Changing your Sonic's oil.

[SuperSonicChick]

Fantastic!!!! Thank you so much for the pictures! I like to change the oil myself rather than pay the dealer

 

[Danny5]

Fantastic!!!! Thank you so much for the pictures! I like to change the oil myself rather than pay the dealer

Make sure you get the kids to help. Getting them involved helps keep them on the proper path of loving and working on cars.

 

[SuperSonicChick]

Make sure you get the kids to help. Getting them involved helps keep them on the proper path of loving and working on cars.

You bet I will!! That's how I learned! My dad had me standing on a step stool working on cars with him when I was 4. Why pay someone to do something you can do yourself??

 

[SuperSonicChick]

Is the Mobil 1 0W-30 Advanced Fuel Economy Dexos1? Service Manual for the 1.8L says you void the warranty if oil w/o the Dexos1 certification is used. They also state to use SAE 5W-30 only.

My father told me that GM is pretty specific with their oil requirements on these new vehicles. Who knew???? With all the problems I've had lately with my service department the last thing I need to do is void my warranty!!

 

[Danny5]

I was eyeballiing the 0W-30 at Walmart, and right on the bottle of Mobil 1 it states "valid for all warranties requiring 5W-30"

Having said that, I picked up the 5qt bottle of 5W-30 Mobil1 since it was cheaper than buying 4 bottles of 0W-30.

When in doubt, read the labels. Mobil1 is very proud of their dexos rating!!!

 

[Papasonic]

SuperSonicChick

In my opinion, and considering the climate in which you live and operate your vehicle; I would consider staying with the Dexos 1 certified 5W-30 Mobil 1. I believe the 0W-30 viscosity has it's merits too, but in my opinion, it's best advantage would be in the coldest climates.

Papasonic

 

[RichieRocket]

Has anyone with a 1.8L changed the oil yet?

I curious if the hole in the belly pan lines up with drain plug?

Obviously it does not on the 1.4T

 

[BoG233]

Ya It lines up nicely .the pan is split down the middle of the car so the exhaust pipe can run straight to the back of the car .

 

[LS1notFOUND]

You can usually use a funnel or a cut up jug...or remove the pan, on vehicles with these protective pans to drain the oil neatly.

Does this one shoot the oil a foot or more out of the drain plug hole like the GM v'8s do?

Also note that indeed the Manual states, and this true of all new GM vehicles, that you must use Dexos certified oil and OEM filters to retain warranty.

From what I gather Ac Delco Filter # PF2257G
if you use Mobil 1, may as well use their rewards program:
Mobil 1 Rewards

I also sat through a long presentation from Mobil 1 and a few race and oil experts, free lunch was with it, must say the technology into Synthetics in general is pretty crazy. Something to avioid, but many motors loose oil pressure and have minimal damage with today's oil and how it protects components.

 

[Brandon]

Thanx for the write up on this fwiw this info helped me realize what im going to do when i change my oil. Drill a hole with a hole saw in the belly for the oil to drain from i have a while to go until i change mine but ill let you guys know how it goes when i do.

 

[oldertech]

Having said that, I picked up the 5qt bottle of 5W-30 Mobil1 since it was cheaper than buying 4 bottles of 0W-30.

When in doubt, read the labels. Mobil1 is very proud of their dexos rating!!!

I'm wondering if there is any reason to chose Mobil1 over the oil that GM sells at the parts counter? I asked for the price and they said $4/bottle. Heck, I'd buy a case for that and it's cheaper then the Castrol Syntac full synthetic that I've been using for years in the Hondas.

 

[Beastly]

I thought the oil the dealer would put in, is a "Synthetic Blend". If that's the case then, that's my reasoning. I prefer to use a Full Synthetic Oil. It's just a preference. I can find Mobil 1 Synthetic 5W-30 in both 5qt jugs and 1 qt bottles. 6.34 a qt per bottle. Castrol Syntec was around 8 per bottle and, I could barely find it in 0w-40, which I used in my VW.

 

[oldertech]

It is a Synthetic Blend and that's what GM is saying they prefer you use in their cars, specifically with the Dexos1 licensing. If GM specifies this blend, and it is actually cheaper than the full synthetic, I'm thinking, at this point, why not?
GM dexos information center

I don't know.... just thinking it over. I've been pretty brand-loyal to Castrol in the past.

 

[LS1notFOUND]

Walmart has the Mobil 1 jugs for pretty good price.

 

[Gimpster]

Personally.... I use M1 0W-30 because of the absolutly stellar used oil analysis I've obtained with it in the past. Both on my Cobalt's and my Volvo S70 using extended change intervals. These days it seems hard to pick a genuinly bad oil, so in the end do whatcha like I always say

FWIW on my Mustang and my diesel truck I run conventional Castrol products. Truck alone takes 3 *gallons* of oil per OC. It has 335k on the clock, so it must not mind too much. Mustang has 208.

 

[Daddi_Sonic]

I figured I would just add to this thread rather than start a new post since the subject it related

WHEN DO I CHANGE MY OIL?????

I asked my sales guy (he probably doesn't know anything about service to the car) - He says that there is a schedule in the car. He also said that dashboard has an oil life indicator and I could go off that.

The schedule says 15000 miles. If i read it correct anyway....

I asked certain people and got different answers.

Please help my sanity.

 

[LS1notFOUND]

if your using dexos labeled product and are pretty easy on the vehicle (highway driving is most of your commute) than running the vehicle down to 20% on dash is acceptable as that is when it states "change engine oil".

Personally on my older vehicles with it I would think about changing it when the 50% mark and by the time I got around to changing it I was near or past the 20% mark I would also do the first change on it before 1500 miles for peace of mind.

The Dexos label actually requires pretty stringent testing to get it. The 3000 mile oil change is history.

 

[Daddi_Sonic]

Thanks

Hey thanks for the info.

I am already at 7k with my car but my car is my workhorse. I use it for my job. I am going to go double check the oil life

 

[dvn]

Hey thanks for the info.

I am already at 7k with my car but my car is my workhorse. I use it for my job. I am going to go double check the oil life

7k on the original oil? Yikes! I plan on doing my first change at 1k. I feel its important to change the break-in oil quickly. This has been my practice for many years on 4-stroke MX bikes when new and after rebuilds. I see no reason to treat a car any differently.

 

[Gimpster]

On my third oil change I intend to run 7500 miles and then send a sample in to see whats going on. I'm only 1400 miles in on my 2nd, so I have a ways to go obviously :\ 7500-10k on a good oil + filter combo is no problem for most cars these days it seems. I mean for the super paranoid maybe do a filter swap at 5k and whatever makeup oil needed to do that.... but I never did on the Cobalts.

My first two I'm only going to 5k just to be safe.

I just moved out of Kansas where I was driving a fair amount back to Des Moines, and my commute is like 7 miles each way now.