Oil change interesting (bad) info from dealer

[Rlaf75]

My dealer gives me free oil changes for life ( to the original purchaser) a perk to buy from them. They don't use synthetic in the free oil change perk. They put a sticker on the windshield next change is 6 months or 3000 miles what ever comes first.
They didn't even put a mopar filter on it last time. I know because I looked.

They dont use synthetic oil or mopar filters because they arent making any money by giving you "free" oil changes. They will use whatever is cheaper for them as to minimize their losses. As long as the dealer does that and it's on record you should be fine in the event of a warranty claim

 

[Rlaf75]

As far as the service advisors go, most of them dont know what they are talking about. The dealership's goal is to get you in for service as often as they can because they dont make money off of you otherwise. The owners manual is based off of the manufacturer's data. If the owners manual is followed then there's no reason why anyone should have a problem with a warranty claim. They will try to use every excuse they can to deny a claim because it costs them money otherwise. With today's modern oils there is no need to change it every 3k miles under normal conditions. If you're using a quality oil you should have no problem. I've gone by the oil life monitor on my 11 Ram and I had 80k trouble free miles with it. I traded it in on my 21 Ram and I am still going by the oil life monitor using a decent "blend" oil. 7k trouble free miles on it so far. In my opinion, the topic of oil is like politics. Everyone has their own different opinions and the threads usually take a turn for the worse because everyone thinks their way is the right way. I say change it when you want and use whatever oil you want. After all, it's your truck and your money

 

[Cbty2050]

They were on backorder but are now available. We went 2 weeks without Mopar filters at outer dealership. Some larger dealers stock 3000 plus filters at any time.

Maybe, but I just checked the place I bought mine on Amazon and they're in stock. I checked a couple of local stores and they have them too.

 

[Cbty2050]

I run 7500 miles for oil changes. I have been doing it for years. Dealership(where I work) recommends 5000 miles. Most people will run 7000-8000 miles by looking at window stickers. Most advisors I have worked with over the 25 years are really clueless non car people.

 

[66Fuelie]

Holy hell! You drive 60,000 miles a year? What is your occupation? I used to do about 30-35K a year and thought that was a lot when I was a fleet maintenance manager for a large concrete company and had to drive all over Alabama and the Florida Panhandle checking on my shops.

Ya... I retired 5 years ago and hated it. I started my own business of servicing robotics and injection molding machines.
I always average 55-60K a year!
Tg

 

[Ramjack]

They were on backorder but are now available. We went 2 weeks without Mopar filters at outer dealership. Some larger dealers stock 3000 plus filters at any time.

Interesting. My dealer used OEM at my first oil change in Jun/July 2021. I just checked to see what they used at my latest oil change in May 2022 and it's a Napa Gold. I'm not a fan of Napa anything but they didn't go for the cheapest thing available so I'm not upset.

 

[Ramjack]

The oil labs will tell you that time doesn't matter as far as oil is concerned, only mileage. I think this is likely true for a well-functioning engine that doesn't contaminate the oil with fuel or push the oil ph into the corrosive zone.

 

[GKIII]

The oil labs will tell you that time doesn't matter as far as oil is concerned, only mileage. I think this is likely true for a well-functioning engine that doesn't contaminate the oil with fuel or push the oil ph into the corrosive zone.

A TBN analysis will tell you if your oil is corrosive or not.

 

[Grape_Ape]

It took entirely too long for someone to mention oil analysis in this thread. It's been mentioned a hundred times already but she's full of BS. If you buy a quality full synthetic oil then you can easily go 10,000 miles without much oil degradation under normal driving conditions. With regards to filters - some manufacturers (Honda for sure) recommend you leave the filter installed and only replace it every other oil change. I personally change my trucks oil around 7-8000 miles just for the peace of mind. When my oil life monitor gets to around 25-20% then it's time imo. In fact I believe the owners manual states to prepare for oil change at 15%, change it at 10%, and it must be changed before 5% or something to that effect.


If you're interested in educating yourself then I recommend reading some of the logs on the Bob is the oil guy forums. Plenty of people taking risks in the name of research and doing 15k-20k oil change intervals. Then getting the oil analysis done for data collection. I wish I could find my oil analysis report but I'm unsure of where I saved it. I had one done on my commuter running the 0w-20 shell rotella truck full synthetic and pulled it at around 8000 miles. It still had a lot of life left.

 

[dutchman187]

Yes, I have long ago gone through all the bobistheoilguy forums and dove into that. I'm not interested in rehashing all the best oil, how long you actually can run the same oil, or filters conversation here. Just what is actually required to keep warranty. Manual is clear and the service advisor is an idiot.

