2011 Acadia 3.6L DI, 2,770 miles,

[rbarrios]

Posting this for a fellow Acadia owner.

Need your assistance. Just did the OA. Let me know what I should worry about. I usually get my oil change thru the dealer. Somehow, I got a feeling that I'm getting jammed with $$. So, I went with the quick lube chain. This time for sure, I know the shop is using legit Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic, 5W30 (I saw them opening the jar and poured onto the engine!). The only thing that I've noticed, was this time, I didn't have to do any top up. This time the engine didn't burn much oil. So, fellas, can you spare some time to fellow acadian and let me know where should I worry et al.


Prior to the oil change:
-I only drove the vehicle for about 15 kms, city driving with a couple of stops (school and coffee).
-I do remote start to warm the vehicle for the kids.
-And the temp outside that I usually run the vehicle (again, before the oil) is below 0 degrees Celcius.

I'm worried about the engine burning oil, as I used to top-up oil when I was using Mobil1 Full Synthetic. Do you guys suggest compression test from the dealer or is this normal for Acadia?

Thanks.

 

[Rolla07]

I would say, likely best you get the oil to temp prior to doing an oil change.. the fact you drove it (likely not to temp) may be the reason for the fuel dilution of this oil analysis. Next oil change, get your engine to temperature prior to changing it.. I am thinking condensation in the oil is responsible for both abnormal signs..

Regarding oil burning.. how much did it use last time and over how much time? Also, if you switch from one brand to another of oil be it synthetic to synthetic or syn to dino, or dino to dino.. it is normal for some engine to use/burn some of the oil. Just depends how much thats all..

 

[CrawfishTails]

Thats interesting that you had oil consumption with Mobil1 and NOT this time around with Pennzoil Platinum. As for oil consumption, as long as you're not losing more than 1 quart every 1,500 miles, you're considered OK. Nothing to worry about.
About the fuel dilution, that is a lot in only 2,770 miles! I know these DI engines (I have a 2011 3.6L GM v6 too) do some fuel dilution, but thats a high amount for only 2,770 miles, must be due to all the cold short trips.

"(I saw them opening the jar and poured onto the engine!)" -- Funny. First of all, if they opened a 'jar', it probably had strawberry jam in it, and they shouldn't be pouring anything on to your engine. Sorry, just couldn't help commenting on that total lack of mastery of the language.

 

[Jimzz]

Yea the fuel dilution is probably cold starts and letting idle to long.

Cars warm up faster by being driven, not idling. Try to only do remote start a minute or so before driving and no longer. Those cars warm up pretty quick when driven.

 

[CrawfishTails]

Wish I would have though of this earlier: If you have a car with known fuel dilution issues, and you idle & short-trip it in cold weather, then just add a blue-bottle STP about 1,000 miles or 2 months, whichever comes first, after a fresh oil change, to bump up the viscosity a bit to counter the fuel dilution.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: CrawfishTails
Wish I would have though of this earlier: If you have a car with known fuel dilution issues, and you idle & short-trip it in cold weather, then just add a blue-bottle STP about 1,000 miles or 2 months, whichever comes first, after a fresh oil change, to bump up the viscosity a bit to counter the fuel dilution.


If the wear pattern is acceptable, the amount of fuel may not be a concern.

Advising someone to add STP to counteract a non-issue is very poor advice.

 

[SteveSRT8]

We have a ton of so called fuel dilution hysteria here. As oil freaks we are all susceptible.

There is little to link minor fuel dilution to much of anything except high blood pressure for Bitoggers...

 

[GenaFishbeck]

HI SteveSRT8 - Although we cannot comment on a competitor’s motor oil performance, we can confirm that our Pennzoil Ultra Platinum with PurePlus Technology would be the best motor oil for Acadia. Specifically, the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum motor oil has been shown to keep pistons up to 65% cleaner than required by the toughest industry standards (based on Sequence IIIG test results and GF-5 specifications). In addition, no other leading motor oil provides better wear protection from friction than the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum (based on Sequence IVA wear testing). And finally, since Pennzoil Ultra Platinum is formulated to exceed the engine protection required by ILSAC GF-5, it is able to provide extra protection against the harmful effects of stop-and-go driving and high and low-temperature engine operation.

However, we would be remiss if we didn't also draw your attention to a GM Technical Service Bulletin #01-06-01-011H that we found while researching some of the engine symptoms that you have described (engine oil consumption, fuel dilution, etc.). It appears that GMC’s TSB states that - for Acadia AWD V6-3.6L engines - “the accepted rate of oil consumption for engines is 1 quart per 2,000 miles". Additionally, this GMC TSB also states that “vehicles that are usually driven short distances (less than 5 miles), especially in cold weather, unburned fuel and condensation generated from cold engine operation may not get hot enough to evaporate out of the oil”. (Again, this TSB from GMC may explain/address some of your reported concerns. We suggest you get a copy of this TSB from your GMC Dealer, as well as discuss your current situation with them. - The Pennzoil Team

 

[CrawfishTails]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: CrawfishTails
Wish I would have though of this earlier: If you have a car with known fuel dilution issues, and you idle & short-trip it in cold weather, then just add a blue-bottle STP about 1,000 miles or 2 months, whichever comes first, after a fresh oil change, to bump up the viscosity a bit to counter the fuel dilution.


If the wear pattern is acceptable, the amount of fuel may not be a concern.

Advising someone to add STP to counteract a non-issue is very poor advice.


Viscosity needs to be in a certain range for a reason. Once you educate yourself on why this is the case, you'll understand. Thinning oil is a problem for oil film thickness. To be on the safe side, viscosity in a 30 weight application should be in the J300 viscosity classification range.

 

[CrawfishTails]

Originally Posted By: GenaFishbeck
....... and GF-5 specifications). In addition, no other leading motor oil provides better wear protection from friction than the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum (based on Sequence IVA wear testing). And finally, ...... - The Pennzoil Team


So, since Ultra passes Sequence IVA, just like any SN/GF-5 oil does BTW, no oil is better? What about oils that beat Ultra in the nanometer (nm) IVA measurements? Yes, all pass, but not all are better. I define "none better" as less nm wear, and you define "none better" as, hey, everybody passes, so we're all the same, so none is better.

Marketing genuises at Pennzoil.

Castrol Synblend 5w-30 claims an 18 nm score on the Sequence IVA (yes, lower is "better" than merely passing at 50 nm for example). Also, M1 5w-30 on a website showed around 20 nm once. So does Ultra score better? Probably not, because the high-detergency to get the good Sequence IIG scores interferes with wear performance in all likelihood. Thats why Pennzoil won't disclose their actual nm wear score.

 

[CrawfishTails]

Not nanometer, micrometer, sorry!

 

[crazyoildude]

did you see them opening a New Jug of Pennzoil synthetic or is that one they used and filled with a cheap dino? Just a thought ....