5k or 10k service intervals?
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Should you service your car every 5k or 10k?
Hello,
It is more recommended to change every 5K especially when off-roading. However as someone said (~trq) you can always put a 10K and service it at 6-7k.
It depends on how you drive, where you drive, how often you drive etc.
Routine maintenance is preventative by nature. First, be sure to choose the right oil for your vehicle. This is vital for proper operation in the desert (or anywhere, really). While most manufacturers say that a car’s oil should be changed every 10,000 km, this is not necessarily true with every type of oil, or in every climate.
Manuals can’t be written for all cases. It is just a guideline. In our case we drive in very hot weather and push our cars so engine is running very hot for long times. Extreme heat will degrade the oil quicker. The higher the oil viscosity, the better it lubricates your engine.
Given an extreme climate like the desert, more dust gets ingested into the intake, and deposited into the oil. Dirt breaks down oil’s viscosity and this will eventually erode the seals and piston rings if unaddressed.
In the desert, you need to change your oil more frequently than the manufacturer suggests. You also need to change your oil filter a bit more frequently in the desert.
I personally use oil recommended for 10,000 km intervals but change it every 5K km. Usually by that time the oil colour has started changing to black.
I also drive 300 kms in the desert in most weekends so my usage is not typical. I guess it goes back to the same thing Ahmet said about how it greatly depends on personal usage.
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