Hello everyone!

I am posting in regards to the interval at which I should change my oil. I bought my Monte at a Chrysler dealer a little over a year ago. Part of the deal was that I would have free oil changes for life. Now the first couple times I hit the 3k miles mark I called, set up the appointment and had the job done with no problem. Then all of the sudden they started putting the next oil change sticker at 6k and when I would call for an appointment they would say it didn’t call for 3k. I then would battle by saying that I changed my 3.8l Camaro's oil ever 3k as instructed. They finally say ok but I keep getting the 6k sticker and flack on the phone. I really don’t want to battle every time I call to get it changed.

(They use a standard/synthetic blend and change the filter every time)

So my question is: Should I continue to battle for 3k or accept the 6k?

Thanks for any info!

Anthony

 

i dont change mine in my 06 every 3k i follow the oil life monitor or close to it. when its at like 30%-15% i change it, but if i were getting free oil changes and that was part of the deal that was made then i would definitely make them change it every 3k.

 

First, you may want to check the wording in the "free oil changes for life" and see if they have any disclaimers.
I think your best bet to settle the dispute is look at what the manufacturer recommends for the oil change interval (I admit, I never checked GMs recommended interval). That interval is also dependent on type of miles (highway or city) and type of oil used. Since the free oil changes for life is to help promote keeping a car they sold on the road, I would think it would be in their best interest to adhere to GM's recommendation.

Me personally, I use conventional oil in all my cars and I change my oil on all my cars between 3-5K. I will NOT go beyond 5K. I base this on my opinion of what the oil looks like within that mileage range. And anyone can say what they will, but I am proudly still driving a '94 3100 v6 Grand Am that recently crossed 200K on it, and since I owned it at 86K, that has been my practice. The motor still runs like new.

 

Well the owner’s manual said that I need to change the oil when the light comes on because it monitors multiple variables to decide when to change it. But it did say that if you accidently reset the oil monitor then change it no later than 3k after it has been reset.

I'm just getting tired of battling every time I call :/

 

Then in my opinion, the manual just told you 3K miles is your change interval. I go by what the manufacture says before a shop trying to shave money when they offered the oil change package. If they want to argue, show the book....

 

Thanks everyone!


The battle continues

 

i dont even know what my manual says about it, but i always change it every 3k no matter what. i commute about 40 miles every day to college, and i want to keep my engine running at its peak all the time. i take my car to a private garage with a trusted mechanic, also a family friend who builds drag racing and NASCAR engines.
also, im not sure if the 3800 V6 is a flat-tapping engine or not, but until i know i will NEVER use synthetic oil in it. even if i learn otherwise, ill most likely stick to conventional.

 

The owner and service manual for my 2004 Monte says to change the oil by the oil life system. A "Change Engine Oil" message will display in the information center when its time to change oil.

If this system is reset accidently or not reset at all, then you change it every 3,000 miles. Most of the people that I've known or read about say they go around 6,000 miles before the message comes up. Some even go as high as 7,500 miles.

I've always been an every 3,000 mile oil change guy so its hard for me to go longer than that. I've only changed the oil once since I bought the car last Dec. so I have not decided if I'm going to use the OLM or change it at 3,000 miles. Good luck.

Wayne

 

ive always done 3k for conventional, and 5k for synthetic... Never made any exceptions for either. Some people say you can go as far as 10k on synthetic.

 

I run conventional, stick between 3-5K. I might be able to strech the change intervals longer, but this method has worked great on all my cars so far (sadly two were wrecked 1-2 years after owning the cars, but my '94 Grand Am is still running great past 200K on it).