Oil change intervals

[Sarge707 0]

Owners Manual Definately says 5-20 Dexos 1 Oil UNLESS your at -20 Degrees FH in which case you could use 0-30. The engine has VERY tight tolerances and needs 5-20 Dexos 1 Oil!

[ValorHeart 1]

Why in my country that the weather is very hot all year, even in the winter the dealer uses 5W30 Dexos 2 ?

[Greg_E 211]

Dexos 2 is for diesel engines, is yours a gas or diesel car?

http://www.gmdexos.com/licensedbrands/dexos2licensedbrands.html

Edited October 12, 2013 by Greg_E

[tommyspark 24]

Owners Manual Definately says 5-20 Dexos 1 Oil UNLESS your at -20 Degrees FH in which case you could use 0-30. The engine has VERY tight tolerances and needs 5-20 Dexos 1 Oil!

Indeed! Im a Castrol guy, and always have been. Unfortunately though, I could only find Valvoline Syn Power 5w20; dexos approved locally. So for now, our Sparks will be running Valvoline Synpower.....

[baby tires 1]

It seems to me the oil change code on these cars are based ONLY on mileage (just under 7500 miles) temps from 100 degrees to -20 degrees, no difference. 100% high speed running or 80% low speed city, no difference. heavy loaded towing trailers or light load no difference. currently at 36,000 miles (6 months) no problems with car at all. I do all my own repairs etc... found a local distributer that sells me case qty. of oil filters for under $5.00 a filter. My Malibu 2007 with 300,000 miles so far, shows dramatic changes in oil life with the varied weather and duty between 4500miles and 14,000 miles. because of this we decided to stick with 5000 mile oil changes and 10,000 mile filter changes, for the spark.

[Greg_E 211]

At the cost of the filter, why change every time?

[malibuguy 14]

Runnin amsoil in ours...every 7500 until they release their version of the filter, then ill start doing 15000 intervals. Did the first one btw at 1500

[psquare75 35]

Switching to Mobil 1 at 15K... my first change was free thanks to a dealer coupon

[ValorHeart 1]

Dexos 2 is also for european change intervals,

Here is 40 Celcius at summer and 0-10 Celcius at Winter, my dealer change intervals is 15,000 KM's or 1 year, the sooner one.

Do you think that ACDelco 5w30 dexos 2 is fine for my weather?

[bensemailis 10]

I think this video really explains it best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi_J4SZUlSo

It doesnt "look" at the oil, it assumes you are using the oil that you are supposed to use, and takes into account temperature RPM time spent at those RPM and coolant temperatures. I know it may seem like GM wouldnt put such a system in such a low end car, BUT the technology is already paid for, so they dont have to pay for additional RnD they just program it into the BCM since all the required sensors (minus ambient temp) are already part of the OBD II system.

And for those thinking you can just use conventional oil and change it more often, you really should watch this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lshd7WR-a6I

Its not about breakdown, its about the oils ability to get into very small areas and keeping things like the VVT working properly.

Edited February 24, 2014 by bensemailis

[Big-Bob 11]

Don't want to offend anyone, but I change my oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, whichever comes first. Where I used to work we did routine service every 6,000 miles, but that is because we didn't have enough people to do it more often, and our vehicles got sold at auction after so many years anyway. I use Castrol GTX 20w50 in my vintage cars, and Shell Rotella 15w40 in newer ones. Every new vehicle we got in got it's oil drained and got filled with Rotella 15w40 before it was put into service. This is a diesel oil, and IMO anyway has much better load bearing ability than those ultra thin car oils. Those oils are what the EPA want you to use, not what is best for your engine. My boss thought so as well, as he made the decision on what oil to use.

I also change the auto trans fluid and filter every 20,000 miles. I do not believe in "flushing" automatic transmissions. Just drop the pan, let what comes out drain out, replace the filter, and reinstall the pan. Doing it every 20,000 miles keeps the fluid fresh without the damage pressure flushing can cause. Coolant should be replaced every 2 years on GM cars. It actually should be on all cars, but with green ethylene glycol you could get away with leaving it in a little longer. The new OAT and HOAT coolants (like Dex-Cool) will plug everything up solid if not replaced often.

[WaltK 305]

The 4 speed auto trans in the 2013 Spark is a sealed unit, and is maintenance free for the first 97,000 miles.

