15,000 mile maintenance

[Z71]

I was just reading the GMC magazine they send 2x year. Inside it are some service specials and this one made me laugh. Nitrogen your tires ONLY $32 service special, yet only $14 to rotate the tires. WOW, I wonder how that can hold back from laughing when someone comes in with that coupon for $32 worth of air.

[Z71]

fyi

[Bandit1]

Originally Posted by like2drive

Hi guys,
I have now 3750 miles on my 09 CTS and the oil life remaining indicator still shows 71%. That means, if I go by the indicator, I would change my oil at around 11000 miles. Is that normal? What you guys are doing? In the owners manual, it says to follow by the indicator...

I use AMSOIL and change mine every 5k miles. The DIC usually indicates there is a percentage remaining at the 5k mile mark, depending on the driving conditions. Cheap insurance.

[Big Dad n Mama Crow]

I got taken for almost $400 at my 3,000 mile oil change - stating it needed this expensive synthetic oil - is this really necessary?

I'm due for an oil change soon -

thanks

Mamacrow

[wildman9]

Fortunately I have the maintenance included for the first 4 years, so they change the oil and filter etc twice a year. I put about 10,000 kms a year on my car so thats every 5000 km's.

[Spyke]

Originally Posted by wildman9

Fortunately I have the maintenance included for the first 4 years, so they change the oil and filter etc twice a year. I put about 10,000 kms a year on my car so thats every 5000 km's.

Lucky for you. In quebec, it goes by a minimum of 15% oil life remaining on the OLM or one year for the free maintenance. You can't just go to a dealer after xx miles and ask for the free oil change.

[Z71]

Originally Posted by Big Dad n Mama Crow

I got taken for almost $400 at my 3,000 mile oil change - stating it needed this expensive synthetic oil - is this really necessary?

I'm due for an oil change soon -

thanks

Mamacrow

First of all, changing your oil at 3,000 miles is not needed and it just a big waste of your money as you found out. Any dealer that charged you this much is a crook and never go back there again. You do not need to change your oil every 3,000 miles even if the dealer tells you that. That is a tactic to get you to come in so they can get more money from you.

Yes your car requires synthetic oil in order to maintain warranty. Its does not cost that much. Even the best synthetic oil (AMSOIL is all I ever use) costs less than $10 a quart retail.

June 11, 2008
GM, California to Bust ‘3,000 Mile Myth’
By Nancy DeMarco

General Motors yesterday joined the California Environmental Protection Agency and its Integrated Waste Management Board in the state’s “3,000 Mile Myth” campaign to educate drivers on reducing motor oil consumption by following their automakers’ recommended oil drain intervals.

In response to research showing that 73 percent of California drivers change their oil more frequently than their vehicle manufacturers recommend, the Board has launched a new public information program to educate drivers to follow automaker guidelines for oil change frequency. The program, said the Board, is “designed to bust the 3,000-mile myth, the old mantra that drivers should change their oil every 3,000 miles.”

Unnecessary oil changes, the Board said, generate millions of gallons of waste oil per year and have the potential to pollute the state’s natural resources.

GM said yesterday that it will support the Board’s program to help motorists understand how frequently they need to change their engine oil and the proper methods of doing so. “The traditional 3,000-mile oil change recommendation was based on engine and oil technologies of the past,” GM said.

“General Motors and the California Integrated Waste Management Board share the common goal of reducing the amount of both new and used oil in order to help protect the environment,” said Peter Lord, executive director of GM Service Operations.

“In California alone, more than 2.5 million GM vehicles are equipped with the GM Oil Life System,” said Ron Strayhorn, regional service manager, GM’s Western Region. “Owners of these vehicles can reduce the amount of oil they consume simply by following their GM Oil Life System, which for many drivers can be thousands of miles between changes as opposed to the old standard.”

These 2.5 million vehicles will save 8 million gallons of oil a year if their drivers follow the Oil Life System rather than following a 3,000-mile oil change interval, according to GM. With the Oil Life System, a computer-based software algorithm, vehicles typically need oil changes every 5,000 to 7,000 or even 10,000 miles, depending on operating conditions.

Nationally, there are 31 million GM vehicles with the Oil Life System, GM spokesman Tom Henderson told Lube Report. Following the System rather than a 3,000-mile drain interval could save 100 million gallons of oil annually.

