I just did my second oil change on my SRX this weekend and decided to snap some pics to help some of you diy-ers out there.

First off, I recommend not going by the oil life monitor on our cars. My car had 7k miles since its last oil change and the oil is noticeably black, but the monitor still read 100% oil life. I called the Cadillac sevice department and asked about it, and they said to go by the monitor. That it should be smart enough to know when it needs the oil change, or go ahead and change it once a year if the monitor hasn't told you to do it yet. At only 3 months (7k miles) and seeing how black the oil was I decided to go ahead and change the oil. The first oil change was done at the dealer for a whopping $65! This time, I bought the supplies for only $30 (6 qts Mobile1at Costco for $24 and a Wix oil filter at Oreilly's for $6) and did it myself.

Here are the simplified steps:

1) Have the engine warm.
2) Secure front of car on ramps or jack and stands.
3)Remove oil filler cap (Marked with "Mobile1 SAE 5W-30").
4) Remove drain plug (13mm socket) and let oil drain out.
http://home.austin.rr.com/vdo/pics/misc/srx_oil01.jpg

5) Remove oil filter cap (15/16" socket). The oil filter will be stuck to this cap.
http://home.austin.rr.com/vdo/pics/misc/srx_oil02.jpg

6) Swap out oil filter and reinstall.
http://home.austin.rr.com/vdo/pics/misc/srx_oil03.jpg

7) Tighten oil drain plug.
8) Fill with 5 1/2 qts of oil and tighten oil filler cap.
9) Start engine, let idle for a little bit, and shut off.
10) Check for leaks and check new oil level.
11) Reset Oil Life Monitor (see owners manual)

This post is not meant to advise everyone to change there own oil, especially if you are not mechanically inclined. I just want to give an idea of what's involved and how much money can be saved.

[QUOTE=vdo]I just did my second oil change on my SRX this weekend and decided to snap some pics to help some of you diy-ers out there.

First off, I recommend not going by the oil life monitor on our cars. My car had 7k miles since its last oil change and the oil is noticeably black, but the monitor still read 100% oil life. I called the Cadillac sevice department and asked about it, and they said to go by the monitor. That it should be smart enough to know when it needs the oil change, or go ahead and change it once a year if the monitor hasn't told you to do it yet. At only 3 months (7k miles) and seeing how black the oil was I decided to go ahead and change the oil. The first oil change was done at the dealer for a whopping $65! This time, I bought the supplies for only $30 (6 qts Mobile1at Costco for $24 and a Wix oil filter at Oreilly's for $6) and did it myself. [QUOTE]



I just took mine in to get changed for the first time. I had 7,000 miles on it and the monitor said 30% oil life left. I am also taking care of the recall for some wahers or something on the front end.

My dealer gave me a card for free oil changes for the first 3 years of ownership. Maybe it's just from this dealership and not a Cadillac thing. It's call the "VIP Platinum Club"

It's looks like a credit card and teh back of teh card states that I get

Free oil changes for 3 years
10% off repairs
pick-up and delivery services
loaners
complimentary car washes

It is not possible to determine if the oil needs to be changed by looking at it. It would be interesting for someone to get an oil analysis performed at the computer recommended oil change interval.

Thanks for the pics. I did not know the oil filter was on top.

Thanks for the very informative post!

It is interesting to note that GM is using cartridge oil filters like they did in the 1950's!

One question: Is there any oil spillage when you remove the cannister?

One question: Is there any oil spillage when you remove the cannister?
I didn't notice any oil dripping from the filter when I removed it. Just have a rag ready just in case tho.

Our SRX gets driven mainly in town traffic and has yet to make a long trip. After 6 months it had 3600 miles on it and the oil life monitor showed 61% oil life remaining. From what I have read in other posts it seems the monitor is set for 10K miles and very little variation due to length of trips, external temperatures or dust and dirt conditions. For the $30 self-service oil and filter change, I will continue to change the oil at least every 6 months just for my own sense of well being.

One of the jobs the oil performs inside your engine is the removal of dirt. If the oil was clean after 7K miles or whatever, it would not be doing its job. Darker than new oil is OK as long as it is still lulbricating and cleaning (which it is as long as you're using a good filter (wix?!?!?!))

