1st Oil Change Questions - Warranty voiding...

[SurfRebel20]

I understand the drive to change one's own oil but my dealership has a coupon on site that sells 3 oil changes (full synthetic w/filter and tire rotation) for $154.95. (Semi synthetic - $99.99) That's close to the price of the oil and filter. If you're that concerned why not check the dealers site and if they offer something like this give them a call and let them do it. I certainly will after I get the three free ones done that I got for buying it there. They use Pennzoil full at my dealership.

you can change your own oil about 3 times for the price of 150$. full synthetic and mopar oil filter. im on my 3rd self done oil change, usually runs 50-60$ depending on oil deals at the time. it takes about 30-40 minutes instead of spending hours at a dealership too which is why i mainly do it.

 

[securityguy]

I have been changing my own oil for over 20 years, but I definitely don’t want to void the warranty by doing it myself.

You can never void your warranty by changing your own oil unless you use oil that is not recommended for your vehicle.

 

[SD Rebel]

I have been changing my own oil for over 20 years, but I definitely don’t want to void the warranty by doing it myself.

You can't void the factory 5 year / 60K powertrain warranty by doing it yourself, unless you screw it up somehow, which is unlikely or you fail to change the oil by the maximum time (1 year) or maximum mileage (10,000). Just make sure to keep your receipts for oil & filter, and keep a log of the date & mileage of your oil changes.

However, you can void some of those aftermarket 100K 3rd party warranties that can specify only getting the oil done at a certain dealership, usually because the warranty is tied to the dealership or something like that.

 

[theblet]

Thanks. I was going to wait until the oil life monitor said to change it. Should I go it before if it’s 10,000 miles?

 

[SD Rebel]

Thanks. I was going to wait until the oil life monitor said to change it. Should I go it before if it’s 10,000 miles?

As per the manual, go by the maintenance monitor, however it states never go beyond 1 year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first, assuming your monitor hasn't gone off yet.

Also, make sure for your first oil change, keep the first oil filter, it states on it "Factory Installed", on the bottom of the filter. Probably not really important to hold on it, it's really there for the dealer to make sure you didn't skip on your first oil change, but I would keep it just in case. Just empty it, put it in a plastic zip lock and store it upside down in your new filter's box. After your warranty period is over, you can get rid of it.

Funny thing is, there is a guy here who did his 2nd oil change as a DIY, the dealer did the first oil change. The filter he removed said "Factory Installed", which means the dealership didn't replace his filter on his first oil change!

That is the reason why I only do my own oil changes.

 

[bwsRam19]

I change my own oil, mainly because I don't want some kid doing a half *** job, dinging up my truck, getting oil, grease etc. in my vehicle, and I don't like people in general, so avoiding confrontation is always a plus.

 

[SD Rebel]

I change my own oil, mainly because I don't want some kid doing a half *** job, dinging up my truck, getting oil, grease etc. in my vehicle, and I don't like people in general, so avoiding confrontation is always a plus.

Exactly, so many scenarios, I hate paying people to do a worse job than me.

We have free oil changes for 2 years with our new Toyota C-HR, but after the oil change, I noticed it was overfilled by 1/4 quart, lol. I honestly would have been surprised if I didn't find anything wrong.

 

[brotherGood]

You can never void your warranty by changing your own oil unless you use oil that is not recommended for your vehicle.

When I worked for Hyundai, they would void the warranty if it wasn't a Hyundai brand filter. It could be the exact same filter from the parts store, but if it didn't say "Hyundai" on it..you were out of luck.

I'd heard enough horror stories from FCA techs to know FCA warranty work is just as bad. It also hurts your resale value if you do not show oil changes.

For the toy or anything outside of warranty, I do all my own work. Anything that'd be questionable, it's going in to be done and tracked. Call it the CYA approach.

 

[theblet]

As per the manual, go by the maintenance monitor, however it states never go beyond 1 year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first, assuming your monitor hasn't gone off yet.

Also, make sure for your first oil change, keep the first oil filter, it states on it "Factory Installed", on the bottom of the filter. Probably not really important to hold on it, it's really there for the dealer to make sure you didn't skip on your first oil change, but I would keep it just in case. Just empty it, put it in a plastic zip lock and store it upside down in your new filter's box. After your warranty period is over, you can get rid of it.

Funny thing is, there is a guy here who did his 2nd oil change as a DIY, the dealer did the first oil change. The filter he removed said "Factory Installed", which means the dealership didn't replace his filter on his first oil change!

That is the reason why I only do my own oil changes.

Good idea. The truck had 13k miles on it when I bought it used so it probably already got it’s first oil change.

maybe I should keep running the mopar filter to be safe tho. I’m guessing the ones at autozone are the same as the dealer. I also like to run mobile 1 full synthetic.

 

[securityguy]

When I worked for Hyundai, they would void the warranty if it wasn't a Hyundai brand filter. It could be the exact same filter from the parts store, but if it didn't say "Hyundai" on it..you were out of luck.

Sorry, but I call BS on this statement above!

 

[securityguy]

Good idea. The truck had 13k miles on it when I bought it used so it probably already got it’s first oil change.

maybe I should keep running the mopar filter to be safe tho. I’m guessing the ones at autozone are the same as the dealer. I also like to run mobile 1 full synthetic.

