Oil change timing and mileage guidelines change with driving conditions, for example short trips in extreme weather (hot or cold) demands more frequent oil changes.
For maximum protection and superior car maintenance, most oil companies recommend an Oil Change and Filter every 5,000 Kilometers or three months regardless of what type of driving you do.
It is more important as your car engine gets more mileage to increase the frequency of your scheduled oil changes. This will prolong the life of the engine and its components. If you don't have a regular oil change you can end up with accelerated wear and engine problems that may lead to loss of performance, poor fuel economy, and increased emissions and oil consumption.
You may or may not have noticed that oil filters have recently become smaller to save weight, cost and space. The old "standard" quart-sized filter has been replaced by a pint-sized oil filters. Ultimately a smaller filter has less filtering capacity. The smaller oil filters are adequate for 5,000 kilometer oil change intervals but may run out of capacity long before 10,000 or 25,000 kilometers.
Replacing the oil filter every time you have an oil change is highly recommended.
An oil filter's job is to remove solids such as dirt, carbon and metal particles from the oil before they can damage bearings and the cylinder wall surfaces in your engine. The more dirt and other contaminants the filter can trap and maintain the better.
