Patman

The oil filter will catch a lot of the break in material, but keep in mind it will only catch stuff bigger than 20 microns or so. And while the particles smaller than that will not do a lot of harm, if there happens to be a large number of particles of that size it can still contribute to a bit of wear. Although many might argue that could even be beneficial to the break in process.

A lot of people, even die hard oil analysis folks, will say there is little value in an early sample at this point, but I feel that more data is always better. Establishing an early baseline and then seeing it trend downward gives a good idea as to when the break in process is done. With some engines it happens rather quickly, but with GM engines they tend to take a bit longer. Sometimes even after 30-40k the copper levels will still be elevated higher than normal before they finally settle down. The LS1-LS2-LS3-LS6 were notorious for this.

I had forgotten about how the cylinder shutdown technology could throw a different wrench into the mix as well, that's yet another reason not to wait until 0% for the first oil change, and yet another reason to possibly do an oil analysis as well.

W88fixer

I’m in the “first oil change early” camp. Would think that getting the engine up to normal operating temps for a good bit of time would boil off any fuel dilution in the oil? Don

Patman

Nope, once fuel gets into the oil it will not be removed until you drain it. I was having a problem with my daily driver (2006 Civic) and a leaky injector, and had as high as 7% fuel in my oil. Before I did that oil change I had driven the car for an hour on the highway. I was able to solve that problem with a couple of rounds of very strong injector cleaner luckily, as future oil changes (and analysis) showed the fuel level dropping eventually down to zero.

eboggs_jkvl

I just did a search of the PDF that I have that is supposed to be the Owner's Manual. I searched for every occurrence of the number 500. No where in the document did it state that you change oil at 500 miles in the car. Per chance could you document your assertion of the 500 mile mandatory oil change for the forum? I'd be glad to update my records with the written text you are seeing and countermand my previous statement of following my DIC to make the first oil change.

If there is another PDF that I need to acquire other than the owner's manual to properly service and maintain the car, I'll be sure to get it so as not to mess up the recommended actions.

Right now, I have 2 documents. Owner's Manual and Infotainment Manual. Is there another?

TIA,

Elmer

JoesC5

This is the only reference I could find regarding the oil during the break in period.

"Engine oil First 1,500 miles (2414 km)

Check engine oil with every refueling and add if
necessary (oil and fuel consumption may be higher than
normal during the first 1,500 miles)"

vette2014

Change oil before manufacturing recommend is exactly the same as wipe your A** before you P***. Right or wrong it's your call.

eboggs_jkvl

Yep, that's the only reference I found. It says check & add if necessary but it doesn't say change the oil. The next "thing" is at 7500 miles and that is a check also. It says change oil when the DIC says to OR every 12 months. That's all I could find on it.

Elmer

hotrod2147

Bill Dearborn

I wonder how long the early oil changing people plan on keeping their cars? If less than 10 years or 100K miles I know they don't gain anything and if over 10 years/100K miles it is highly doubtful there will be any advantage. Too many people doing otherwise with no issues shows there are no issues.

Unless M1 Extended meets the GM requirements (which the last time I looked it didn't) I won't use it. It doesn't even meet the GM requirements for LS engines (which have been around for 17 years). I don't care how much extra ZDDP (that I don't need) it has in it. May be great for an out of date flat tappet engine but not for modern roller lifter engines.

As for changing oil I will go with what the General recommends. Seems to have been good enough for by 97 which I kept fo 6 years, my 03Z which I kept for 6 years, the 08Z which I have had for 4.5 years, the 03 Tahoe which has 97K miles and I have had for 11 years, the 08 Malibu which is coming up on its 6th year.

Bill

W88fixer

Well, don’t know where you’ve been hiding but Mobil 1 Extended meets a whole bunch of certifications. I’m reading from a container as I type:
Approved for:
Dexos1
GM 6094M
GM 4718M
ILSAC GF-5
API SN, SM, SL

I’ve been using Mobil 1 for years and it has had the latest GM specs for years.

And oh, by the way, for years Corvettes had “Mobil 1” on their oil fill cap. Obviously, GM wanted to install substandard oil in a premier car. Sigh. Don

JoesC5

When I was young(early 20's) and bought new car every year or every other year, I never changed the oil. I wasn't going to keep the car long enough for any problems to occur from dirty oil, so the cost of the LOF's was a waste of my money.

