Jiffy Lube: No need to change oil every 3,000 miles

The rule of thumb used to be to get a long life out of a car, change the oil regularly; like every 3,000 miles or so. But not any more, as one of the nation's largest oil-change chains today threw the regular out of regular oil changes.

Jiffy Lube, which has more than 2,000 locations in North America that serve about 24 million motorists each year, announced that it has a new way of determining how long vehicle owners should wait before getting the oil changed and it includes input from each individual driver who comes in for an oil change.

It's not groundbreaking in the industry, automotive experts say. Vehicle manufacturers typically recommend oil changes every 5,000 miles these days. They say part of the reason is that engines are built better and gasoline quality is higher and all that prolongs oil life.

The decision to involve customers in determining how long to wait between oil changes has been three years in the making, said Virginia Sanchez, spokeswoman for Jiffy Lube, which has been in business for 30 years.

"It's the right thing to do for the customer," she said.

Motorists who seldom drive in severe driving conditions could be bumped to 3,500 up to 5,000 miles between service visits, she said. Severe driving conditions include dusty environments and a lot of stop-and-go traffic; outside temperatures and whether a trailer is often hauled behind the vehicle.

"We don't think it will hurt our business," Sanchez said. "Our customers are participating in the decision-making and that will improve our relationship with them."

Though Jiffy Lube is among the largest oil-change chains in the nation, its announcement really isn't new in the oil-change business, said Garrett McKinnon, editor of the National Oil & Lube, a leading trade publication in the industry.

"We have seen other companies leaving the standard 3,000-mile oil change behind," he said. "Allowing people 5,000 miles instead of 3,000 is not incredibly groundbreaking. But it is important because Jiffy Lube is an industry leader."

"For years," he said, "the lube industry has done a good job educating customers about what severe driving conditions are and what they are not. Nowadays, just driving in city traffic in hot or cold weather doesn't mean severe," he said.

"Most of us do stop-and-go driving in temperate conditions," he said, "and now, that is included in what auto makers call normal."

David Champion, auto editor for Consumer Reports said vehicle owners should look at their owner's manual and change the oil according to those recommendations. Most auto makers recommend oil changes every 5,000 miles, even more, he said, and some European cars recommend oil changes every 12,000 miles.

"Changing the oil every 3,000 miles is not going to do the car any harm," he said, "but it just seems like a waste of money."