When are you doing your first oil change?

[SpeedyV]

Just took possession of my new truck. Build date was 12/18 and sat on the lot for 6 months. I only drive about 8k miles a year. What would you recommend I perform my first oil change? I'm thinking it should be sooner than later? And how often after the first one given I don't put many miles on the truck (mostly around town to/from commuter lot, errands, etc. Very few long trips). MOPAR has a special going on where you can buy a 3-pack of Full Synthetic Oil changes & Tire Rotations for $154.95 which seems like a really good deal.

I wouldn’t rush it. The factory fill hasn’t aged much if the truck’s just been sitting. I did my first oil change at 3K, and I plan to do it annually (I typically put 7-8K per year on my truck).

 

[tdager]

When my truck tells me too....

I know this topic is like guns and religion, but man how do people put so much trust and faith in the engineers and designers at FCA for everything else (heck you put yourself in a 4000lb+ vehicle and hurtle yourself and your family down the road in it) but simply do not trust the engine engineers?

FCA would have to cover issues with extended oil usage if they got it wrong, it is critical for them to get this right, and yet so many still say to change the oil at 1K, 3K, 5K miles. Yes you can do what you want with your vehicle but for all-that-is-right-in-the-world why is this one thing where people just refuse to change?

 

[SpeedyV]

I know this topic is like guns and religion, but man how do people put so much trust and faith in the engineers and designers at FCA for everything else (heck you put yourself in a 4000lb+ vehicle and hurtle yourself and your family down the road in it) but simply do not trust the engine engineers?

FCA would have to cover issues with extended oil usage if they got it wrong, it is critical for them to get this right, and yet so many still say to change the oil at 1K, 3K, 5K miles. Yes you can do what you want with your vehicle but for all-that-is-right-in-the-world why is this one thing where people just refuse to change?

I agree with your logic.

Living in Texas, in a dusty environment, the argument could be made to follow the Severe Duty schedule ("Change Engine Oil at 4,000 miles or 350 hours of engine run time...). I'm not that aggressive. I did choose to do my first oil change at a little over 3K miles, but it was mostly to upgrade the oil (switch to PUP full synthetic) and filter (M1 EP).

Aside from my first oil change, I plan to follow FCA's recommendations by performing an annual oil change (i.e. "Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10,000 miles, twelve months or 350 hours of engine run time..."). I will put maybe 7-8K miles on the truck per year.

There are other factors in play here (for all automakers):

• From a liability perspective, these companies need the powertrain to survive the warranty period with minimal claims. That's it. Accordingly, they'll provide a maintenance schedule that gives them a high degree of confidence in achieving this goal.
• Beyond that, they're off the hook, with two notable exceptions:
  • (1) extended warranties - carefully priced to cover the most common issues that might occur during the extended period, and
  • (2) reputation - this is subjective, but it's critical. If every HEMI makes it through the warranty period without issue but blows up at 70K miles, FCA will have a nightmare on their hands. With that in mind, the recommendations provided in the owner's manual (which extend to 10 years or 150K miles) are likely intended to achieve a reasonable balance of cost versus longevity.

I bought a "Lifetime MaxCare" warranty. Time will tell if/when I'll ever use it.

 

[Jtr]

This sounds like my plan as well. With the study analysis on the PUP performance I feel comfortable with this approach. I will average about 10k miles driven per yr, give or take so that would be an oil change about every 10-11 months. I'll watch the oil % level instrument cluster as well and won't let it get below 20% life.

Aside from my first oil change, I plan to follow FCA's recommendations by performing an annual oil change (i.e. "Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10,000 miles, twelve months or 350 hours of engine run time..."). I will put maybe 7-8K miles on the truck per year.

 

[rrbhokies]

This sounds like my plan as well. With the study analysis on the PUP performance I feel comfortable with this approach. I will average about 10k miles driven per yr, give or take so that would be an oil change about every 10-11 months. I'll watch the oil % level instrument cluster as well and won't let it get below 20% life.

I keep hearing about the PUP full synthetic. Anyone know what the Dealers use when they do their full synthetic oil changes? I mentioned in a previous post that MOPAR offers 3 oil changes & tire rotations for $155 (up to 5qts. of full synthetic). Only catch is that once bought they expire in 2 years, which is actually pretty good then for me since if I'm only going to drive about 8k per year, I could use one initially and then use the other two within the next 2 years. So is MOPAR ok, or should I eventually look into a shop that uses PUP?

 

[Jtr]

I keep hearing about the PUP full synthetic. Anyone know what the Dealers use when they do their full synthetic oil changes? I mentioned in a previous post that MOPAR offers 3 oil changes & tire rotations for $155 (up to 5qts. of full synthetic). Only catch is that once bought they expire in 2 years, which is actually pretty good then for me since if I'm only going to drive about 8k per year, I could use one initially and then use the other two within the next 2 years. So is MOPAR ok, or should I eventually look into a shop that uses PUP?