KenHorse

Glad I never bought a vehicle from YOU

Kracka

Can't say I've ever exceeded a manufacturer's recommended interval by more than a few hundred miles. What I'll typically do is run a better oil than they require and still change it within their guidelines.

gilbybarr

I changed mine in the 2008 at 500 miles. Put a magnet under the oil filter before I left the NCM when delivered. MidAmerica sells them and I am sure others do. Just attaches (magnetic!) to the bottom of the oil filter....remove it and replace on the new one when you change. Looks like a coffee cup coaster.

JerryU

There was a long post re oil, that discusses the fact the Mobil 1 is no longer a “full synthetic.” Here is what I saved:
“Mobil 1 was originally group 4. Castrol started marketing a group 3 oil as being fully synthetic, on the basis that the severe hydrocracking of group 3 scrambled the hydrocarbons enough to call them synthetic in the sense that the resulting molecules are not naturally occurring. Mobil sued them, but lost. So now, in the USA, both group 3 and 4 oils can be advertised as being fully synthetic. As a result, even if the oil is advertised as fully synthetic, unless they specifically say it is group 4 (Mobil 1 does not), you do not know how much, if any group 4 oil it contains. Since they lost the lawsuit, Mobil refuses to answer the group 3 vs 4 question, so it is pretty clear that rather than label Mobil 1 as group 4 and continue making it as they originally did, they are using at least some group 3 base in Mobil 1. Just like any other oil that is labeled fully synthetic, but not labeled group 4, you cannot rule out the possibility that it is 100% group 3.”
(My comment; I have been using Mobil 1 in all my cars since I put it in my 1974 Datsun Z. I wondered why the price of 5 quart containers of Mobil 1 dropped at Walmart!
DEXOS is just a trademarked spec that GM gets a royalty from oil companies who want to say their oil meets the spec!)

kp

FWIW my BMW 335i has 'free' oil changes for 4/50. They will not change the oil for free until the light comes on, 1st oil change was at 1 year and 14,000 miles when the light came on.

I can care less since I wont own it after the warranty is up but even so waiting a year and that many miles made me cringe a bit. Lots of used BMWs out there with the same oil change schedule I'm sure

That said I changed the oil in this C7 at 1100 miles, just used a dexos certified synth blend. Since I'll be hitting a dragstrip soon I wanted fresh oil/filter, I'll change it to full synth around 5K miles or so and stick to the oil life monitor after that.

NSC5

KP,

Two things that caused me to buy a CTS in 2008 instead of a 335i were the rigid dealer provided oil change schedule and the extremely pushy salesperson at the BMW dealership. I could have gotten over the oil change interval since I change cars frequently but it still bugged me. That feeling was confirmed two years ago when a friend sent me photos of the top end of his wife's BMW maintained following the schedule when it was having a seeping gasket replaced. "Sludge city" would be a good description and reinforced my opinion about excessively long oil usage.

The only person I would buy a used car from is myself I have seen too much "deferred maintenance".

kp

I agree, but like I said I dont care, its BMW's problem for 4/50 and I wont own it after that. I have three other cars, boat, lawn mowers etc to change oil on. Sure I could change it early but I dont..

The BMW doesnt even have a dipstick and you cant see much from the oil fill so I'm sure its a little dirty in there. Granted its mostly highway and no short trips at all so its probably not too bad.

Now my '11 M3 they wanted the car back in at 1000 miles (I think, maybe 1200) where they changed the oil, trans and diff fluid for the first free service. But after that it was whenever the light came on for the freebies.

JoesC5

I didn't get the memo that said I was responsible for you. Sorry about that. I would never lie to you and say I did change the oil every 3,000 miles, but I have zero responsibility to maintain a car for the next guy.

But, as I grew older and now tend to keep my cars for a longer period of time, I maintain them(for me, not the next guy). You can rest assured that if you purchased a used car from me now, it has been well maintained.

BSE1956

Most good auto parts stores will have them.
Just have to find the right thread size for the plug.
Note that some people use a magnet "skirt" that clamps on to/around the oil filter. It helps trap the oil there and you just move it from old to new filter. Either way, more protection is better.