 
I recently bought Nissan Altima 2002 model. Can anybody tell me the Oil change interval. Thank you


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Jamilu said:


> Hello Good day.
> I recently bought Nissan Altima 2002 model. Can anybody tell me the Oil change interval. Thank you


You posted in the wrong section (you should have posted in the L31 Altima section), but to answer your question, Nissan recommends a 7500 mile oil change interval.


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## MattSF415 (Feb 1, 2015)

Typically I do an oil change every 5000 miles or 6 months with Red Line 5W30. I also use K&N Gold oil filters. 

If I were to use OEM filters and dino oil, I'd change it out religiously every 3000 miles and/or 3 months. I'd also choose a high quality oil like Valvoline or Castrol. 

For Mobil 1 synthetic I'd follow the 3000 mile interval and change every 3-6 months despite mileage. 

But I'm a believer of changing oil out more often than is necessary.


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## Fusionman (Jun 3, 2015)

I have a 2010 Fusion 4cyl with 130,000 miles. I got it with 19,000 miles. At 25,000 I changed the oil to Mobil 1 extended performance and have changed that out every 7,500 miles with the OEM Motorcraft filter. My driving habits are 50/50 HWY/CTY with minimal hard driving. Replaced the spark plugs at 115,000 miles with OEM iridium plugs and only run Chevron, Shell and BP gas alternating those three. Still runs like brand new. No sludge no wear, no oil consumption......none whatsoever.


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## MattSF415 (Feb 1, 2015)

I have a 2010 Fusion SE with the 2.5L, too. It's a great car. I use Red Line Oil 5W20 and K&N oil filters. I may start to use OEM filters again since I really don't put that many miles on the car, and K&N filters are now being made in Korea and Mexico (not that either place is bad). I just don't see why I'm paying a premium if the unit is being outsources, etc. 

Typically change the oil every 5000 miles or 6 months. 
Trans fluid every 10, 000 miles (6F35 Trans).
Motorcraft Iridium plugs every 50K
Coolant every 2 Years
Brake Fluid every year

Chevron gas only for me, too. Same goes for the NIssan. 




Fusionman said:


> I have a 2010 Fusion 4cyl with 130,000 miles. I got it with 19,000 miles. At 25,000 I changed the oil to Mobil 1 extended performance and have changed that out every 7,500 miles with the OEM Motorcraft filter. My driving habits are 50/50 HWY/CTY with minimal hard driving. Replaced the spark plugs at 115,000 miles with OEM iridium plugs and only run Chevron, Shell and BP gas alternating those three. Still runs like brand new. No sludge no wear, no oil consumption......none whatsoever.


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