I think that is a pretty solid deal. Compared to the price of DIY supplies and taking into account the time loss to do it yourself, it makes complete sense to the busy person that doesn't have time to do it themselves. I like getting under the truck and doing it myself because, a) I know it is being done right b) it is cheaper and quicker for me given the drive time to my dealership, and c) I actually enjoy it. As to the PUP question, yes that is what my dealer uses. I bought my recent PUP batch from them. It is cheaper to go through walmart though.

 

[SpeedyV]

I keep hearing about the PUP full synthetic. Anyone know what the Dealers use when they do their full synthetic oil changes? I mentioned in a previous post that MOPAR offers 3 oil changes & tire rotations for $155 (up to 5qts. of full synthetic). Only catch is that once bought they expire in 2 years, which is actually pretty good then for me since if I'm only going to drive about 8k per year, I could use one initially and then use the other two within the next 2 years. So is MOPAR ok, or should I eventually look into a shop that uses PUP?

They typically use Pennzoil Platinum for this. From what others have said, dealers don't even stock Pennzoil Ultra Platinum.

My truck (Texas purchase) came with four free "synthetic blend" oil changes and four tire rotations to be used in the first two years. I asked about upgrading to "full synthetic", and they said they'd use Pennzoil Platinum for $30 per oil change. I'm paying only a little bit more than that to use PUP and M1 oil filters by changing the oil myself, and I don't have to leave my garage. So I'll just use a couple of the free tire rotations.

 

[cotonymopar]

6000 miles.... mobil 1 full synth extended for about 5500-7500 miles... been that way for all three of my hemis, and my 360... never had a problem..

 

[gmab]

I just did my first oil change today at 3,500 miles. Wanted to do it a bit earlier but didn't get around to it.
Agree with others that the filter location is terrible. For future changes I installed a Fumoto Valve to prevent the oil from draining onto the crossbar.

 

[rceagle1a]

I appreciate and respect everyone’s point of view here on the oil change intervals. But the industry that I work in, and dealing with customers having problems every day, I am not going to buy into the saving money or factory 10,000 mile oil change BS because I know better from the job that I do. I will change my oil every 3000 miles no matter what the manual or the screen says on my dash. If you choose to go longer that is your choice but please do those of us that change in a shorter interval a favor and honestly report back here when you have engine problems down the road, because you run a very good chance that you will. Engineers do a good job these days building products but you need to remember all companies are out to make money and their oil weight recommendations and oil change intervals are, whether people like to believe it or not, driven to sell vehicles first and definitely parts second. I wonder why it takes so long to develop a new vehicle, Well in my field of work I know why, because the manufacturer builds the first Prototypes tests them, and sees when parts fail. Then they make adjustments to make the parts fail in a certain amount of time, and if you think that is conspiracy you have your head in the sand. I don’t care what brand you buy the parts are designed to fail in a certain amount of time. The engineers cannot control that exactly, but they can surely get it close and usually it is just outside the manufacturer warranty period ironically.

 

[SpeedyV]

I appreciate and respect everyone’s point of view here on the oil change intervals. But the industry that I work in, and dealing with customers having problems every day, I am not going to buy into the saving money or factory 10,000 mile oil change BS because I know better from the job that I do. I will change my oil every 3000 miles no matter what the manual or the screen says on my dash. If you choose to go longer that is your choice but please do those of us that change in a shorter interval a favor and honestly report back here when you have engine problems down the road, because you run a very good chance that you will. Engineers do a good job these days building products but you need to remember all companies are out to make money and their oil weight recommendations and oil change intervals are, whether people like to believe it or not, driven to sell vehicles first and definitely parts second. I wonder why it takes so long to develop a new vehicle, Well in my field of work I know why, because the manufacturer builds the first Prototypes tests them, and sees when parts fail. Then they make adjustments to make the parts fail in a certain amount of time, and if you think that is conspiracy you have your head in the sand. I don’t care what brand you buy the parts are designed to fail in a certain amount of time. The engineers cannot control that exactly, but they can surely get it close and usually it is just outside the manufacturer warranty period ironically.

I get your argument. I just made that case on another thread, but I also pointed out the counter-argument: no manufacturer can afford a reputation of engines failing shortly after warranties expire.

I’ll keep following the annual oil OCI interval recommended in my owner’s manual for my low-mileage truck in order to ensure my lifetime warranty is honored. (Of course, I’m also running PUP to ensure maximum protection.)

