How often do you need to change the oil?

[Gen5is]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to ask, how often should you change your oil? I was told by a mate that used to own a bugeye wrx every 5000kms that i should flush out the oil and change the filter if i want to keep the car in good nick. So i called up Subaru and asked if i could do a oil change at my first 5000 or so kms. All i got were ummms and errrs and was told i should wait till my first service (12,500kms? or March 2013? if i remember correctly) because "the 2.5L engine is a really big engine and it doesnt need to be serviced yet" (Not even a 1000km service?? :S). Right now its sitting at 7000kms and i checked the dipstick and the oil had a tinge of brown in it. So what do you say guys?

I've already tried doing a search, but the search told me "oil" was too common, so i tried "oil change" but the search kept removing "oil" and only searched for "change"....

[shav]

Have a look at your service manual and follow that. Seeing as its still under warranty I wouldn't be prepared to do your own oil changes if I were you. If the manual tells you to change the first service at 12,500km then follow that. If it tells you earlier, then get it done earlier. Failure to follow the manual MAY result in the warranty possibly being void if you were to claim. Follow the manual if all else fails.

[alessandro132]

I'm sure you could bring it in earlier if you wanted to and not void any warranty. I change mine every 5,000 km for peace of mind - infrequent oil changes is probably Subaru's biggest achilles heel so for $60-70 each change it's great insurance. I don't really buy into the whole 'well it's non turbo and I don't thrash it everytime I drive it' to justify long intervals (i.e. 12,500 km) between oil changes. My 2c

[agan]

Agree. I do oil changes half way between the normal service intervals just to play safe. (Not cheap but it's good insurance I guess?)

But any comments from anyone who doesn't and has racked up significant k's in theirs?

Be interesting to know from people who have gone towards or over the 200,000 mark and have either done the half way mark oil changes or not and whether its mainly highway or city driving.

[zch91]

I do half way services between logbook (ie: each 6,000ish myself then 12,000 at mech) as said cheap insurance.. Especially if you live in a harsh environment/thrash it abit.

Really I do reckon the 12,500 service only would be fine for most cars, on the other hand cars that are daily driven with 6,000km service could easily fail too. Sometimes there isn't much you can really do.

And to the OP, keep in mind services are either time OR km's. So it sounds like it's due for a TIME service this month.

[HyRax]

I personally change every 6,000K's (roughly every 3 months for me). My oil could possibly go longer as it's a dark brown rather than full-on black, but you really notice the difference when you change the oil, especially if you are a regular hard driver. Of particular note is the weight difference when I change the filter - lots of crap caught in there.