It might be at your dealer but it's a mixed bag from dealer to dealer. I always bring my own oil anyway, except for our new CX5 where the Mazda dealer is using the recommended Castrol per the manual
Synthetic blend is AC Delco, which gets their oil from Mobil (Delco doesn't have a refinery) and the full synthetic is Mobil 1. Just ask to see the barrels it comes out of in the back to know for sure.
They are correct as GM dealers use Mobil Syn blend. Full Mobil one cars have it on their oil fill caps. The full syn is not as cheap and the dealers normally do not use it unless you pay extra for it.
I used to know a guy who was an oil formulation engineer for Shell. He swore the best oil you could run in *anything* was the fleet Rotella-D. He ran it in his racing Viper as well as anything else that took oil, from mowers to motorcycles. We spent a long time talking about how the different kinds of additive packages work (it was spawned by the typical Internet Argument about dino-vs-synthetic), and he said the bottom line is that every type and brand of retail oil on the market today is nearly identical in anything short of laboratory-devised extremes. He preferred Rotella-D only because they go completely overkill on detergents for servicing high-mileage heavy truck fleets.
I didn't make the switch (though I've considered it knowing the GDI's propensity for soot), but that's probably the most expertise on the subject I've ever personally been in contact with. And his Viper ran strong for the 10-odd years we were moving in the same circles, for whatever that's worth.
just like gasoline, all the top teir are nearly if not identical. whereas the low end are the same. i never heard of engine failure no matter what the mileage on it from any type/brand of oil dino or syn. but thats another never-ending discussion
Most oils have lost the Zink and Phosphates that they once had and while not critical on today's engine it can affect the flat tappet engines over time.
I use a racing Mobil 1 in my last flat tappet cam car as it still hold enough content.
The way to really read oils are the ratings and certifications, it takes the guess of out of it. If it meets the required standards or superceeds them you will be fine.
The key to Dexos is it meets all GM requires so it covers you if a warranty issue comes up. Now there are oils that will meet the standard but GM will not accept it unless they have. Applied to be certified.
Today's oil does much more than just lube the engine, it cools and even adjusts the variable timing. It is required to do so much more today.
The key to Dexos is it meets all GM requires so it covers you if a warranty issue comes up. Now there are oils that will meet the standard but GM will not accept it unless they have. Applied to be certified.
This is false. Per the owner's manual "meeting Dexos specs" is acceptable, doesn't have to be certified. Amsoil lists on the back of their bottles that it meets and exceeds Dexos specs, they just refuse to pay GM to have the logo on their bottles. It's nothing more than a money-making scheme by GM. There isn't anything special about Dexos certified oil. Unless you were using dollar store oil before Dexos was a thing then the oil you were using probably already met the standards.
I will do my free changes if they are not too much a hassle. But I will change to Mobil 1 once I start changing it myself
If you want to save money just buy the 5 quart jug t Walmart for $24 and get one extra quart. I can do mine for around $30. I get the filters at cost at work.
Changing it is easy and the filter is right on top and I already have the sockets for the GM filters.
If you do it yourself you can do it for the same or less than normal oil changes.
I went in for my first free oil change about 2 months ago. I asked them to put full synthetic in. They said "ok but you will have to pay extra on top of the free oil change" I said "ok how much extra?" The service tech didn't know. he thought around $20 extra. I said "ok sounds good" Then I asked the cashier who also had no clue and said no more than $50 extra. I still said that was fine. After my oil change which was Mobil 1 by the way. I got hit with a $93 bill on top of my free oil change. I was blown away. This is my own damn fault for not making them look it up for me. The problem here is no one seemed to care that they were off by $40 - $70 on the price. I was pretty livid.
My receipt for my free oil change said synthetic on it. I never asked but either they just put that instead of synthetic blend or maybe my dealer uses mobil 1.
But I'd be so pissed if I was charged 93 bucks or an "upcharge" what do they charge regularly... I would have refused. My dealer tried to charge me for warranty work and I made him call the manager on his cell at 8pm and tell him I'm not paying for warranty work. GM dealers are way shadier than ford was.
So are many other brands. Doesn't mean the dealer is using it by default. You wouldn't believe how many people on the Corvette forums say they have to argue with the dealer to get them put Mobil 1 in their Corvettes which it clearly states in the maintenance manual.
It seems to depend on the dealership. I believe the AC Delco full synthetic is Mobil 1. However, I think some use the AC Delco semi-synthetic. My parents dealership said they come with full synthetic. My dealership said they come with semi. There seems to be a mystery about whether they come with semi or full from the factory. Different dealerships will give you a different answer. I think the owners manual says it's semi so maybe it is.
I use Mobil 1 Full Synthetic on my 09 Pontiac G8 GT with the L76 V8 and using the Oil Life Monitor. Is on 119,000 miles and not even a a rattle or noises. The L76 is known to have Lifter/Cam failures. Another car thag I have is an 03 Impala and over 175,000 miles the engine is strong as new; for what I can tell. Not even an oil seep or drip.
So far Mobil 1 is giving me great results and not changing. If I have to, will run Castrol Syntech. Same I use on the wife's 07 Beetle.
Use your two free changes of semi synthetic for break in and switch to Mobil 1 later. That is what I have been doing. I use Mobil 1 also in my Briggs & Stratton Vanguard lawn mower engines also.
Let's assume my last oil change was synthetic as I was told by my service adviser.
How far do you recommend or go in between changes?
Or you use the DIC info to go about?
I've already driven at least 4k since the last change/reset and DIC now reads about 45% left.
My other cars which I've always used Mobil1 usually last about 6k miles between changes.