 

[ramhead]

It took entirely too long for someone to mention oil analysis in this thread. It's been mentioned a hundred times already but she's full of BS. If you buy a quality full synthetic oil then you can easily go 10,000 miles without much oil degradation under normal driving conditions. With regards to filters - some manufacturers (Honda for sure) recommend you leave the filter installed and only replace it every other oil change. I personally change my trucks oil around 7-8000 miles just for the peace of mind. When my oil life monitor gets to around 25-20% then it's time imo. In fact I believe the owners manual states to prepare for oil change at 15%, change it at 10%, and it must be changed before 5% or something to that effect.


If you're interested in educating yourself then I recommend reading some of the logs on the Bob is the oil guy forums. Plenty of people taking risks in the name of research and doing 15k-20k oil change intervals. Then getting the oil analysis done for data collection. I wish I could find my oil analysis report but I'm unsure of where I saved it. I had one done on my commuter running the 0w-20 shell rotella truck full synthetic and pulled it at around 8000 miles. It still had a lot of life left.

I've posted this elsewhere but....I'm old enough to remember when synthetic oil became "a thing". And I remember it was Mobil 1 who was the number one player/pusher of it at the time which was in the later 1970's or so. I have a great memory & I distinctly remember the original Mobil 1 tv commercials about their "new, synthetic oil". The commercial promised you could go 25,000 miles before the an oil change. I can still see the ad in my mind....they had a cartoon type image of a car which then circled the on screen earth (approx 25K miles in circumference) "showing" how far you could go on Mobil 1's "new, synthetic oil" without an oil change with accompanying voiceover stating that.

Now, any info or old advertisement footage of it seems to have been scrubbed from history and cannot be found on the internet (which is strange since I can find old ads for just about anything from the 1950's up on the web...but not this). The conspiracy theorist in me makes me wonder if big oil/car manufacturer's/service places realized they were shooting themselves in the foot & losing big revenues if people bought into the promise of Mobil 1 & 25K oil changes and somehow deep sixed any mention of it from memory (like Men In Black with their memory erase light pulser, lol)...much better to convince people the "best" thing for them was shorter term oil/filter changes (which would also be the "best" thing for oil companies, service depts, etc).

Anyway, I'm not saying someone should try to wait 25K to change oil/filter. But with my 03 Ram I used Mobil 1 oil/filter and did the change every 12K miles or so and never had any issues...had the truck 16 years and it was still going strong last I heard from the guy who bought it.

So, if it makes someone feel good to change oil/filter every 3 or 5K miles that's fine....but what I do know is it makes the oil companies feel REALLY good that people buy into those beliefs and buy their products to do it that often.

 

[Bt10]

What does the manual state in EU? They have different rules and oil standards, usually encouraging long intervals. Anyone From EU care to chime in?

 

[Orion10182011]

Pure BS. Use Synthetic oil and don't worry about it.

 

[Florida RAM]

I've posted this elsewhere but....I'm old enough to remember when synthetic oil became "a thing". And I remember it was Mobil 1 who was the number one player/pusher of it at the time which was in the later 1970's or so. I have a great memory & I distinctly remember the original Mobil 1 tv commercials about their "new, synthetic oil". The commercial promised you could go 25,000 miles before the an oil change. I can still see the ad in my mind....they had a cartoon type image of a car which then circled the on screen earth (approx 25K miles in circumference) "showing" how far you could go on Mobil 1's "new, synthetic oil" without an oil change with accompanying voiceover stating that.

Now, any info or old advertisement footage of it seems to have been scrubbed from history and cannot be found on the internet (which is strange since I can find old ads for just about anything from the 1950's up on the web...but not this). The conspiracy theorist in me makes me wonder if big oil/car manufacturer's/service places realized they were shooting themselves in the foot & losing big revenues if people bought into the promise of Mobil 1 & 25K oil changes and somehow deep sixed any mention of it from memory (like Men In Black with their memory erase light pulser, lol)...much better to convince people the "best" thing for them was shorter term oil/filter changes (which would also be the "best" thing for oil companies, service depts, etc).

Anyway, I'm not saying someone should try to wait 25K to change oil/filter. But with my 03 Ram I used Mobil 1 oil/filter and did the change every 12K miles or so and never had any issues...had the truck 16 years and it was still going strong last I heard from the guy who bought it.

So, if it makes someone feel good to change oil/filter every 3 or 5K miles that's fine....but what I do know is it makes the oil companies feel REALLY good that people buy into those beliefs and buy their products to do it that often.

Yep. Long intervals are generally bad for business. The same has been said about light bulbs. They can be made with virtually unlimited lifespan....but how does a lightbulb company make money if their products never fail?

