# When to change out factory oil.



## icwe2 (Jul 1, 2012)

Hey everyone new to forum and new to the "new car club" haha have a 2012 Cruze Eco AT with 17xx miles was wondering what everyones take was on the oil coming out of the factory and when you changed yours and what did you put in.


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## mcg75 (Mar 5, 2012)

Changed it at 3k miles to Mobil 1 and will follow the OLM now. 

The normal dexos oil has been shown not to last as long as the OLM says it does.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

I changed the factory fill at less than 3000 miles and put in full synthetic Quaker State 5w-30. 

Use a full synthetic dexos1 oil, and it will be fine to 20% on the oil life monitor (OLM). The AC Delco synthetic blend dexos1 oil is only good for 4000-5000 miles in the 1.4 turbocharged engine in your and my Eco's. 

Don't go past 20% on the OLM, and the engine will live a long life.


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## GoldenCruze (Dec 18, 2011)

I waited until the oil level monitor was at 11%, which was over 9000 miles for me. Changed to Mobile 1.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

3000 (or 4?) and switched to synthetic for me too. Generally you want to get the break in oil out of there on a new car before too long. 


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## MikeW (Nov 29, 2010)

I always do my first oil change on a new car at about 1,000 miles. Most owner's manuals will state that is not necessary, but I do it anyway.


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## mr_raider (Aug 13, 2011)

I changed mine out at 6 months. At the rate we were going the OLM would have taken more than a year to run down, and I wasn't comfortable letting it run 1 year on factory oil. Even the service advisor suggested going to a 6 month change schedule since we mostly do low mileage.


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

Changed factory fill at 1500 miles. Switch to Mobil 1 Dexos approved 5W30. Just changed again at 8000 miles (6500 on 1st oil change). Reset Oil Life Monitor this time.


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## wilsonhines (Jul 12, 2012)

So, what oil filter is everybody running? I'm from a trucking background and I've seen Caterpillar filters compared to the top eight other brands and filter quality is a big concern. With Caterpillar the filter was another $25, but it was a common sense move.


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## XtremeAaron (Jan 22, 2012)

I'm running a wix filter. Did first change at 5500 miles. Used Mobil 1 dexos 5w30.


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## wilsonhines (Jul 12, 2012)

I was sort of shocked that the website for Mobile1 recommends a Fram!


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## The Wolf Wagon (Mar 5, 2012)

Did my first one at 3000 miles and now every 6000 miles. Use the Dexos and always have the dealership do the service since my time will no longer permit me to do my own. Have had three (3) oil changes to date and two (2) tire rotations at the 6000 mile intervals.


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## wilsonhines (Jul 12, 2012)

The Wolf Wagon said:


> Did my first one at 3000 miles and now every 6000 miles. Use the Dexos and always have the dealership do the service since my time will no longer permit me to do my own. Have had three (3) oil changes to date and two (2) tire rotations at the 6000 mile intervals.


Thanks for the info Wolf! You got the color which I _thought I was getting_ when we did a dealership swap. Oh, all is well, I love my car!


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## mknight (Mar 5, 2012)

wilsonhines said:


> I was sort of shocked that the website for Mobile1 recommends a Fram!


Yeah, I saw that too! I don't think that would be my first choice. I use an ACDelco filter with Mobil 1 full synthetic oil.


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## The Wolf Wagon (Mar 5, 2012)

What color did you end up with?


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## blk88verde (Apr 30, 2011)

Quite a few years ago an Alfa Romeo specialist that I was dealing with told me to stay away from Fram and that AC Delco is one of the best filters you could buy. Using AC Delco for both my Cruze and GTO.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I changed mine at 5500. Factory oil isn't really suitable to go more than 6k miles as it's a synthetic blend and oil testing analysis has been done that shows it isn't suitable for as long of an oil change interval as the oil life monitor would lead you to believe. 

I put in Mobil 1 full syn to replace the old.


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## Hoon (Mar 18, 2012)

When i tested the factory fill oil in my '11 Silverado @ 1500 miles it had very high levels of metals from the engine breaking in. I switched to synthetic at that point. 

I never tested the cruze but I would expect the same or worse from the journal bearings in the turbo adding to the mix. I changed the factory fill at 3000, and will go by 20% on the OLM from there out.


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## Starks8 (Jul 20, 2011)

So when is the best time to change the oil for the first time so that all the metals from the new engine break in procedure have pretty much completely finished breaking down so that you can change it at that time and not sooner or too much later so that you don't have a bunch of high level metals in your engine oil to mess something up?


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Starks8 said:


> So when is the best time to change the oil for the first time so that all the metals from the new engine break in procedure have pretty much completely finished breaking down so that you can change it at that time and not sooner or too much later so that you don't have a bunch of high level metals in your engine oil to mess something up?


Isn't the oil filter designed to catch said particles?


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## wilsonhines (Jul 12, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Isn't the oil filter designed to catch said particles?


Again, going back to my trucking background, no. The oil filter is built to withstand the daily grind, not the break-in. With Caterpillar 3406E, it is recommended to break change the oil after 6,000 miles and take in consideration that the oil change interval is anywhere from 15,000 to 25,000 - depending on who owns it.


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## wilsonhines (Jul 12, 2012)

The Wolf Wagon said:


> What color did you end up with?


I ended up with the Blue Granite Metallic. It's a long ass story, but to put it shortly, my first choice was Red Tincoat, as it was the color of my '07 Impala SS and I loved it, and the second choice was your Blue. I work for Aflac, so it was perfect. 

They had another dealership 25 miles away and they showed me a pic on their website for your color and I read the specs and I said, "I'll take it if we can agree on the terms." Well, we did the terms, the paperwork, and the whole nine-yards and the car turned out my Blue Granite Color. I was pissed, but then again, I just didn't say anything. The deal was done and it looked good.


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## silverls (Nov 12, 2011)

I pay no attention to the OLM. Had my first oil change done a 4000 miles at the dealer with whatever synthetic blend the car comes with. I will continue with this car just like all my old ones. 4000 miles or 4 months. Whichever comes first. If you follow that rule you can use any oil and your car will have a long life (as far as oil is concerned)

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## OnlyTaurus (Mar 20, 2012)

Changed out factory oil at 500, after engien 'break-in', now use full synthetic every 5,000. Don't use OLM either, I just write mileage in the back of owners manual for intervals.


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## MikeW (Nov 29, 2010)

wilsonhines said:


> So, what oil filter is everybody running?


There is always plenty of "debate" around which filter is the best, so I usually visit the enthusiast forum of whichever vehicle I own and get the general consensus of what everyone else is using and go with that. If I could not find an AC Delco at the time I needed one, Mobil was usually my second choice. Both of these are usually at the top of the list of recommended filters on forums. Due to availability of these two brands, I never had to find a third choice. AC Delco is a good filter, and what I have used on my cars for years. For the Cruze, when I had it, was a bit limited due to the drop-in filter design, and went with the filter from my local Chevy parts department. 

With my Z I will be using a Purolator PureONE filter. This seems to be the general consensus for the Z, so that is what I am going with for it. Instead of the recommended filter, most get the one just a bit longer than the recommended filter for a bit of extra filtration. Also, since the same filter will work on the Altima, that makes life that much easier.


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