NEVER assume anything when buying a truck or a car used. You can certainly use MOPAR or Mobil1 and WIX-XP filters are far better for not much more. Your warranty cannot be voided over a high quality oil filter as long as it meets the required OEM specs.

 

[jdefoe0424]

When I worked for Hyundai, they would void the warranty if it wasn't a Hyundai brand filter. It could be the exact same filter from the parts store, but if it didn't say "Hyundai" on it..you were out of luck.

I'd heard enough horror stories from FCA techs to know FCA warranty work is just as bad. It also hurts your resale value if you do not show oil changes.

For the toy or anything outside of warranty, I do all my own work. Anything that'd be questionable, it's going in to be done and tracked. Call it the CYA approach.

Per the Moss-Magnusson act, if the OEM requires you to use an exact specific product, they must provide it for free.

 

[41magmag41]

I understand the drive to change one's own oil but my dealership has a coupon on site that sells 3 oil changes (full synthetic w/filter and tire rotation) for $154.95. (Semi synthetic - $99.99) That's close to the price of the oil and filter. If you're that concerned why not check the dealers site and if they offer something like this give them a call and let them do it. I certainly will after I get the three free ones done that I got for buying it there. They use Pennzoil full at my dealership.

ditto, I did the same thing and no clean up.

 

[SD Rebel]

When I worked for Hyundai, they would void the warranty if it wasn't a Hyundai brand filter. It could be the exact same filter from the parts store, but if it didn't say "Hyundai" on it..you were out of luck.

I'd heard enough horror stories from FCA techs to know FCA warranty work is just as bad. It also hurts your resale value if you do not show oil changes.

For the toy or anything outside of warranty, I do all my own work. Anything that'd be questionable, it's going in to be done and tracked. Call it the CYA approach.

I have to say, I've traded in 4 vehicles in the last 10 years, and not one of them asked to see any oil change receipts or records. My 2015 F150 was traded in on my RAM, and I got more money for it than I thought possible, while getting 25% off my new Rebel. Not one mention of oil changes, which were done by me.

I guess if you sell it to someone in a private sale, they want to see maintenance receipts. Which I have my own logs and receipts for my oil changes, I will have the dealership do the "major services" should I still have it when I get to that point.

 

[SD Rebel]

Good idea. The truck had 13k miles on it when I bought it used so it probably already got it’s first oil change.

maybe I should keep running the mopar filter to be safe tho. I’m guessing the ones at autozone are the same as the dealer. I also like to run mobile 1 full synthetic.

Absolutely, I run the OEM filter to make sure there isn't any excuse from the dealership should I have an issue. After the 5 year/60K powertrain is up, then use what you like.

Here is my DIY write-up for my first oil change, you shouldn't have an issue with a tight filter since the first one was already done, but some tips for you here: https://5thgenrams.com/community/th...ose-interested-in-trying-it-themselves.22172/

 

[theblet]

Thanks!

 

[SpeedyV]

I have to say, I've traded in 4 vehicles in the last 10 years, and not one of them asked to see any oil change receipts or records. My 2015 F150 was traded in on my RAM, and I got more money for it than I thought possible, while getting 25% off my new Rebel. Not one mention of oil changes, which were done by me.

I guess if you sell it to someone in a private sale, they want to see maintenance receipts. Which I have my own logs and receipts for my oil changes, I will have the dealership do the "major services" should I still have it when I get to that point.

That’s the thing...I never trade vehicles in, as a dealership doesn’t care about all of the extra love I’ve given my vehicles.

But private buyers sure do. When I share a spreadsheet with them and hand over a binder, they will purchase without hesitation. In fact, the first person to come out and see any vehicle I’ve listed for sale has always bought it, without exception.

 

[securityguy]

That’s the thing...I never trade vehicles in, as a dealership doesn’t care about all of the extra love I’ve given my vehicles.

But private buyers sure do. When I share a spreadsheet with them and hand over a binder, they will purchase without hesitation. In fact, the first person to come out and see any vehicle I’ve listed for sale has always bought it, without exception.

Very nice and totally agree...but did they have a Pedal Commander???

 

[SD Rebel]

That’s the thing...I never trade vehicles in, as a dealership doesn’t care about all of the extra love I’ve given my vehicles.

But private buyers sure do. When I share a spreadsheet with them and hand over a binder, they will purchase without hesitation. In fact, the first person to come out and see any vehicle I’ve listed for sale has always bought it, without exception.

Absolutely, I've sold privately motorcycles the same way, except my binder has my receipts for supplies and my maintenance log. No issues without dealership paperwork for oil changes. The shop receipts I do have are for things I can't do or don't want to do, like tires and major services that handle mandatory inspections, tranny fluid and brakes, stuff like that.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Some people have way too much free time on their hands. Why on earth anyone would want to rotate their own tires is beyond me. Discount Tire does it for free. I'm in & out of there in 30 minutes. Oil changes at the dealership. Semi synthetic is fine. I also use 87 octane gas which some people spaz out about on this forum. It's just a truck. I also go to a car wash with brushes.

You sir are causing a lot of hand wringing and nail biting...