I changed at 500, then 2k then 4 k the light just came on for the first time at 5500k

 

I go by the book , UK spec. Diesel, every 9.000 miles.....but dont do as I do , because I'm just an old Redcoat & we do things differently over here!!

 

Every 3,000 miles for me, just regular oil.

My light comes on at exactly 3,000 miles, every time, so I think it's set more for milage than any driving conditions.

If you change it yourself like I mostly due (unless the weather or time are against me) then you'll need to know how to reset the warning. Just turn the key to on, and press the gas pedal all the way to the floor and back 3 times. That should do it.

 

I go by the Change Oil indicator. It calculates out the interval based on how the vehicle is driven (hard vs easy - stop and go vs. highway). Mine comes on every 5500 to 5800 miles (though the first one went off at 2700 miles). The way I see it, Chrysler gave me a lifetime engine warranty and a change oil indicator. So long as I stick to that, I'll maintain my warranty.

 

I get free oil changes for life from my dealer (woot)... but the fine print says 4 oil changes per year... so that breaks down to about 5000km for me. I would prefer to do it at 3000km... so maybe i will change my own oil once in the summer months.

 

Took my Patriot in for her first oil change on Saturday. Surprised me when I started her up on Friday night and the mileage read "change oil". I didn't realize that was going to happen. Our first change was free and they were very nice and quick about it. First oil change ws at 5000 miles. I'll have to watch and see when the next one will be.

 

I've been using full synth, and changing every 5000 miles. The timing of the "light" usually happens pretty close to that anyway.

 

The manual calls for an oil change every 10,000 km. (6,000 mi.) or six months, whichever comes first. This seems like a long time between changes, at least to me. I use to change my oil every 5,000 km. or 3 months, but I'll likely follow the manual or the oil change indicator light.

 

I get to it as soon as I can after 4500 miles. I'm on about 4750 right now and planning to do another full synthetic change this weekend.

 

I run Mobil1 and change every 3,000 to 3,500 miles but I am picky. I let my light go without resetting it after an oil change... changed it again... the light came on at about 7,000 miles. I wouldn't do it any less than what the book or the light says but you can't really go wrong if you change it more often.

 

Thanks I am planning on waiting for the light being my first oil change is free and that when they told me to bring it in. After the first change I will be changing it myself and will probably follow the light and use synthetic.

 

i would recommend you get your first oil change at 500-1000 miles. the reason why dealerships give you the first oil change for free, is so they can inspect the oil for metal particles and/or other things that could be a sign there is a defect in the engine from the factory, or some other problem. it's more of a courteous check, which they get reimbursed for from the Chrysler Corporation (or the Honda Corporation of America as was in my case)

 

Just changed mine at 8K miles. I reset that oil light 3X before i actually changed my oil. I ran motorcraft 5w20 with a purolator filter. Oil was pretty darn clean.

 

There are two Jeep Patriot Maintenance schedules, depending on your driving conditions. Almost everyone I know falls into schedule "B" (see criteria below).

That means you should change your oil every 5000 km (3000 miles). In the real world you can probably stretch this out a bit, especially if you are using a 5W-30 synthetic such as Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum.

Under no conditions should you try to stretch things beyond 10,000 km (6,000 miles). In that case you would be exceeding both schedule "B" and the more relaxed schedule "A" for less harsh driving conditions.

Schedule “B”. It is for vehicles that are operated under the conditions that are listed below and at the beginning of the schedule.

• Day or night temperatures are below 0° C (32° F)
• Stop and go driving
• Extensive engine idling
• Driving in dusty conditions
• Short trips of less than 16 km (10 miles)
• More than 50% of your driving is at sustained high speeds during hot weather, above 32° C (90° F)
• Trailer towing
• Taxi, police, or delivery service (commercial service)
• Off-road or desert operation
• Heavy loading

NOTE: If ANY of these apply to you then change your engine oil every 5 000 km (3,000 miles) or 3 months, whichever comes first and follow schedule “B”.

NOTE: If ANY of these apply to you then change your coolant every 170 000 km (102,000 miles) or 60 months, whichever comes first and follow schedule “B”.

NOTE: Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10 000 km (6,000 miles) or 6 months whichever comes first.

CAUTION: Failure to perform the required maintenance items may result in damage to the vehicle.

 

2009 manuals have no Schedule A or B.
I talked with the service manager here and he said that following the schedule in the manual, which calls for 6000 mile oil changes maximum would keep you safe as far as the lifetime warranty goes, and agrees that with any quality oil, dino or syn, things are fine for that kind of interval.

 

Only Schedule "A" is in the 2009 Manual. You should have a separate booklet/guide that shows the maintenance schedules "A" and "B".

This information is also directly out of the 2009 Jeep Patriot Service Manual. You may want to find a new place to have your Patriot Serviced if the Manager there is unaware.

 

people are so scared about changing their oil in their engine...but most people don't realize that when engines fail it's usually not due to a lubrication issue. these companies that make motor oil try to scare consumers into thinking that they need to change their oil every 3,000 miles. it has to be one of the most absolutely wasteful things to do for not only your wallet, but the environment as well.

those "lifetime engine guarantee" programs that motor oil companies have such as Valvoline...it's a crock of sh*t. when you read the terms and conditions it becomes clear that you pretty much have to prove that the engine failed due to a lubrication issue in order for the engine to be covered. pretty much anything beyond that is considered "engine neglect" or "poor engine design"...both of which are not covered.

the whole oil changing schedule is the biggest crock of sh*t there ever came to vehicles...in addition to the nitrogen in the tires scam that dealerships and service shops were trying to nickel and dime you for when the gas peaked at $5/gal

:doh:

 

I agree with you mostly, but the lifetime warranty I was talking about is Jeep's Lifetime Powertrain Warranty.

