Today I took my Z into the stealership for it's first oil change. Since I bought the car there they told me my first oil change would be free. Well my z didnt reach 3000miles yet but the oil was 4mths old and I have 1250miles so they said it was time do change it out. When I get there I ask my service advisor what kind of oil are they putting in the car. He tells me sunuco 10w40. I was like what are you nuts your going to put 10w40 on a brand new car!!! The manufactor states 5w30 and if you look under the hood it says 5w30. So he went on and on about his experience with nissans and he works on them all day every day. So I told him "I dont want that garbage in my engine!!!" So he told me that the car was inside, and if I want to was I could walk about 3 blocks to the closest auto parts. I bought castrol syntec 5w30. I spoke to the tech and he agreed with me and told me that they carry mobil 1 5w30 syntec. I was pissed So I called Nissan consumer affairs and demanded they reimburse for the oil or give me a free oil change next time with syntec 5w30.What do you guys think about this? Was I over reacting or should I get what I ask for?

 

At the dealer? Man I wouldnt trust them doing my oil changes. Why not try doing it yourself. Save yourself the headache. You'll never get what you want at the stealership, hence the word stealership.

 

that is my opinion

 

I agree. I think I'd rather do it myself.

 

i dont even have a local shop around here that i trust to change my oil. Buy some jack stands, get it done. As often as you need to change your oil it should be a breeze. It also gives you a good look at the bottom side of your vehicle when and if you have upgrades you always like to check for leaks and cracks when your under there. Also, you can keep better track of how much oil your engine burns or doesn't burn if you do it yourself. Just my .02

 

I would have burned the shop down.... na j/k.... You can opt to watch them put the oil in the car if you like.... I request it at the nissan dealer here in MD and never had a problem (knock on wood).... When you find a shop your comfortable with develop a realtionship with your service writer...and they'll take care of you.. I try to pick service writers that have owned Z's or are verterns of the place... It took me 4 dealerships until I found my home... The experience and knowledge of the person working on your car...determines how safe your car will be....

 

4 months with 1250 miles? Do you make a lot of short <10 mile trips everyday? Or do you just drive 1-2 days a week? If it is not the frequent <10 mile trips, you probably don't even need to change your oil every 3 (or 4) months.

Check out some of the DIY posts about changing your own oil. It's pretty easy, and you can make sure you are putting in good quality oil and using a good filter. Also, keep the receipts to show that you were still taking care of your car.

 

First, I wouldn't worry about it too much, one oil change with 10w40 isn't going to ruin your motor. The VQ35 is one of the best V6 ever made. It isn't exotic and it isn't fragile.

That said, you do have the right to have what type of oil you want put in your car. Anything done for 'free' is going to be done on the cheap. You get what you pay for.

If you're that concerned, as others say, do it yourself.

I frankly don't care, I take mine to Jiffy Lube & have it changed regularly.

And unless you plan on putting 200K miles on your Z or race it, IMHO synthetic oil is not necessary either. Repeating myself, the VQ35 is not an exotic engine.


My .02.

 

i avoid the stealership as much as possible.. they seem to *** ya no matter what, ive NEVER had a good experiance dealin with them

 

My understanding of keeping the factory warranty, is you have to follow the Nissan Maintenance schedule, which either goes by miles or time, whichever comes first. If they see that you went 5 months without an oil change, even though you only put 2,000 miles on the car, you could end up getting your warranty void.

They will find any reason to void a warranty. IMO it's just not worth the risk.

 

I see your point, and with the way that some dealers (and Nissan itself) sometimes try to find reasons to not honor the warranty, following the maintenance schedule might be something to strongly consider. However, if that's the case, then the 4 month interval that the OP mentioned might have just voided his warranty. Hopefully not...

 

Not all dealers feel this way.

 

You dont even need jack stands if you dont mind shuving yourself under your car. Ive changed it twice on my z with minimal problems (mainly getting an oil pan under).

 

I didn't say all dealers. I would like to think my dealer is one of those 1 percenters lol that aren't a bunch of d!cks but I'd rather not put my cars warranty in jeopardy to find out.

However from my experience with them, they are all crooks until proven otherwise.

 

Maybe this is why I have never been picked for Jury duty

 

That reminds me of the last time I called on jury duty. The judge asked the pool if anyone was bias and thought they couldn't serve impartially. Some dude raised his hand and the judge asked him what was his problem. The guy said the entire judicial system was crooked. All the judges and all lawyers, both prosecutors and defense attorneys. The judge ask him if he thought he, the judge was crooked. The dude said yes, right to his face The judge thanked him and the bailiff showed him the door. When he'd left the whole courtroom cracked up.

Was that you?

 

Damm I hope not. But nothing was mentioned.

 

I doubt 10-40 would hurt anything, BUT....they should follow their OWN company's recommendation on oil weight. There is no reason to deviate from 5-30 if that's what's recommended.

-dan

 

I seriuosly doubt they will void your warranty by being 30 days late because if anything went wrong they would have to prove that it was caused by that.

If they tried to tell you they were voiding your warranty and you coughed and said "lawyer" I'm sure they would shut up about it.

Hell i don't have much room to talk myself. i was suppose to get my oil changed in mid Aug. but since the miles were so low and the car eats and have to add so much oil anyway I blew it off, until tomorrow. If they say where is all your recepits, I will say I was out of town and can't find the one for Aug.

This was the first and oil change i will ever skip though.

It's not like they are ever going to put in a second replacement short block or give me a brand new motor that is good someday anyway.

 

I just checked the paper work they gave me. And it states "Nissans first schduled service. Includes oil change,oil filter,check for updates and preform 14 point safety inspection to 8105A as per Bob Brun." All in good condition tires in good condition 5/31 tread remaining. Whatever that means. So I think its okay.