How Long Will 0W-20 Synthetic Oil Last Before Needing A Change? (And Which Engines Should Use It?)

Whether you drive a highly-strung sports car, or a diesel pickup truck, your engine will require oil — it's the magical fluid that keeps everything cool and lubricated, enabling all moving components to function as they should. Without engine oil, the moving components experience extra friction and will inevitably seize up, trashing your engine in the process.

So, oil is essential, but not any old oil; each engine will have a recommended oil viscosity, and it's imperative that you use oil with the correct thickness. Oils also come in different classifications and types, such as mineral, semi-synthetic, and fully synthetic. Under the microscope here is 0W-20 synthetic oil, a particularly fine oil. One of the main benefits of 0W-20 oil is that it's very thin, which allows it to flow around the engine's internals easily. This is chiefly why more and more manufacturers are turning to it. American brands and Asian automakers, such as Lexus and Toyota, use 0W-20 oil, and some German automakers, like Mercedes-Benz, also recommend the synthetic oil in their cars.

Asking how long engine oil lasts is somewhat like asking how long is a piece of string. Different engines will require oil changes at various intervals; some require changes fairly frequently, whereas other engines — for example, certain engines from the Volkswagen Group — are happy enough being serviced once every 19,000 miles or every 24 months.

For the most part, manufacturers who use 0W-20 synthetic engine oil suggest changing the oil every 10,000 miles or 12 months — whichever comes first. However, under certain conditions, automakers such as Lexus recommend changing 0W-20 oil every 5,000 miles or 6 months. For Lexus engines, this applies specifically to engines that can use the thinner 0W-20 synthetic oil but are otherwise recommended to use conventional oil of a 5W-20 grade.

In the case of a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500, Valvoline recommends either 5W-30 or 0W-20. GMC's advice is to check the oil level and oil life percentage every 7,500 miles, with owners then encouraged to change the oil themselves or at a garage if necessary.