Mitch-S

My service rep just told me I can bring my own synthetic oil to cut down cost. I would just have to pay for labor (34.99) and filter.

Has anyone done this and what kind/brand do you use?

Thanks!

rmjse

Just had my oil changed on Monday and the dealer charged me $33, which included a full car wash.

Sounds like your being ripped off if you have to pay that much plus purchase your own oil.

Mitch-S

That's what I thought too. He said the TL requires synthetic oil and that's why it's so expensive. Last oil change I got was $79.99 at 15K. I'm about to hit 20K and was just seeing what others are doing. Thanks.

KeithL

Did it all the time when I owned my TL, brought Mobile 1 0W20 and they would charge like $17-$20 for labor and filter, well worth it.

Mitch-S

Thanks KeithL. I'm no car expert so can you tell me how much I need for each oil change? haha

I was looking at this on amazon.

LawnPro

5 quarts should be enough for an oil and filter change. Or buy a case of 6 and have an extra quart.

ucf_bronco

iTrader: (1)

Typical stealership, trying to bend the customer over to get more money out of them...unless of course they have changed the meaning of the word "may" in the English language to mean "must".

Here is a shot from my 2010 owners manual:



As you can clearly see, synthetic oil is NOT required. With that said, I choose to use it simply because I go about 8k miles between oil changes and it helps me sleep better at night knowing my baby is filled with the good stuff.

Correct. The TL requires 4.5 quarts of oil.

tuxacura

You should buy the 5 Qt version from your local walmart. Should be cheaper.

KeithL

I always bring 5 quarts, I think if I recall the car uses 4.2, also I used to get it at Walmart as they used to have the best prices and have 5 quart containers, but I have not done this in like 2-3 years.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-0W...l-5qt/17034374

They also sell it by the quart.

potmilkz

mitch, any reason why you cant do your own oil changes? ive heard many horror stories about dealers forgetting or doing things wrong.. ive even heard of them not using the oil you give them.

Mitch-S

It's quite simple...I'm useless! haha

I'm not very handy and my dad never got me involved in fixing cars/oil change or whatever.

It's pretty embarrassing.

potmilkz

well its not exactly rocket science.. i taught my little brother when he was 16 to do it.. and it only took him 10 mins to learn..

honestly if you can take off parts with a socket wrench, you can do it..

1. jack up car
2. put it on jack stands
3. put oil catcher under oil pan where the oil will shoot out of
4. take off bolt
5. take oil cap off from motor
6. take oil filter off with oil filter tool, make sure your oil catcher is under it as well
7. let it drain for 5 mins
8. get new filter, rub new oil around the ring.
9. put filter back on with tool and put oil bolt back on, tighten it.
10. fill her up with oil. 4.5 quarts to be exact. use a oil funnel.
11. put the car on the ground, remove jackstands and let it run for 5 mins.
12. check for leaks.

done.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

^^^

Only reason I never got into the habit of doing it myself even though I know how to is because disposing of the oil is a PITA. When my family used to own gas stations and I had access to the shop lifts I'd do it myself just for the hell of it, but even then I didn't see the point in not paying someone else a few dollars to do it for me.


NEVER let them wash your car.

I don't necessarily get my oil changed at the dealer everytime, but I do bring my own oil/filter everytime; most places charge 17-20 for labor. I bring down the cost of quality oil (I only use synthetic) further by buying oil sort of in bulk when auto stores have sales. For example occasionally pep boys has 5 quarts of RP w/ RP filter for $40, or mobil 1, etc.

Mitch-S

I'm up for an oil change pretty soon, what are you doing in a few weeks? haha

It sounds easy and I can probably do it but I'd rather not mess with it. I've never even changed a flat tire so even jacking a car up will be a first.

KeithL

I used to do my own oil, but honestly the hassle and clean up, not to mention getting rid of the old oil, for me the minimal cost to let them do it is a no brainier.

potmilkz

how is disposing the oil a problem..

here is how i do it..

i put the old oil into the used new oil jug that i just poured in my car.. put it on the side.. till i have like 3-4 of them (i do oil changes for my entire family, cousins) and take them all to autozone or peppboys whenever i need to stop by to get something really quick..

letting other people do your oil changes (i.e, dealers or just random shops) creates room for mistakes.. mistakes that i do not want to take.. like not having the bolt tight enough which causes it to leak, or not changing the filter when they have too.. not to mention the labor cost as much as the oil itself... but i guess there are some of you that rather just pay someone to do it...

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

I'm very picky about my car maintenance and watch the mechanics work on my car, making sure they don't strip the oil pan bolt, drain 99% of the oil, change filter and put in the oil I bought in the right place and not some cheap stuff so they can keep mine. It's worked to date.

I never buy 5G jugs only because they usually don't offer those for sale how I mentioned above. Doing everyones oil changes sounds like a huge hassle. I a family member or close friend asked me to change their oil, I'd give them the $20 and send'em to pepboys instead.

SteveA2012

When I bought my car, the dealer told me that the oil in the car is a blend of regular and synthetic. From what I'm reading here, everyone just uses straight synthetic for oil changes. Has anyone ever bought the blend that the dealer is talking about?

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

I picked up my 12' from a Hyundai dealer and something they offered free of charge was 1yr worth of oil changes, over the course of 15k miles, at 5k intervals with synthetic blend. I don't know if I'm going to take them up on the offer or not but if I do I'll report back on my thoughts about synthetic blend; I've never used it before.

musty hustla

I made a couple adjustments. I always let it drain for at least 30min to get that last bit of dirty oil out. If you're doing it yourself, why rush?

