I recently contacted my local nissan dealer about an oil change. I'm going to hit 1200 miles in about 70 miles...this is the response I got when I asked about synthetic...

"we do not use or stock synthetic oils, if you wish to use some, we would recommend you purchase it and bring it with you. Mobil One seems to be the most popular. One thing thoujgh, Nissan still requires you to follow maintenance intervals regardless of what oil you use. Also unless the car is over 6 months old, I would not change oil until you reach 3,750 miles, or 6 months old. You do have a light break in oil from factory, synthetic oil may be to slippery and impeed the break in process. let us know if you still wish to schedule, thanks, Torri Bell, Service Manager."

do i smell bs? should I even go there now? my problem is that the only dealer local to me is infiniti, nissan is about 30 minutes away and i'm not sure how much infiniti charges yet...

 

I don't remember where I heard it from but I was told that its not best to use synthetic early on because its too thin. I'm sure someone will be able to answer.

 

I always wait for the first scheduled oil change until I switch to synthetic. I read that you should let things kind of settle out and let the factory oil do it's thing through the break-in process.

 

should wait until you put on some more miles before you make the switch. i was told by many other people on this forum to switch once u hit about 6-7k

 

i was told to wait by both sterling mccall nissan and mossy nissan.. both in texas

 

There's always a lot of discussion about this but the safe route is to wait until you have about 10K miles before making the switch.

 

if you jus bought the car and or have under 7 - 10 k miles then yeah its early!

 

I did an oil change after break-in at 1500 miles, using dino oil. At 5k, I switched to synthetic. I had an RSX and due to the break-in oil Honda uses, the owner's manual specifically warned not to change the oil until the first scheduled service(5k). But I don't recall seeing the same warning in the 350Z owner's manual.

 

Switch to synthetic whenever you want. I am aware of no technical data showing that synthetic motor oil inhibits proper break-in.

 

why chance it. i dont think it matters either way but better safe then sorry imo.

 

I was under the impression that the engine should last ~200k miles at least using the factory recommended oil. I really don't understand how much "better" synthetic could really be.

 

Ive been told that with the way today's motors are being made synthetic should not be used unless your engine is worked and has higher mileage. I've been told this by mechanics and by a friend who is pretty high up at a Toyota plant. I'd like to know and see evidence supporting either oil.

 

if you maintain a regular oil change interval between 3 to 5k mile, i guess using expensive synthetic oil is quite wasteful IMO.

 

Depends on how you drive the car. Dino oil will work fine if you are just putting around town or doing mainly highway miles (like a daily driver). If you are doing things where you are not letting the car warm up before driving, or driving the car really hard (like racing, auto-x, unwinding a back mountain road, etc) or if the car is turboed, you should really use synthetic oil. Synthetic works better in less than ideal situations, such as when the oil is cold or really hot. I've been running synthetics for the past 40k miles in my car, and I believe it is a big part of the reason why the inside of the engine has remained so clean and the engine is still so quiet with 100k on it.

As far as the breaking in on synthetic, keep in mind that many higher end cars run synthetics from the factory, like the Z06, most Mercedes, Viper, etc, and all REQUIRE synthetic oil for the warranty.

 

I just bought my 2003 Touring yesterday with 34,000 miles on it.

When I asked about synthetic oil, both the salesman and the F&I manager told me that "Nissan says you can't use synthetic oil".

The reason? They said because it will make the engine run hotter.

Now THAT's what I call



I can't think of any manufacturer (except for perhaps Maxda's RX-8 rotary engine) who does not approve of synthetic oil. Synthetic oil is reknowned for resisting heat breakdown. It has a lower pour point so it will flow immediately in cold weather, etc.

It is true that if you change your oil very frequently, then "dino" oil will be just fine. And I agree that if the manufacturer uses a special "break-in" oil, you should follow their recommendations.

But I am sold on the benefits of synthetics, and am going to find out for sure what the story really is at Nissan. Then I'll post it here.


Joe

 

While the "runs hotter" excuse is certainly BS, considering the sources (Sales and F&I Managers) that kind of response is not surprising. Nissan does not specifically prohibit you from using synthetics, they also don't endorse or approve of it. All your owners manual says about dino vs synthetic is "NISSAN recommends mineral based oils."

You can bet if you use synthetic and change it every 5000, 7500 or 10000 miles then show up at the dealership with some kind of engine problem, they're going to deny you warranty service because you didn't follow the 3750 oil change schedule. While Mobil touts the ability of their synthetic to last longer than regular motor oils, the manufactures won't accept it.

 

Thank you. I agree.

The salespeople often do not know what they are talking about, let alone the F&I guys. That's the point I was making.

But the second part of your statement is what really frightens me! As a newcomer to the "Z", I'm very worried about Nissan not backing up their warranties, especially since I bought a used machine. They claim they will guarantee my power train to 100K miles since it's a "Certified" Z-car.

I see what you mean on page 9-5 of my manual: "Nissan recommends mineral based oils", etc. but they DO NOT PROHIBIT you from using a synthetic! That may be the key to the whole question.



Not to highjack this thread, but my last car was a Mustang which I really loved. When I asked Ford about using ceramic brake pads they said, "Ford does not recommend them and they will void the warranty". (more BS)

Turns out that Ford only said that because they themselves do not manufacture ceramic pads. Maybe something similar goes on at Nissan.


I'll do some more digging around and see what I can find out.

 

Like I said, using synthetic oil per se, won't get you in trouble. Where you MIGHT run into a hassle is the oil change interval. I've heard a few horrow stories of people having engine trouble and not being able to produce documentation of regular maintenance and being denied warranty work.

My Toyota Avalon service book all but states that if you don't get oil changes and other scheduled maint. done by a Toyota dealer where it would go into the computer, then you better have documentation in the form of receipts for work done outside. Not following the proper schedule is grounds for denial of warranty work.

 

this car already burns oil, why put in a thinner oil?
I can understand why you shouldn't use synthetic for the few first thousand miles: you need time and wear to get all the seals to sit. After that do what ever you want, but just remember you can't go back to regular once you switch to sythetic.

 

And you`ve nailed it right there.
I did all my own maintenance on my suby 2.5 RS a few years ago... Blew a valve at around 40,000Kms and tried to warrenty it... no go.... In hind sight I should have filed a suit against them....