Oil change time

[Bill1065]

I got the message my oil needs changing. Has any one changed their own oil? Hard job or better to leave it to the dealer? How about places like Jiffy lube, they trustworthy? I intend to use synthetic.

[Bill1065]

Never mind; found answer on another forum; I can do it myself.

[deserth3]

Just curious. What did you decide? We may offer different advice.

Bill1065 - how many miles when the OIL CHANGE indicator came on?

S.

[The Green Lantern]

I put synthetic on my last oil change (2nd), saved me about $45 plus gas.

[Bill1065]

Oil message came on at 11600 miles. Not sure whether to change it myself though. I may just try to get it done locally on my lunch break today and reset the message indicator myself if they don't do it.

[HummerNewbie]

I get all my regular maintenance for free at my dealer so it was an easy decision for me

If you take it to a Jiffy Lube or someplace like that just make sure they tighten up the skid plate bolts.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

I don't trust the oil change places. I've had too many problems in the past like stripped oil plugs, loose skid plates, missing bolts and such. Had to use them with my 4runner tho, cause I couldn't reach the oil filter to change it. My hands are too big I guess.

[Bill1065]

Well I got one on my lunch break with Jiffy lube, full synthetic, $67. What puzzles me is they recommend changing the oil in the next 4000 miles. Thought I could go at least 6,000 miles or more on fully synthetic. Am I wrong? The Jiffy lube sticker they put on my windshield says to change the oil next 3,000 miles. May as well use regular oil if thats the case. What's the real story on synthetics; anyone?

Anyway I was having such a good time vacationing from Florida to the grand canyon guess I forgot about oil till the indicator reminded me after I returned...at 11,600 miles!

I was getting as high as 21 miles per gallon at around 70 mph, and I have an automatic. Not one problem except I let someone else drive while vacationing and after snoozing I discovered my windshield had a small stone chip. Last time I let someone else drive...

[Chip]

I change the oil every 4000 using synthetic, I use it a lot in off road dusty situations. Better safe than sorry.

[Idaho-Hummer]

Originally Posted by Bill1065

I was getting as high as 21 miles per gallon at around 70 mph

Well here is person # 2 that get 21 mpg.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

They tell you 3-4000 miles to protect their liability and get more business, but when you actually need it depends on your driving style.

I love synthetic oils and use Mobil1 in my rigs. They have great additive packages, on top of a synthetic oil with uniform (instead of average weight) molecules, engineered for consistent viscosity, an extremely low pour-point and high heat resistance.

Clean, pavement-driven synthetics will last until the additive package dies. So it could easily be 10-15,000 miles on highway. But if you drive on dirt roads or wheel a lot (especially with a K&N filter imho), you may need to change it sooner, because of dirt in the oil.

[Wisha Haddan H3]

BTW, was this your first oil change since the H3 was new?

[Bill1065]

Ya, first one. I guess judging from what you have said it is safe to rely on the oil change alert. Dusty dirt roads are pretty hard to find in the flat Florida area where I live.

[HummerNewbie]

Originally Posted by Bill1065

Dusty dirt roads are pretty hard to find in the flat Florida area where I live.

That all depends on where you are looking