 

i know, i wasn't responding directly to your post. i was just making a general statement about "oil changes" etc

 

I understand that 3,000 might be a little excessive as far as oil changes go however there needs to be some kind of interval oil does break down over time and will not protect as well as it once did. When this happens well that needs to be proven I guess. Most automoblie companies seem to be going with the sensor's in the vehicle to let you know when to change, but how acurate are these sensors? Also I believe there is a big difference in oil change intervals based apon conventional, blend or synthetic. they all break down at different times syn. having the slowest break down time. So you intervals also depend on what type of oil you use.

 

All of the used oil analysis on the bob the oil guy forums show that synthetic oil is still good at 10k miles. Use a good oil and better filter, and you wont have any problems. Ever

 

Europe has used longer change cycles for a long time now and their cars are still going strong. Every 3,000 miles is excessive for modern motor oil, whether synthetic or conventional. We Americans love our cars, and the oil companies are all too happy to sell us more oil. Ever since I read that consumer report article from the late 80's (back when they were actually a decent reporting company) where they tested all different oil in NYC taxi cabs using 3k and 6k change intervals I've switched to longer changes in all of my cars. The bottom line on the article was that there was no additional wear regardless of conv/synth oil or 3k/6k changes. That's my opinion anyway, YMMV!

 

Going in on saturday to get the oil changed, dealership courtesy change. I am at 3400 miles right now figured for the first oil change better to do it a little sooner than usual. After this oil change i plan on changing to synthetic and will probably change every 6k

 

I drive city stop and go in 45 mph zones. My light comes on at 2500. I would reccomend just following the light. It will keep you in warranty and you won't be wasting time and money on unnecessary oil changes. If you have an 09 with the lifetime warranty, all you need to really worry about is not voiding the warranty. If the schedule the light gives you causes a problem, you'll get it fixed free anyway.

 

the reason they switced to 6000 miles is to lower maintanence costes you can never change oil too much. Engines dont fail due to lubrication issues? Uh ok, let me know if you ever take a engine apart or even work on one. Rod Knocks, bearing failures? 99.99999% can be traced back to poor oil change frequency. Want oil to last longer? Use a good filter Hastings or Wix, mobil one and K and N filters are wix in different boxes, also drive the car if you drive 10-15 m inute trips change the oil every3k, I have 2 cars that get the oil changed every 3 months, on has been driven 4 miles this year , Humidity can form inside a engine and break down the oils forming a acid like substance in the motor

 

Engines dont fail due to lubrication issues? Uh ok, let me know if you ever take a engine apart or even work on one. Rod Knocks, bearing failures? 99.99999% can be traced back to poor oil change frequency.

Actually, 99.99999% come from a mechanical issue that has diluted the oil or stopped the oil from circulating. In other words, a bad head gasket dumps anti-freeze into the oil where it turns into pudding then the bearings get damaged. Or an oil pump or oil pump drive fails. Or an injector dumps fuel in there, again diluting the oil. So while you could say it's a lubrication issue, it's not the oil's fault.

Other failures I've seen is over RPM throwing a rod or at minimum stretching the rod bolts causing a knock or damaging the main bearing caps (ever see an alcohol funny car blow the crank, rods and pistons out the bottom?), run the engine out of oil (hitting something in the road that damages the oil pan or filter), overheating, hydra-locking, and detonation issues.

I've seen plenty of motors run just fine for 20k miles on the same oil too. I've seen engines with over 100k miles that were very worn and very dirty inside, but they still ran and didn't have rod knocks. You'd be surprised how long oil can actually lubricate.

 

alcohol funny cars arent common cars im talking standard issue daily driver cars, now if we put "toys" into the mix then all sorts of other issues can arrise

 

I guess what I was trying to say warmpancakes is "not changing your oil" isn't 99% of all engine failures. Obviously it's not going to help the engine last long but it's generally not the cause of the failure (unless the engine is empty, then it's owner negligence). Valvoline knows this and that's why they extend this 100k mile (or whatever length/mileage) warranty to you if you use their oil. 9 out of 10 times, "lack of lubrication" has some mechanical cause to it's root, and thus they get out of honoring the warranty.

I respect that you take such good care of your vehicles, a lot of people don't. And if changing the oil every 3k miles makes you feel good about, then good on ya. Just don't fall for the service and oil industry hype that you MUST change the oil every 3k miles or the engine will blow up. It's just not true. Oil can last much longer then that in a properly running and maintained engine. As I stated earlier, Europe has used extended change intervals for a long time, mostly due to environmental impact/issues, and their cars still run fine.

 

1st and Synthetic too

I just did my first oil change at around 3400 miles. I put the Fumato valve in, it fit nice. I have the FDII with the skid plate, it is a little tight in there to grab the filter, I used a 'jaw' type filter wrench and put it up there at an angle. I had already had the oil draining into the catch pan, and then loosened the filter and made quite a mess! Then I tried to get the filter off quickly and had oil all running down my arm!

Do most of you loosen the filter a bit and let it drain for a few minutes before you take it all the way off? Did my Wife's HHR, much easier filter - a cartridge the you take the top off and hardly any mess!

I put 5W-20 Casteroil full synthetic in, some have said I should have run conventional for a while but it is already done, oh well.