Auto manufacturers today are calling for 5,000-mile to 15,000-mile drain intervals, Jon Myers, communications director for the Board, told Lube Report, “but quick lubes are still saying 3,000 miles, so we need to educate drivers.”

Radio public service announcements are running in California now, Myers said, to convey the message that drivers need to check their auto manufacturers’ recommendations. The Board has also set up a web site, www.3000milemyth.org, with consumer information to support the campaign.

The campaign urges motorists to check and follow their vehicle manufacturers’ guidelines for oil changes, and also to consider using synthetic oils that will allow longer drain intervals.

Estimating that each driver in California drives about 15,000 miles per year, the Board noted that changing oil at 5,000 miles instead of 3,000 miles will reduce the amount of used oil generated by seven or eight quarts, keeping the oil from entering the waste stream and saving the driver about $76 per year.

“When it comes to oil changes, less is more,” said the Board. “You’ll have more money in your wallet by changing your oil less, and fewer oil changes mean less oil that needs to be safely managed and recycled.”

The Board, part of the California EPA, is based in Sacramento, Calif.

[rdharlin]

Mobil 1 is really good oil, and 11,000 or 12,000 miles for a car is not alot of miles for this oil. I ride a Harley motorcycle and have been using Mobil 1 in it for about 7 years now, I change it every 10,000 miles and everything is good with it. Have not bought any for car yet but for my Harley it is $9.50 per quart.

[MoFex]

Many many moons ago a friend of mine worked for Mobil. They developed Mobil 1. It was good for 30,000 miles.
Nobody believed it. And there were some companies that business was at risk. So their Mobil did not advertise it widely.

I came from good old school that said engine oil need to be change twice a year - spring and winter. Then after all season oil was invented - every 10,000 miles. It served me well. Recently (10 years or so) I was told I needed to change oil every 3,000 miles. Why? I asked. Never got a good answer. I follow GM oil life monitor. Only roughly as I change oil every 6,000 miles or so. Never had any problems.

Believe me, 3,000 miles oil change is a myth driving sales to some unscrupulous businesses. Do you need a proof? PM me.

[PAO]

have been using the GMOL system since 2004....now have it in three GM cars (Chevy, Pontiac, Cadillac)...use sythentic on all of them........change about the 25% mark on the GMOL..which usually runs me about 6500-7000 miles between changes....average oil change cost about $65.......Chevy at 150K, Pontiac at 40K and Cad at 17K....not one engine related problem......

[C "T" ess]

I received a maintenance contract when I bought my car. It calls for the dealer to do an oil change every 5 months or 5000 miles. If you don't follow this schedule the contract is canceled. My car is almost a year old and I have about 3500 miles on it- the oil has been changed 2 times and is due again in December.

[MoFex]

Originally Posted by C "T" ess

I received a maintenance contract when I bought my car. It calls for the dealer to do an oil change every 5 months or 5000 miles. If you don't follow this schedule the contract is canceled. My car is almost a year old and I have about 3500 miles on it- the oil has been changed 2 times and is due again in December.

CTS manual recommends following oil life monitor or change oil at least once every 12 months. So your contract is an overkill. It goes against GM recommendations.

[C "T" ess]

I didn't say I agreed with it, but to get the service I have to follow their schedule. Once I start paying for them, timing will be different.

[BobbyV]

The maintenance schedule found in your owners manual will indicate what services are recommended by Cadillac at various mileage points in the vehicle's life. Services recommended by the dealer that are not listed in the owners manual are NOT required to maintain vehicle warranty. Fuel injector cleaning, unlike teeth cleaning, is only required if there's a problem. All major gasoline brands include a detergent to keep fuel injectors clean.

[Dirk]

I think most on this thread are looking at this from the wrong perspective.

It is the manufactures benefit to streeetch the length of oil change intervals as it looks good when Consumer Reports, etc calculate yearly cost of ownership. Yes, if you are in the ownership for the short term, changing the oil at 10K+ mile intervals, you'll nicely get out of the manufacture's warranty period. Which is all they want!

For you, the owner, the best protection you can do is change the oil. 3K intervals may sound extreme, but harsh to normal conditions would certainty recommend it. But with synth. oil, you can go longer, but i wouldn't extend past 7,500K intervals.

Each can argue their perspective, but this is cheap insurance for a long lasting and trouble free engine.

That being said...I also thought my dealer was crazy to want to charge me $300+ for a 15K maintenance. Just change the oil and rotate the tires and I'm good, thank you