The oil life monitor is not set at 10K miles with no variation. The oil life monitor calculates how much wear the oil has seen based on engine speeds, gear selection, throttle position, etc. and determines when the oil needs to be changed based on your driving habits and duty cycle.

If it is piece of mind for you to change your oil earlier than the monitor suggests, by all means do what makes you happy. You're replacing oil that still had much service life available, but again it is your car.

I posted this in another thread but here is a lot of info on how the system works. Below this is the link to the full story. It is not unusual for oil to last 10,000 miles or more although the companies that change your oil will have you think so. Like it was said above, if it makes you comfortable to change it more often, go right ahead. It obviously cant hurt.


The patented engine oil change technology involves computerized monitoring of engine revolutions, operating temperature, and other factors to optimize the change interval selection. The typical recommended interval for gasoline-fueled passenger cars and light-duty trucks is 3,000 miles (4,800 km) or three months, whichever first occurs, when outside temperatures are below freezing and trips are short. These conditions are considered severe duty. For ideal driving conditions, relating to long trips with mild outside temperatures, the interval can be expanded to 7,500 miles (12,000 km). Starting with the 2000 model year on certain vehicles, GM will raise the maximum mileage allowed for Oil-Life System-equipped vehicles to between 10,000 and 15,000 miles (16,000 and 25,000 km), depending on vehicle brand and engine.



http://www.noria.com/learning_center/category_article.asp?articleid=77&relatedbookgroup=Lubrication

Thanks for all the input about oil changes for our cars. After reading some of you guys' posts, I think the oil life monitor on my car is defective. Wouldn't you think after 7k miles that the oil life should at least go down a little? Instead it still reads 100%. That is what caused me to get a little nervous and go ahead with the oil change. On top of that, I drive a lot of short distances in traffic (daily commuter car) and I can't say I drive like a granny either.

All things considered, I'll probably go ahead and change my oil every 7,000 miles regardless of what the OLM says. It may not be the most efficient thing to do, but at least it'll give me some peace of mind.

Next time I go to the dealer, I'll have to look into getting one of those VIP cards. I wonder if this card gives us any discount on parts? I remember when I bought my Honda Accord, I got a card that gave me 15% all in-stock parts and accessories for the duration of my ownership.

Thanks for all the input about oil changes for our cars. After reading some of you guys' posts, I think the oil life monitor on my car is defective. Wouldn't you think after 7k miles that the oil life should at least go down a little?

I think it definitely is defective. It should be going down as the miles accumulate. Our SRX is my wife's car and it mostly is used for short in-town trips. I think it will indicate an oil change below the 10K others are seeing. In any event, the OLM has been decreasing steadily since day 1. There is something wrong with the one in your vehicle.

It depends on his driving schedule though. If he's driving alot of highway miles, then I am not surprised that his OLM wasn't saying to change the oil, compared to city driving which is much more demanding.

Additionally, the HFV6 engine in your SRX specs Mobil1 synthetic oil from the factory, which is designed to last much longer than convention oil. I run Amsoil 5w30 synthetic for 25,000 miles between changes, and it worked for me for 298,000 miles (on one vehicle) so far.

But as you stated - do what you feel is right, it certainly cannot hurt to change the oil more often. But a properly functioning OLM does a great job of telling you when it's time, and if anything, the OLM is a bit conservative.

[QUOTE=TheTwins]It depends on his driving schedule though. If he's driving alot of highway miles, then I am not surprised that his OLM wasn't saying to change the oil, compared to city driving which is much more demanding.
[QUOTE]

I believe his concern was that the OLM still said "100%", not that it didn't say it was time to change the oil. His OLM is clearly defective or else somehow his oil has a near infinite useful life. Reailistically, after 7000 miles, surely the % should have dropped from 100. It is supposed to drop down in small increments of 1 or 2, not from 100 to zero.

I believe his concern was that the OLM still said "100%", not that it didn't say it was time to change the oil. His OLM is clearly defective or else somehow his oil has a near infinite useful life. Reailistically, after 7000 miles, surely the % should have dropped from 100. It is supposed to drop down in small increments of 1 or 2, not from 100 to zero.

Exactly. And the miles on my car are mostly from city driving.

I have properly reset the OLM after this oil change, and will keep an eye on it to see if it moves. If not, I'll probably bring it in for service.