[Greg_E 211]

I didn't know there were those kinds of issues with the dexcool stuff, guess I better get that done next week too since my car is about 2 years old.

[bensemailis 10]

Dexos coolant usually only does that if mixed with other coolants. Using anything but dexos oil will not only void your warranty but damage the valve train. These engines are meant to have synthetic oil. Using 15w40 will not only not properly lubricate this engine, it will cause the heads to run hot. Oil isn't just a lubricant it's a cooling method for a good part of the engine. Doubling the viscosity will render this cooling ineffective and will cause problems with wear and heat. I really hope you chose to follow the care and maintenance set down by the manufacturer as there IS a reason. And since all the parts of the vehicle oil touches are covered for 100,000 miles...why would they make this up?

[Big-Bob 11]

This is pretty much how I feel about the Dexos thing. http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/178 The coolant is ok if changed often, but the oil is simply too thin to provide proper protection for the bearings. There is nothing wrong with synthetic oil other than the price. It's only known benefit is that it holds it's viscosity longer. That is not really a concern if you change your oil every 3,000 miles like I do.

The main reason manufacturers recommend those super thin oils is to squeeze an extra mpg out of the car, at the cost of engine longevity. This makes the EPA happy. My former employer uses 15w40 Rotella (a very common fleet oil) in over 300 vehicles, including 2014 GM cars. I have used it in my '01 Malibu for nearly 100,000 miles. GM recommends 5w30. There have been no problems, and I believe it will have no problem making it past 200,000 miles. Again the only engine related problem was caused by Dex-Cool. I flushed all of that stuff out of it when I did the cooling system repairs, and have been using green Prestone II for the past 87,000 miles, with no problems. Had that been used to begin with, there most likely would never have been a problem.

Before GM's bankruptcy and bailout, there was a class action lawsuit on behalf of owners of cars that came with Dex-Cool, that had to pay an average of $1000 for repairs caused by it. GM lost, but filed for bankruptcy before paying. Those owners never did get paid.

As for the new 2014 Spark, it has a CVT. That also concerns me. I have no experience with automotive CVTs, but have owned a couple of Japanese scooters with them, and they were not very reliable, stranding me on 3 separate occasions due to broken belts.

These are my professional opinions as an automotive technician with 36 years experience. I am in no way recommending them to anyone.

[bluer101 241]

I'm doing whatever the manual says and has never steered me wrong.

[bensemailis 10]

The 2001 Malibu didn't use the variable valve timing technology that this new engine does. Its build to spec expecting synthetic oil at that viscosity. Going up by a viscosity factor of 10 isn't bad, but going up by 20 and being conventional will do damage.

[RichinIl 2]

. There is nothing wrong with synthetic oil other than the price. It's only known benefit is that it holds it's viscosity longer. That is not really a concern if you change your oil every 3,000 miles like I do.

The main reason manufacturers recommend those super thin oils is to squeeze an extra mpg out of the car, at the cost of engine longevity. .

I'd say that the oil you are using is simply too thick to get to the bearings soon after start up, particularly if you live in an area with cold winters. The biggest portion of wear on bearings happens at start up before oil gets pumped up to them (for most drivers unless they spend a lot of time running at max loads). If you put a quart of each of 15w40 and synthetic 0w20 in your freezer over night and then see what happens when you pour them, I think you'll understand why a lot of smart people run synthetic oil.

Edited May 28, 2014 by RichinIl

[bensemailis 10]

Coolant should be replaced every 2 years on GM cars. It actually should be on all cars, but with green ethylene glycol you could get away with leaving it in a little longer. The new OAT and HOAT coolants (like Dex-Cool) will plug everything up solid if not replaced often.

The change interval for the spark dexos coolant is every 150k miles in the severe use category. I think you might be wrong on this one.

[DennisLB 2]

I did my first oil change at 1500 miles and about every 3000 miles after and I have them use Mobil 1 full synthetic oil . I bring my own oil my dealer supplies the filter and labor and checks the car for only about $20 and my dealer told me the Mobil 1 is better than the recommended semi synthetic .. 14,000 miles no problems at all so far Mine is a 2013 1 LT automatic .. And I've read from several sources that the 4 speed automatics normally last over 200,000 mile would like to hear what the rest of you have heard ???