The Oil Industry on Extended Drains

It's sad, but true. Oil companies and many quick lube operations know that synthetic oils are capable of extended drain intervals but are too afraid of lost revenue to admit it. In fact, here are a few quotes from different people in the automotive and lubrication industries which should illustrate what I mean:

According to GM's Mike McMillan, "Certainly there is technology available to raise the standard and extend the drain interval without compromising engine durability or removing the performance cushion ... Europe is already at a 9,000 mile drain interval and is seriously considering twice that".

Most other auto manufacturers agree. In the May 1996 issue of Lubes 'n' Greases representatives from the three major US auto makers detailed how lack of knowledge about available lubricant technology led to an unsatisfactory PCMO (Passenger Car Motor Oil) upgrade.

In "GM's Tough Agenda for Lubes," Lubes 'n' Greases reports that extended drains are a customer service issue. "...We're very concerned about engine durability and oil drain intervals particularly as they impact reducing the amount of maintenance our customers are required to perform. Customers want to minimize their vehicle maintenance time and changing engine oil is their single biggest remaining maintenance item. Addressing that issue is very important to us."

In response to this issue, GM has even come out with an oil life monitoring system for many of it's vehicles. Although it does not actually test the oil to determine its viability, it does monitor important system information to establish whether the oil is being exposed to conditions that would require a more frequent or less frequent change interval. The system isn't perfect, and it doesn't account for the long drain capability of synthetic oils, but it's at least a step in the right direction.

Even quick lube operations know that the technology exists to extend oil drains well beyond the 3,000 mile mark. Some are embracing extended drain technology as a way to increase customer satisfaction as well as company profits by working WITH the improvements in lubrication technology, instead of against them.

Dennis Brooks, Vice President of SpeeDee Oil Change and Tune-Up, implied as much in a statement he made in the November 1996 issue of National Oil & Lube News, a respected periodical in the lubricants industry. In regard to the extended drain issue Brooks said, "I believe there will be greater potential to move into selling a higher percentage of synthetic oil."

Others in the quick lube industry, however, are running scared. Jim Sapp, Convenient Automotive Services Institute (CASI) president, is quoted in the same article as saying, "For years, Jiffy [Lube] has preached the 3,000 mile or three month oil change interval. And fortunately for us, many motorists take it as gospel. But we need to do more as an industry ... It's not inevitable that intervals will expand to the point where we can no longer stay in business." (In other words, we can keep extended drains from becoming common in the marketplace).

In the October 1996 issue of Lubes 'n' Greases, Quaker State CEO Herbert M. Baum suggests, "We need to go on the offensive. Stop fighting with each other and go forward as a group; fight for regular oil changes. We have to build business as a group, and it's the role of our associations to promote the use of our products."

Nevertheless, Quaker State now is manufacturing and selling an oil which they say can last for 7,500 miles (although they neither recommend nor guarantee those intervals and it isn't advised unless you specifically avoid any "severe service" driving). It's obvious that they recognize that people are looking toward extended drains and that they won't be able to convince all consumers that 3,000 mile oil changes are still necessary.

More recently, Marc Graham, the president of Jiffy Lube International, spoke with Lubricants World (a highly respected lubricants industry journal). In the September 2001 interview, Graham vehemently opposed extended drains. Graham said, "There is a significant issue out there that affects anybody that utilizes lubricants, and that is extended drains...Everything we can do to bring the oil change interval back into a logistical timeframe, the better off we are."

Of course, Graham makes no mention of premium synthetic oils which provide better protection for longer periods of time than petroleum oils. But in his defense of 3,000 mile changes he goes on to say the following:

"Jiffy Lube ... estimates that if we increased one car per day [per shop] in our system, that's $33 million in revenue...Looking at this from another angle, if we could move our customers to get one more oil change per year it's worth $294 million for the oil change alone and $441 million in revenue, when you include the ancillary products and services customers typically buy along with an oil change."

Of course, since Jiffy Lube is owned by Pennzoil-Quaker State (PQS), it should be of no surprise that what benefits Jiffy Lube, benefits PQS. PQS's bottom line is directly affected by how well Jiffy Lube promotes the 3,000 mile oil change.

The same is equally true of other major motor oil manufacturers who either own lube chains or set up arrangements with quick lubes to offer their products. Shorter drain intervals helps everyone but you, the vehicle owner. You're getting fleeced.

Now, in Marc Graham's defense, he does make one brief statement about his belief that when extending oil drains "past a certain mileage (3,000 miles), emissions increase, gas mileage decreases and your engine suffers", which would seem to indicate that maybe he's concerned about the protection of your engine. And, of course, he's right, but only in regard to petroleum lubricants. But, if protection of your engine was his main concern he wouldn't have spent three quarters of his interview talking about Jiffy Lube's bottom line profits, would he?

The Message Is Clear

Quick lubes and petroleum motor oil manufacturing companies are going to perpetuate the 3,000 mile oil change myth as long as we will allow them to do so. It's in their best interests, but it is NOT in your best interests. Nor is it in the best interests of our environment.

Consider this account by the New York Times, using as its source the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API): "Each year, 1.2 BILLION gallons of lubricating oil are used in vehicles; 600 million gallons are burned up in engines, and 600 million gallons are removed at oil change time. Drivers who change their own oil account for 350 million of the removed gallons, and they improperly discard 240 million gallons of used oil." ¹

Dumping 240 million gallons of oil is nearly the same as two Exxon Valdez spills each month. Improperly dumped waste oil seeps through landfills into ground water, disrupts bacterial digestion in sewer treatment plants (causing even more pollution), and washes into lakes and harbors. And we have no confident estimate of what happens to "properly" discarded waste oil. In 1989, there were only four re-finers left in the U.S. They processed a total of only 50 million gallons of the 600 million gallons theoretically possible.²

And, did you notice that statistic that 600 million gallons of oil are "burned up" in engines? That is what is referred to as oil consumption and engines these days run so hot and are so overworked, they are burning more oil now than they did when that statistic was published. If you bring in your vehicle to a GM service rep for "excessive oil consumption", they will tell you that anything less than 1 quart every 2,000 miles is "normal".

There are more vehicles on the road now than ever before, and with more Americans looking to live outside the city while working inside the city, we're putting more miles on our vehicles than ever before. That means, more oil consumption, more oil changes and more fuel usage, all of which pollutes our environment and uses up foreign oil.

Premium Synthetic Oils Offer an Alternative

AMSOIL synthetic extended drain motor oils offer up to 8 times the standard 3,000 mile change interval (25,000 miles between changes). In addition, oil consumption can typically be reduced by 50 to 75% by moving to AMSOIL synthetic oils because they are so much less volatile than petroleum lubes.

Imagine, only changing your oil once per year, paying less money to do it, getting better fuel mileage, extending the life of your vehicles and reducing that much environmental pollution all with a simple switch to a different motor oil. If oil companies started producing better oils capable of extended drains, we could easily cut oil pollution of our air and our ground water by half. HALF!!!

It blows my mind that oil companies have such a contempt for our environment and for the average American consumer as to continue to perpetuate this lie. 3,000 mile oil changes haven't been necessary for decades, and the oil companies know it. But I don't expect you'll be hearing that from them anytime soon.

David McFall of "Lubes & Greases" magazine explains this situation very well in a recent article he wrote. Take a look.