I never use the vehicles oil life. On my 08 G6 using Mobile 1 I change it every 5k which the computer is telling me I have 50% life left, but in the owners manual it says every 7,500 and I can't see it dropping 50% in 2500 miles. On other vehicles I have I just do it every 6 months because they never hit the 5k. Now with the duramax I'm switching everything over to amsoil because of the Dexos 2 rating and will do 5k on that as well.
I don't have the manual in front of me and don't feel like getting it. I don't remember it word for word, but isn't there a part in there that says if a dexos2 certified oil isn't available you can use an oil that has a rating of ACEA C3.
Just happened across this, a "technicians communication" from GM. Thought it was interesting:
September 30, 2016 MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION NUMBER: PIP5282A
Components: ENGINE
NHTSA ID Number: 10099532
Manufacturer Communication Number: PIP5282A
Summary
THIS PRELIMINARY INFORMATION COMMUNICATION ADVISES THE TECHNICIAN ABOUT THE CALCULATION AND OPERATION OF THE ENGINE OIL LIFE MONITOR. THE MONITOR CALCULATES THE PERCENT OF OIL LIFE REMAINING, BASED ON 3 PATHWAYS. THE FIRST PATHWAY FOR OIL LIFE CALCULATION IS ENGINE REVOLUTIONS. THE SECOND PATHWAY FOR OIL LIFE CALCULATION IS THE MILEAGE FORM THE LAST REST FOR ALL GENERAL MOTORS POWERTRAINS EXCEPT THE VOLT. THE THIRD PATHWAY FOR OIL LIFE CALCULATION IS THE AMOUNT OF TIME THE OIL IS IN THE ENGINE. THE VOLT USES A 2 YEAR TIMER INSTEAD OF 1 YEAR. IT ALSO USES THE ENGINE REVOLUTION COUNTER. IT DOES NOT USE THE MILEAGE PATHWAY TO COUNT DOWN.
Well this has turned into quite the lively thread hasn't it. As the OP & FWIW I got my oil changed today & some other things checked & got the ever popular "could not duplicate". Anyway I got the full synthetic, but I'm not 100% sure who makes GM's oil, but hey it was free. Mileage was just a tick over 1600. I try to do the 1st one between 1000 to 1500 to get out possible break-in metal shavings etc... just for peace of mind & habit.
I had my oil changed at the local dealer recently, and they installed six quarts of oil, ACDELCO part # 88865638. My receipt is below, with the part # circled in red. I checked all over the internet, and finally found ONE reference to that part number with a semi-legible picture.
The picture of the quart of oil below, on the very bottom line, shows "88865638." It's also labeled as "Dexos" and "Full Synthetic." The same website also shows Mobil 1 oil in a distinctly labeled bottle, and is billed as the best form of protection, while this is oil is in the middle, and the conventional oil is the bottom option of the three. The website was for all Chevrolets, not just Colorados. I don't believe the conventional option meets the newer Dexos standard.
Honestly I trust the dealer. The reason why is because my last truck I got all my oil changes done through the dealer. Now I have proof that what they use is good stuff. I send my oil to Blackstone Labs to be tested. If you have never heard of them then look them up. $38 and you get a full analysis of everything your oil did. My last truck was a 3/4 ton Diesel and I did almost 8300 miles on an oil change and the oil still had a little bit of life in it. If you truly want to know how well your oil is doing then grab a sample and send it to Blackstone.
Ask for and use engine oils that
meet the dexos1TM specification. Engine oils that have been approved by GM as meeting the dexos1 specification are marked
with the dexos1 approved logo. See dexos®.
I don't care how many times you read that stupid statement, or how you interpret it. It looks exactly like something a freaking lawyer wrote. It looks like it was purposely written to cover GMs ass in case they want to use it against you in a warranty dispute. I'm thinking the law is on your side if you use an oil that meets spec. (but is not certified) BUT, good luck with that if GM wants to screw you. Sorry Amsoil fans but that's probably the way it is.
Bottom line, Amsoil users read it one way, Dexos cert' people the other. Right?!?
Just for the record, I think there are about a hundred "good" oils out there, Amsoil is only one of them. Not sure why people get all cray cray about it. LOL
I mean, if they really do want to screw me then that's just more money I get when they lose in court . Most court cases I've seen on issues such as this always rule in favor of the terminology used, not what's inferred. There are other oils that fall into this same category and they should be covered as well. Regardless, I highly doubt that they'd go that far with it. It would probably cost more for them in legal fees than if they were to just replace my engine. I mean, wasn't there a lady who got a huge settlement from McDonald's after spilling coffee on herself and getting burned because there wasn't a "Caution-HOT" stamp on the cup? Lol
I digress. I'm really not worried about it either way. As you said the law is on my side. I'm not worried about making it 5 years/60,000 miles, I'm worried about making it to 300,000 miles. And based on case studies and lab analysis' I've read, Amsoil seemed to be the best option to get me there. I'm not going to try and convince anybody else of that, but it works for me. I'm sure your Mobil, Penzzoil, etc will serve you all just fine.
Today's synthetic oils can last a really long when using a good filtration system. I had a diesel F-250 and the only oil change I made was from factory oil to Amsoil and installed a secondary and larger oil filter. Once a year I changed both filters and sent an oil sample to Blackstone Labs. On my gas cars, I changed the oil and filter once a year. I will do the first oil changes at the dealer because they are "free", but I will then do it myself once a year with Amsoil or Mobil 1. I usually don't drive more than 15K miles a year.
many will keep the oil and change the filter a couple times/year
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