Oil Change Cost

[duquephart]

I have a new LTZ 5.3 on the way and never thought to take cost of oil changes into account - not that it would have factored in to my decision. Anyway, what are others seeing as far as cost of oil changes given the 0W-20 requirements? And, how many here subscribe to the view that the initial oil change should come soon after the break-in period? Dealers always have a special they tout but that's always for 5 qts of dino. Thanks.

[Silverado Steve]

If possible do it yourself. You can get a 5Qt jug of really any brand name synthetic oil for under $28 at Walmart, opinions on what brand of oil, filter and change interval are all subjective. I've only followed the oil change monitor, no early changes even from the factory oil and im still alive and kicking at 50K with nomoil consumption or lubrication issues. My dealer charges $75 to do a full synthetic change and 8Qts, which is why i do it myself. Opinions will vary, follow you Owners Manual or whatever you feel comfortable with and all will be well.

[diyer2]

The best answer IMO from Silverado Steve.

[Diver6]

Not sure about in the US but in Canada you get 4 or 5 free oil changes from the dealer when you buy new, so I just use them and have the option for full synthetic upgrade if I pay difference. I did first oil change according to the monitor, my opinion is they come from factory already broke in and they use the same oil so whey change early, if there is anything in the oil from initial run in the filter is there to catch it.

[TxTruckMan]

I have a new LTZ 5.3 on the way and never thought to take cost of oil changes into account - not that it would have factored in to my decision. Anyway, what are others seeing as far as cost of oil changes given the 0W-20 requirements? And, how many here subscribe to the view that the initial oil change should come soon after the break-in period? Dealers always have a special they tout but that's always for 5 qts of dino. Thanks.

You should get the first 2 free from your dealer. No need to do a quick one after "break in" period. Just make sure to get your second one before 12,000 miles because that's when your free maintenance expires. After that, I've been seeing changes around $75 for 8 quarts of full synthetic. That's what you need. You can do them yourself for probably $45 or so. If you go by the OLM, you'll only need changes every 6000-7500 miles (or more) depending on your driving.

[GDI Tech]

A note to all, we should have data to release before long of almost 2 years of oil analysis on a fleet of new GDI vehicles that shows you ONLY want to use a FULL synthetic oil as the dealer free oil changes of the Dexos rated blend results in as much as 3 times the rate and severity of coking deposits forming on the valves! And, use of the Elite E2-X and E2-X Ultra systems will allow you to extend oil change intervals as it removes much of the contaminates that overwhelm the engine oil reducing it's ability to protect. Wear is also reduced by removing the raw fuel and other damaging particulate matter entering as blow-by. And fuel economy improvement from reducing knock retard. Also, do NOT baby that engine during the first few hundred miles! Follow this procedure from GM to properly seat rings to avoid oil consumption issues:

 

 

The way I have done this for over 40 years is in second gear on a back road, from a roll of say 25MPH full throttle to 5k RPM and allow the engine to brake it back down. Do this 4-6 times and this loads the rings properly allowing them to abrade into the shape of the cylinder wall well before the hard glaze sets in and covers the hone pattern.

[GDI Tech]

Note, this is provided to techs and dealers, not the average joe as the liability of instructing anyone to go 100% throttle is considered too great. But this is the proper way to break in that new engine.

[TxTruckMan]

That's for crate engines. I believe that our engines already go through some type of break in before they leave the factory.

 

And I also think that GM has switched their Dexos spec over to full synthetic now instead of the blend.

[Krusty]

Lots of bad info on the 'net - Although if you buy anything with more than 10 miles on it - you can bet all those tests blasts have been done - and probably not on a fully warmed up engine......... I know I did on the rigs I test drove - and panic stops with the brakes too showing how Stabilitrak keeps the truck level-ish balancing braking force - at the recommendation of the salesman!

 

Nothing like what the owners manual tells you to do on page 267.........

 

[ChevyRoofer]

The best answer IMO from Silverado Steve.

 

X2. I just picked up (2) 5 Gal Mobil 1 0W-20 Dexos Approved Full Synthetic for $28/ea. M1-212A oil filter was $10.

 

I'll be doing my oil & filter change this evening. I changed my oil immediately after I bought new from the dealership. Then every ~5k miles I change.

[Chance Neel]

I have a new LTZ 5.3 on the way and never thought to take cost of oil changes into account - not that it would have factored in to my decision. Anyway, what are others seeing as far as cost of oil changes given the 0W-20 requirements? And, how many here subscribe to the view that the initial oil change should come soon after the break-in period? Dealers always have a special they tout but that's always for 5 qts of dino. Thanks.

Quaker State Ultimate Durability is $20 for 5 quarts and is very good oil. Toss $10 for a good filter and you're set. I went with microgreen filters after seeing a few UOAs.

[sk]

That's for crate engines. I believe that our engines already go through some type of break in before they leave the factory.

 

And I also think that GM has switched their Dexos spec over to full synthetic now instead of the blend.

 

This is correct.

 

 

 

To answer the OP's questions:

 

You should get 2-4 free oil changes if you bought the truck new (the number of free ones depends on what year). Just know that if you got the 2 free ones they do not have to be honored by any dealers after 1 year/12000 miles and the 4 free ones do not have to be honored after 2 years/24000 miles. So in other words get your free oil changes every 6 months or 6000 miles no matter what the OLM says.

 

Most dealers in my area offer the same price - $39.95 for Dexos, filter, chassis lube, rotate tires, relearn TPMS, multi-point inspection, and top off fluids. I used to do my own oil changes but it's worth it to me to have the dealer do the chassis lube and tire rotation while they have the truck up on a lift.

[1kwik72]

For what it is worth I charge $69.36 out the door for an 8qt 0W20 dexos full synthetic oil change here at my shop. There are coupons on my website that knock another couple bucks off also. Oil changes are pretty much a loss leader for us to get customers used to having us service their vehicle. I only make a couple of bucks on them after overhead. And being just a 4 bay shop with one tech and myself I don't want to be doing a hundred oil changes a week. Our goal is to set up a continuing relationship with the customer so that as they need other repairs on their vehicle we can provide those services also.

[duquephart]

Then they can be gouged?:-)

[1kwik72]

Then they can be gouged?:-)

 

I hope that was meant to be tongue in cheek. Gouging customers is a practice the chain stores, and unfortunately some dealerships seem to think is the way to run their businesses. I focus on giving my customers the best value for their hard earned money. I am certainly not the cheapest shop in town nor the most expensive. I strive to fix my customers vehicles correctly the first time at a fair price for both of us. It makes more sense to me to focus on the long term relationship earning a customers continued business rather than smacking them 1 time with as much fluff and BS add on services as I can. Our town while being the capitol city isn't really that big and word travels pretty far and fast on who to trust.