Originally Posted by JoeC1947 (Post 663550)

I agree. Twice a year or every 6-8k is good. Being a former auto mechanic, changing your engine oil on a timely basis is the single most important thing you can do for your car.

Originally Posted by JoeC1947 (Post 663559)

This is true. Along the same line, Honda of Ocala was offering an automatic transmission fluid change for $79.95, my owners manual recommended that the ATF be changed at 30K so I called them up to make an appointment. I asked if this was a complete or partial change and was told partial which is about 3.5 quarts of ATF and that a complete drain and refill would be much more expensive. I decided to do it myself for $30. My point is that sometimes the dealer doesn't even follow recommendations.

Originally Posted by gryoung (Post 663653)

To do a complete transmission oil change I believe you need to use a pump to suck the oil from the torque converter. You've got that kind of equipment? There are garages who specialize in this kind of work and they're few and far between.

Originally Posted by AutoBike (Post 663668)

I'm not sure it's even possible to drain a torque convertor without removing it. Even then, it isn't easy to drain the fluid out.
I'm guessing that they do a flush, but never drain it completely.

Originally Posted by Rc Moser (Post 663628)

"Never had a dealership ask me to prove I changed the oil when I brought it in for warranty work"" So you've had warranty work done with engine failure related to oil? It's not the Local dealership that's going to dispute it, sure they will be happy to get the business one way or the other. IMO the biggest thing is checking the oil and other fluids-- most people can hardly find the battery let along dipstick. gree twice year is good cheap insurance...

Originally Posted by Villages PL (Post 660066)

I bought a new car on march 30 of last year and have only put on 2300 miles so far. I have an appointment to get an oil change tomorrow because they are offering a free oil change (up to 39.85) for my April birth month.

But I can't seem to get a straight answer as to how long I can go between oil changes. When I bought the car they told me it had synthetic oil in it. So they told me to wait 'til I get 3,000 miles on it. Now one person told me I shouldn't go any longer than 12 months and another said 6 months.

I would think synthetic oil would last at least 12 months, and regular oil 6 months.

Synthetic oil change costs $64.00 and regular oil change costs 37.00 . Would I be better off to get the synthetic and just get one oil change per year? Or is it better to go in twice a year so they will check things over more often.

Originally Posted by laddan (Post 665226)

suggest you change it at minimum yearly or 6000 miles which ever comes first. just to get everything else under the hood checked and topped off.
if you plan to keep the car for several years stay with synthetic oil, if you plan to get rid of the car soon then regular oil ok.
but you need to show to next owner or trade in that you serviced the car regularly . i would not want to buy a 5 year old car that had the oil changed ag long interval periods with out servicing even if it had low miles.