That might be an expensive wait for you . the oil should be changed when it is dark.

I use the mobile synthetic blend which is good for 5,000 miles it's a little more expensive but excellant oil! My dodge Durango is now six years old and I have had the service men tell me my motor still looks brand new! No leaks and I have about 120,000 on it.

My husband drives at least 80 miles round trip to work 5 days a week. He's changing his oil every 5 weeks! Ouch He drives a 2000 Honda Accord and gets good gas mileage - he's at 187,000 so far.

And add the miles to run up to the nearest store (10 miles round trip) for milk, eggs, cigarettes, GAS!

Add going out shopping on the weekend another 80+ miles round trip ......

The results of living in the country in the middle of nothing!
Small town with expensive everything!

Changing your oil is the least expensive way you can extend the life of your vehicle. Oil changes are important! However, they are based on mileage rather than time, as the oil breaks down with usage. If you are concerned about how much time has passed since your last oil change, check your oil. It may be dark, but should look clear. If it looks black, change it!!!! If in doubt, change the oil. It won't hurt a thing. If your vehicle burns oil, be sure to check frequently and keep it in the full zone on the dip stick.

engine oils should be changed ever 3K to 5K miles depending on the type of oil and year of car.
The old vehicles should be changed more often because technology has changed a lot in the past 10 years.
Oil breaks down even when the vehicle is not being used. An acid is formed in the oil during this time and will eat your engine (As me how I know?) causing minute pin holes in the engine block and oil seepage.
To be on the safe side, change the oil as soon as you can. Do not let it go excessively past the mileage or date.

My hubbys know tons and theres no reason you have to change it now! By the way if you were to look at your oil even say 3-5 days after a fresh change it will already have turned dark! from the high temps. :-D 8-)

Thanks for all the responses. I wouldn't jeopardize the engine life of my vehicle, but I also don't want to waste perfectly good oil because the car companies want me in for maintenance before I really need it.

Thanks, that's good to know about the color.

The oil does get old after 3 months, so the best thing is to change it then even if you haven't racked up the mileage. BUT that's the optimal thing to do. There's still plenty of room between optimal and risking your engine. I'd say you could go six months every now and then without a problem.

If you're going to go longer than three months, do it in the summer. Cold winters are more stressful on the engine, so that's when you should invest in more frequent oil changes.

By the way, I've read many times that you don't need to change the oil every 3000 miles, that most cars nowadays only need it changed once every 5000 miles. (Nowadays means anything made from the late 1990s onward.)

my husband was a stickler for changing the oil every three months. i have a 2003 buick and it gets changed every 3 mo. since i don't have my husband to check things i have a dependable auto mechanic that i trust to check everything under my hood each time i have the oil changed. sure takes a load off my mind.