# Oil Change



## BucaMan (Mar 22, 2011)

There is another thread on this; oil change intervals continue to be a very personal issue here (and every automotive board), with intervals ranging from 3,000 to 10,0000 and beyond.

I'm probably going with 5,000 mile intervals with Mobil 1.


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## Eric123 (Mar 20, 2011)

It is interesting to note as well the manual states under the right circumstances it would be possible for your oil life to last over a year in which case just the filter must be changed. Very different then anything I have ever heard or done in the past.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Just did my first oil charge this Saturday at 3900 miles. FWIW, the oil looked and felt fine and the filter had very little crud on it. If there were any metal shavings they were minimal. Now that the first change is out of the way, I'll be changing every 7000-8000 miles (or 25% remaining).


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## Eightbelow (Mar 16, 2011)

I did my first oil change at about 1050 miles, the oil looked pretty good but I noticed some metal shavings stuck on the outer edges of the oil drain plug when I removed it wich is expected due to break in. I'm sure that there was some more in the oil filter but it was too hard to see them with all the filter fiber and used oil all over. Now that I've done my break in oil change I'm going to change it when the OLM get to about 20% from now on.


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## WHITECO (Mar 31, 2011)

I will change from now on when OLM says at 20%...I did the first oil change at 3200miles.


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## CHEVYCRUZE RS (Mar 29, 2011)

Search the thread 1.4L Oil Change in the search bar. The thread has plenty of valuable information for the steps and questions about the 1.4L Cruze. 

Thanks, 
CHEVYCRUZE RS


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## Burtess (Apr 7, 2011)

I think it is around $95 to have a dealer oil change (full synthetic)....

I do my own for about $40 with QS Ultimate Durability and stock filter. Although I drive a lot of highway mileage, I will change at 10,000*Km *regardless of what the oil life monitor says. There is no way I am waiting for 20,000Km to change my oil, even if the computer says so lol...

Burt


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## scaredpoet (Nov 29, 2010)

FWIW: I had my oil changed on my Cruze LS (1.8L) at 6500 miles. Oil Life Monitor was at 45%, but with the dealer offering free oil changes for two years and with the car already going in for recalls and tire rotation, I figured I'd get it out of the way. 

And since this is the first time I've ever thought about going by the OLM instead of doing the 3,000 mile routine, I also had an oil analysis run (not by the dealership, but a 3rd party).

When the results of the analysis came back, it turns out I had probably changed the oil just in the nick of time. Very little oil additive remained. There was also a note in the comments section of the report about OLM:_ "It's been our experience that oil life systems aren't all that accurate early in an engine's life."_

Other than that, things were pretty normal. There was quite a bit of tin and silicon but this is part of normal wear-in.

So I'll go another 6500 miles, change the oil and send in another sample for analysis at that point until the OLM seems to start matching up with the test results.


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## cruzeman (Mar 13, 2011)

scaredpoet said:


> FWIW: I had my oil changed on my Cruze LS (1.8L) at 6500 miles. Oil Life Monitor was at 45%, but with the dealer offering free oil changes for two years and with the car already going in for recalls and tire rotation, I figured I'd get it out of the way.
> 
> And since this is the first time I've ever thought about going by the OLM instead of doing the 3,000 mile routine, I also had an oil analysis run (not by the dealership, but a 3rd party).
> 
> ...


 
that is great information!!! I myself am not going to listen to the olm, probably change every 6000 or so with mobil one.


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## LARRY01Z28 (Dec 4, 2010)

i changed mine for the first time at around 1500 miles. and then around 5600 and now im going to do it at 50% or 5000 miles whichever coems first.


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## Quazar (Apr 28, 2011)

LARRY01Z28 said:


> i changed mine for the first time at around 1500 miles. and then around 5600 and now im going to do it at 50% or 5000 miles whichever coems first.


50% and 5000 will happen at the same time .... always.


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## ScottNWDW (Apr 24, 2011)

The dealership that I bought my Cruze at recommended every 5000 miles, so we scheduled an appointment which would be approximately at my 5,000 mile point based on my normal driving patterns. 

Also the dealership will be doing free oil changes for the first 4 years that I own the car, so every 5,000 miles sounds good to me.


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## scaredpoet (Nov 29, 2010)

cruzeman said:


> that is great information!!! I myself am not going to listen to the olm, probably change every 6000 or so with mobil one.


For information purposes, I'm making a copy of the report I got available at this link. It was pretty informative. I removed all personal info and info uniquely identifying my car.

A couple of things to note:

- The manual states 5W30 is the recommended oil viscosity and so that's what I entered in the test form, but they noted that the oil was reading more like a 5W20. 

- Price for this analysis was $30 to run a full gamut of tests, plus postage (about $1.50). There was a more basic option for $20 that doesn't test additive contents. The particular lab I went with will send a sampling container to you for free if you ask for it. You just fill the container, fill out a form, enclose a check or credit card number, and slap on postage. The more information you give them (viscosity, mileage, whether you added any oil between the last oil change and now, etc), the better the information they can give you from the analysis.

- I'll have to inquire further, but I gather from the comments that the OLM probably gets more accurate as the engine wears in. I'm guessing the metal bits from break-in really have an effect on oil life, and OLM may not be taking this into account. The oil lab isn't making that speculation though: they're just reporting their observations.

- The concept of OLM *is* definitely right about one thing: people's driving habits differ, and so will their car's oil life as a result. So, what's going on in *my* car's engine isn't necessarily what's happening in every single Cruze engine out there. I'm just one data point, so don't take my test results as gospel.

The only advice I can give is this: if you intend to keep your car past the warranty period, AND want to see about extending oil changes past the 3,000 mile mark, get your car's oil analyzed by a lab to see what's actually going on, especially early on in the car's life, and at least until the results either start to jive with what your OLM says, OR a definite pattern starts to show up in the test results that gives you a good, accurate oil change interval to go by.


It does cost a little bit of money, but it'll be way more valuable to you in the long run than any other aftermarket accessory you can buy for your Cruze.


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