 

[sticker500]

I appreciate and respect everyone’s point of view here on the oil change intervals. But the industry that I work in, and dealing with customers having problems every day, I am not going to buy into the saving money or factory 10,000 mile oil change BS because I know better from the job that I do. I will change my oil every 3000 miles no matter what the manual or the screen says on my dash. If you choose to go longer that is your choice but please do those of us that change in a shorter interval a favor and honestly report back here when you have engine problems down the road, because you run a very good chance that you will. Engineers do a good job these days building products but you need to remember all companies are out to make money and their oil weight recommendations and oil change intervals are, whether people like to believe it or not, driven to sell vehicles first and definitely parts second. I wonder why it takes so long to develop a new vehicle, Well in my field of work I know why, because the manufacturer builds the first Prototypes tests them, and sees when parts fail. Then they make adjustments to make the parts fail in a certain amount of time, and if you think that is conspiracy you have your head in the sand. I don’t care what brand you buy the parts are designed to fail in a certain amount of time. The engineers cannot control that exactly, but they can surely get it close and usually it is just outside the manufacturer warranty period ironically.

Ah ha! You work in the oil industry selling to all oil distributors and are on here just to make us buy more oil. i knew it!!!

I am kidding of course, and I also don't care about when the truck tells to change oil. I do oil/filter and rotate.balance every 5K with PUP and a great filter. Big fan of Amsoil just not the price for 5K intervals.

 

[ForTehNguyen]

do an oil analysis with a Total Base Number (TBN) check and youll see how much oil life you still have left at 3k miles. Its going to be a lot, meaning good oil is being thrown away. Once the TBN drops below a certain level that's when the oil starts losing its ability to resist the acidic byproducts of combustion and start to sludge. I've done oil analysis on our older vehicles doing the same 10k oil change with synthetic oil and synthetic filters and all the engine wear levels are below average with a TBN that easily goes to 10k miles. In one case one of our vehicles can go to 12k but I'll still change it at 10k. When you do a full oil analysis you can start to establish a basis for that vehicle and monitor it over time.

 

[duke2001]

Just took possession of my new truck. Build date was 12/18 and sat on the lot for 6 months. I only drive about 8k miles a year. What would you recommend I perform my first oil change? I'm thinking it should be sooner than later? And how often after the first one given I don't put many miles on the truck (mostly around town to/from commuter lot, errands, etc. Very few long trips). MOPAR has a special going on where you can buy a 3-pack of Full Synthetic Oil changes & Tire Rotations for $154.95 which seems like a really good deal.

Beware , in all likelihood the “tire rotations” are probably just that. You pay separate for balancing. Most like to balance when they rotate the tires.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Ah the oil change interval thread... another never ending discussion.

Old school drivers like me remember the first SAE oil guidelines. We remember the “straight 30 or 40W” discussions/ arguments and recommendations. Remember the scandalous “10w-40”, then the proliferation of 10W, 20-50, etc.
Then came synthetics and unheard of change intervals of 5K or even higher!
How things have changed.

I change mine when i feel like it, never more than 5K unless on a trip. I’ve seen how the military used the oil analysis program and went a long, long time between changes.
Nevertheless I continue to destroy the earth, waste money (and get free coffee and popcorn) by changing between 3 and 5K.

Course living in Phoenix 20 yrs where all driving is “severe” due to high temps and dust helped form that habit.

I will look for the “3 changes for $99” deals, but in the end, I want my baby running on fresh oil and getting checked over even knowing that the service department is a profit center, and to expect an attempted upsell.

Oh and engineering parts to fail after x many duty cycles? I think its more like engineering them to last x many cycles for the cost. Thats why you have a 12 month type battery vs a 48 or 60 month. But then I’m not into the conspiracies, other than my Snickers bar seems a bit smaller than it used to be...

 

[J-Cooz]

I'll do my first one at around 1500km (1000 miles) and switch to full synthetic and then go by the recommended interval then.

 

[cra1g]

Did mine today - 2538 miles. PUP, Wix XP, Fumoto.

Zip-lock bag trick for the filter is the shiz--only a couple of drops on the steering rack boot.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Just FYI, my dealer is advertising a conventional oil special (probably just the 5 qts though) at 2 changes for $50. Probably through the express service so no tire rotation or free car wash.
The regular price is $34.95 for conventional, $49.95 for semi-synthetic and $59.95 for full synthetic. Both the semi and full synth have 3 for $xx specials as well.

So I’m headed in to get the 2K oil changed and the V71 Occupant Restraint Controller recalls done.

Yep, wasting the planet’s resources...

 

[Willwork4truck]

Took it in today, 1975 miles. Got the $25 oil change special, conventional 5W-20 and supposedly no upcharge for the extra qt. Will see about that. Also getting the V71 recall software done.

Update: Well surprise, surprise. They actually did what they said, no upcharge for the 7 qts of 5W20. They billed the oil out at $2.01 per qt and a $7.25 filter... Kinda cheap oil if you ask me!
They also did the V71 recall and when I mentioned the trans “bumped” a bit downshifting, she said they had applied a “181905MB Shifting Update”.

 

[JasonB]

800mi