To keep your long term maintenance costs low, there's no better place to start than by scheduling regular oil and filter changes. Most vehicle manufacturers recommend changing the oil once a year or every 7,500 miles in passenger cars and light truck gasoline engines. However, that once a year, 7,500 mile oil change is for vehicles that are driven under “normal” driving conditions which is only about 20% of drivers. Nearly all of us fall under “Severe Service” driving conditions - frequent short trips (less than 10 miles, especially during cold weather), stop-and-go city traffic driving, driving in dusty conditions and driving at sustained highway speeds during hot weather. For this type of driving, which is actually “severe service” driving conditions, the recommendation is to change the oil every 3,000 miles or six months. For maximum protection, most oil companies say to change the oil every 3,000 miles or three to six months regardless of what type ... read more