KeithL

Yup, used to do that, had several old milk jugs of oil then get to the pep boys and walk on that oil covered floor trying not to drag the mess back into my car, trying not to make a new mess. Just not worth my time. Also I got burned a while back while the oil jug was in the trunk in transit it developed a leak and I had oil on my trunk mat, since they I kept one of those plastic tubs in my trunk and always used them. And honestly $15-$20 is not worth an hour + of my time once you factor in prep and cleanup. At the dealer I am in and out in 15 minutes,get free beverages and can catch up on my emails, and even shop for a RLX while I am there ;-)

Camaro194

Exactly. Approx $30 for the jug of oil and $10 for the filter. Piece of mind knowing that its done right and much cheaper than paying someone else to do it. Shouldnt take more than 30 minutes to do it.

Much better than driving somewhere, waiting for them to do it, paying $80, and then driving home.

TeamAcura

I didn't know you can bring your own oil and filter to a dealer and have them change it. Next time I'll do that. I only bring my car to the dealer to have it changed for the simple fact of having a service record. That's it. It will help out a lot if you want to sell the car as opposed to not having any service record at all. Gives the buyer the history and a piece of mind knowing it's had maintenance work done to it in writing. Other than that, prefer to change my own oil.

parasitius

$30 for oil + $10 filter + $10 car wash = $50 --- so I guess my dealer does the labor for free?

(i get synthentic )

kostantinos

iTrader: (1)

I do all my own maintenence.
I don't have the time to go to the dealer and get ripped a new one for
simple things I can do myself. Last week I asked them to plug a tire since it was already there for warranty work. They charged $20 for something I could have done for free in 5 minutes.

potmilkz

i seriously doubt your in and out in 15 mins.. especially from a dealer.

keep in mind, not all dealers operate the same.. i went to the dealer with my dad mercedez ml350 for a oil change and guess what.. they didnt tighten the oil drain bolt and left a oil stain on headliner with their dirty hands.. they tried to blame me for the oil stain when i didnt even leave the lot yet. oil was dripping when they pulled the car up to me.


i guess i had a few bad experiences thus i rather do it myself.... dont want to go through that again.. acura is the same.. when i first got my car they told me i got a free oil change.. told them not to wash my damn car.. they did and gave me a bunch of swirls after i wrote "NO WASH!" with red permanent marker.


also you spend more time driving to and from the dealer then actually doing the oil change..

parasitius

Is it true that if a dealer leaves the oil cap off and the engine is destroyed you have a better chance of getting it replaced or suing to cover damages than if you go to instant oil change?

I've had 2 friends lose entire cars due to oil cap being left off... one was already underwater with the loan and had to get a second car loan to replace the destroyed car and with a string of crap paying jobs his life still hasn't recovered 8 years later. I have absolutely no idea how there is not liability for the responsible party. (If there is it is a huge plus - to avoid insurance going up business might rework their business processes to make sure oil caps are checked independently by 3 people before you get your car back, etc. ) Or we might get sensors like tire pressure sensors but for oil cap.

dwest1023

My dealer provides free oil change for 4 years. I bring my own oil(royal purple) and use their free filter and labor. Worth every bit my time. Most dealer's only charge $20 labor, and I dont have to get dirty, or worry about where I'm going to dump oil etc.

d1sturb3d119

iTrader: (1)

Dealer does mine with my own oil and filter for 14 bucks...

vp special k

ehh...if im going to go through the trouble of buying my own oil and filter I mine as well do it myself.

ffiallo

Why would you warm up the car prior to changing the oil? The only benefit of that is burning your hands

Also, the difference between 5 minutes and 30 I don't think would be relevant in terms of getting rid of the old oil.

Other than that, its great.

KeithL

Depending on when I have gone it depends, I have gone on my way home from work I am home about 20 min later than normal, the dealer is 4 block detour on my commute. Some times I have been 30 min or as high as 40, but usually I am passing by doing errands near the dealer so at least for me it it way more convienent. I also chat with my sales rep and sales manager and occasions the owner, hence why I have such a great relationship with this dealership. Since 2007 we have bought or leased 6 vehicles from them.

potmilkz

keithL, well yea but not everyone is as the same case as you.. i guess it really depends.. i mean my nearest dealer is about 10 miles away.. far away from any errands i need to run or work of any sort.. plus working a 8-5 M-F really gives you no room to hit up the service department at acura.. so weekends only

BEAR-AvHistory

Watching someone work will not stop them from stripping out your oil pan bung or even you knowing about it till the plug is pulled the next time.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Ofc it won't stop them but it doesn't take 10 twists of the wrench to remove the bolt, besides that I usually get under the car to look at the underbody as they remove it.

BEAR-AvHistory

What I was thinking about was cross threading it then cinching it up tight before the refill. It goes in because the aluminum pan is soft & the plug will cut its way in, especially with a long handled wrench, but the threads will be killed in the process.

I am not sure how much meat is on the bung but if one got trashed someone could run a tap in it to cut the next size up threads for a new plug

FireNation23

I always dump the oil in the sewer, so much easier, no hassle... JK, I always dump at where I buy my oil which is Advanced Auto, I always get Mobil-1 full synthetic because it's usually on sale (5 quarts + Mobil1 filter = $27) I have a 2001 TL with 172k on it and it does not seem to consume oil at all. I do not baby my car either, but I don't slam the brakes, always coast to a smooth stop.

(I know I'm in the wrong forums, I am here just check to see what kind of maintenance/problems the 4th Gen has, comparing '10 TL AWD vs the '10 GS 350 AWD)