[QUOTE=vdo]Thanks for all the input about oil changes for our cars. After reading some of you guys' posts, I think the oil life monitor on my car is defective. Wouldn't you think after 7k miles that the oil life should at least go down a little? Instead it still reads 100%. That is what caused me to get a little nervous and go ahead with the oil change. On top of that, I drive a lot of short distances in traffic (daily commuter car) and I can't say I drive like a granny either.

All things considered, I'll probably go ahead and change my oil every 7,000 miles regardless of what the OLM says. It may not be the most efficient thing to do, but at least it'll give me some peace of mind....QUOTE]


The is from an earlier post I made in July. We are a V6 AWD @6997 miles and 43% remaining on oil life. Tranny fluid shows 57%. 4,000 + on the highway. Usually do not drive over 75 but do reach for the floor when required on entrance ramp or passing. The V6 is about 2300 RPM @ 70 MPH. In the Smokys did lots of downshifting on the two lane roads. On the interstate the RPM's get up fairly high to hold 70 MPH climbing a 6% grade. Based on the percent of life left at this point we will be @ 12,275 before it says it needs to be changed. I have not changed the oil yet.

Did you ever notice that most of the people advocating 3000 mile oil changes are the people who make money selling oil?

Did you ever notice that most of the people advocating 3000 mile oil changes are the people who make money selling oil?

Exactly! We've had the 3,000 mile thing drilled in our heads for years and it's just not true anymore. The technology with the synthetic oils and the engines these days make it possible to go 10,000 miles and more without any problems.

The last 3 or 4 cars I've bought had oil change intervals somewhere around 7,000 miles in the manual.

VDO,

Thanks for the excellent post on the oil change for a SRX V6. One question, while did you put 5.5 qts when the manual says 6qts?

My car had 7k miles since its last oil change and the oil is noticeably black, but the monitor still read 100% oil life.

No disrespect, but were you looking at the oil life monitor or transmission service monitor? They are one step apart on the DIC and the trans service figure stays at about 100% for quite a while.

VDO,

Thanks for the excellent post on the oil change for a SRX V6. One question, while did you put 5.5 qts when the manual says 6qts?When I wrote this how-to, it seems that putting in 5.5 qts would get me to the full mark on the dip stick. Being that the car was fairly new, I didn't want to risk over-oiling. Nowadays, for the sake of convenience (Mobile1 comes in a 6-pack), I put in 6 qts. The oil level on the dip stick shows about a centimeter over the full mark, but it doesn't seem to do any harm.

No disrespect, but were you looking at the oil life monitor or transmission service monitor? They are one step apart on the DIC and the trans service figure stays at about 100% for quite a while.Thanks for looking out, but yes, it was my engine oil monitor. After I reset it, it works fine now. Somehow, it came from the factory stuck at 100%.

I have a question on oil filters (Re N*V8). I note that the Mobil 1 brand filters seem to be hard to locate (and cost about double that of many others such as ACDelco - what my Cad dealer installed - Fram, Puralator, Pennzoil, etc). Does anyone have facts or suggestions on filters and are filters different for synthetic vs regular oils?? Thanks in advance.

Great Tips..... Thank you very much especially the pics!

Any tips or pics for V8's?

Thanks!

Does anyone have facts or suggestions on filters and are filters different for synthetic vs regular oils?? Thanks in advance.

The filter you use is not dependent on the type of oil you use. That said, there are enormous differences in filters on the market. In general, there are paper filters, synthetic blend filters (primarily cellulose, synthetic and glass blend media) and full synthetic filters. Their cost varies as much as their ability to filtrate and flow. Another factor is the quality of the construction.

Again, in general, a filter that filters well, will not flow well. But last year AMSOIL, in partnership with Donaldson and Wix, developed and released a new line of full synthetic air and oil filters that not only filter extremely well, they don't do it at the cost of flow. I now use these in all my vehicles:
AMSOIL Ea Oil Filter (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/Product%20Bulletins/EAOPB.htm)
AMSOIL Ea Air Filter (http://www.c66racing-synthetics.com/Product%20Bulletins/EAPB.htm)

If you are interested, you can find the applicable filters for any of your vehicles here:
AMSOIL Online Product Application Guide (http://www.amsoil.com/redirect.cgi?zo=1206638&page=appguide)
:cheers:

VDO, I am having problems viewing the pics on the website you provided. The website you provided is sending me to a roadrunner website. Help with viewing pictures.

Flex