 

[ramhead]

I checked all over Youtube/internet again to see if I could find any vids of the old Mobil 1 commercials but couldn't. However, I did find an old print ad (the ONLY one I could find anywhere) after searching old images:

 

[SD Rebel]

Here is a page from the most current manual, since we know they haven't revised the engine, it should apply to everyone, circled in red on the bottom regarding synthetic oil. Note, the viscousity for the 5.7L is 0W-20, the other viscosity's I believe are for either the 3.6 or diesels.

On a side note, I always wondered about that brief but loud ticks I get from starting my truck after a short engine run. Essentially, if I tuned on my truck briefly, like say to move it a few feet and then turn it off. When I go to cold start it hours later, I would get a brief 2-3 second ticking sound after cold-start-up, it's noted here on the left side of the manual page. Though it never last more than a few seconds for me, not the possible 30 seconds noted there ....

 

[HemiDude]

Found this and it looks like it is noy just mileage based

The Ram Oil Change Indicator system is not a simple oil quality sensor, but a software-based, algorithm-driven device that takes into account various operating conditions of the engine - the engine size, engine revolutions, and even ethanol levels in the fuel - to determine when the oil needs changing. That said, the computer does not strictly track mileage or the condition of the oil, but also tracks certain driving habits that can affect the life of the oil, as well as driving conditions such as temperature and driving terrain. Lighter, more moderate driving conditions and temperatures will require less frequent oil changes and maintenance, while more severe driving conditions will require more frequent oil changes and maintenance. Read the table below to see how the Oil Change Indicator system determines oil life.

• Note: Engine oil life is dependent not only on the factors listed above, but also on your specific vehicle model, year, and what type of oil is recommended. Check the owner’s manual for more information about what oil is recommended for your vehicle, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our experienced professionals for advice.

Some Ram models have a percentage-based indicator that counts down the oil life as a percentage. Once the information display number reduces from 100% (fresh oil) to 15% (dirty oil), an “OIL CHANGE REQUIRED” light will be trigged on the dashboard information display, giving you ample time to plan ahead to have your vehicle serviced. Every time you start the engine, the engine oil percentage will be displayed. When the information display number reaches 0%, the oil life is over and you begin accumulating negative miles that tell you your vehicle is past due for servicing. Remember: if the vehicle racks up significant negative mileage, the engine is increasingly at risk of damage.

This chart makes me wonder: Does the idle time counter on an e-torque Ram include the minutes "idling" at stops when the truck is on but the engine is stopped?

 

[Jako]

Here is a page from the most current manual, since we know they haven't revised the engine, it should apply to everyone, circled in red on the bottom regarding synthetic oil. Note, the viscousity for the 5.7L is 0W-20, the other viscosity's I believe are for either the 3.6 or diesels.

On a side note, I always wondered about that brief but loud ticks I get from starting my truck after a short engine run. Essentially, if I tuned on my truck briefly, like say to move it a few feet and then turn it off. When I go to cold start it hours later, I would get a brief 2-3 second ticking sound after cold-start-up, it's noted here on the left side of the manual page. Though it never last more than a few seconds for me, not the possible 30 seconds noted there ....

View attachment 131801

How things change
From the 2019 Owner's Manual pg. 489
Engine Oil Viscosity (SAE Grade) — 5.7L Engine Mopar SAE 5W-20 engine oil approved to FCA Material Standard MS-6395 such as Pennzoil, Shell Helix or equivalent is recommended for all operating temperatures. This engine oil improves low temperature starting and vehicle fuel economy. The engine oil filler cap also shows the recommended engine oil viscosity for your engine. For information on engine oil filler cap location, refer to the “Engine Compartment” illustration in this section. Lubricants which do not have both the engine oil certification mark and the correct SAE viscosity grade number should not be used. Synthetic

Engine Oils: You may use synthetic engine oils provided the recommended oil quality requirements are met, and the recommended maintenance intervals for oil and filter changes are followed. Synthetic engine oils which do not have both the engine oil certification mark and the correct SAE viscosity grade number should not be used.

 

[bocco]

So I've only had a dealership dig into a motor once in my life. It was a timing chain on 2000 Expedition. I was in extended warranty mileage. They never mentioned oil changes or proof thereof. I would think the only time the dealership would have concern is if they see evidence of lack of oil change such as sludge or disgusting black oil.

 

[SD Rebel]

So I've only had a dealership dig into a motor once in my life. It was a timing chain on 2000 Expedition. I was in extended warranty mileage. They never mentioned oil changes or proof thereof. I would think the only time the dealership would have concern is if they see evidence of lack of oil change such as sludge or disgusting black oil.

Absolutely, they aren't going to push for those things unless they see evidence of lack of care.