Which oil for Dodge Avenger 2.4L

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I just purchased a new '09 Dodge Avenger with the 2.4L VVT engine and was wanting opinions on when to drain the factory fill and what to use. Factory recommends 6 months or 6,000 miles OCI and 5w20 oil that meets Chrysler specs. I picked up a couple of 5 qt jugs of Quaker State and SuperTech oil filters (strange for me because I have NEVER used Quaker State oil - due to memories of sludged cars from the early 70's) ... anyway, I thought that I'd change the FF out at 1,000 miles plus add 3 oz of ARX and run that for 3,000 miles and then go to the factory recommended 6K/6 Month schedule using the maintenance dose of ARX ... I also considered substituting a half quart of MMO instead of the ARX ??? The manual says it takes 4.5 quarts for oil and filter change. Is the factory recommend 5w20 THE weight to use or would a 5w30 be better? Any and all opinions welcome.

It'll be run mostly on the highway (county roads) for the next 5 months and starting in late Dec or Jan will mostly just be used for around town driving.

It got an average of 29.5 MPG on the first tank of the dealer's fill up while driving on curvy, hilly county roads about 28 miles one way and back again in the evening with some around town driving mixed in ... second tank was filled with Chevron 87 with 3 oz of TC-W3 thrown in ... we'll see what happens with that.

Thanks in advance...
 
You don't need the ARX or the MMO, in my opinion... Just run the Quaker State and call it good
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Your 1,000-3,000-6,000 plan sounds good to me.
 
I do think you need to change your name to;

MusthaveAdds

Forget all the ARX, mmo, TC-W3 and whatever else you can come up with and just change the oil.

Any thing that meets what the manual states will work great!

Agree with ThirdYe, 1k/3k/6k works for me also. I've done the same for many vehicles with excellent results (200k PLUS)

But forget the adds. NOT needed (unless you are selling the stuff, then everyone needs it!
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Take care, Bill
 
Hahahahaaa....yep, I guess it does sound like I'm all about the adds! Actually, just trying to capitalize on what works best so I can keep it going without problems down the road instead of trying to remedy them after (IF) they emerge.

Anybody have any experience with this particular engine and/or it's automatic transmission?? I'm impressed so far, just hope it stays that way!

Thanks for the replies...keep'em coming!
 
Is it the 2.4 GEMA engine?
If so, it's what I have in my Patriot, maybe tuned a little different. I like mine fine. Averaging 23 mpg, with a 31mpg road trip a few weeks ago.
 
Good Quality SM/GF-4 rated oil changed regularly according to your driving conditions in the weight your manual calls for for the weather you are driving in and all will be just fine.

Very good engines if looked after!

No need for fancy oils, additives, or anything else that is an "extra" IMO, most additives are just a way for people to try and squeeze time out of an engine that they neglected until then!
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Don't do it, just "look after your car, and your car will look after you!"
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Originally Posted By: MarkC

Forget MMO or ARX, just use good oil and filter.


+ 10,000 on that!

Additives couldn't possibly EVER help a new or well-cared-for engine (which this will be if you just use a good oil). I have my doubts about their ability to help ANY engine, frankly. Maybe as a last resort.

my wife and I put >250k miles on a Chrysler 3.5, bought it new in March of '93, with nothing but Mobil 1 10w30 after break-in. When I pulled a valve cover to fix a spark-plug tube gasket at >200,000 miles it looked *new*. White aluminum surfaces, grey iron rocker arms, shiny steel rocker shafts, gleaming cam lobes. NO hint of sludge, and not even that thin yellow film that conventional oils form. I would never put an additive in anything I own.

That's not shilling for M1 by any means. Use any top grade synthetic you want, and you'll get the same results. But screw the additives.
 
Originally Posted By: 1WildPig

Anybody have any experience with this particular engine and/or it's automatic transmission?? I'm impressed so far, just hope it stays that way!



The 2.4 VVT is the GEMA (aka "World") engine- joint venture between Chrysler, Hyundai, and (mutter mutter) mitsushitti. Despite Mitsu being involved, apparently its an excellent engine.

I don't even know what transmission you HAVE, so I can't comment there. Are they using the same Jatco CVT in the Avenger that they put in the Caliber? Its fine- same basic design as in all the Nissans with CVTs. I doubt its a 4-speed but if it is, they've long since got the kinks worked out. A bit aged now, but reliable. You've probably got one of the new 5-speeds thats a derivative of the 41TE, but I know little about them.
 
How do you like your Avenger? I really like how they look, and wouldn't mind having one myself, but the supposed sluggishness of the 2.4, and the poor interior materials quality (again read elsewhere) turned off off. I like how it looks better than the focus, but is there really any reason to choose the Avenger over the focus?
 
Im in the same boat as you I bought a hyundai sonata with a 2.4 and am also doing the 1-3-5 but I dont know if I should use a 5w20 or a 5w30? I wounder if we really have the exact same engine as stated above?? If so I can tell you that Hyundai says its ok to use 5w20 5w30 or 10w30 as long as its above 0F on the 10w30. They also reccomend quakerstate so atleast you got that right I suppose!
 
Can't speak for the Avenger, but in my Patriot, which weighs a bit over 3000lbs., the 2.4, while not a rocket, isn't sluggish either...as long as you're in the right gear. Power is, of course, better at higher rpms.
For oil brands, I've heard Pennzoil Platinum is an excellent choice, though currently, I'm using Mobil 1 EP, just for kicks.
 
Hmmm, my engine is a 2.4l 4-CYLINDER DOHC 16 VALVE DUAL VVT ENGINE ... Is that what's in the Hyundai Sonata??
 
I like it so far, the engine is surprisingly peppy and the interior is nice enough to me...of course, I suppose that'd be subjective to each individual. Me, I'm use to driving 10 to 20 year old vehicles but they are all in very good condition...only reason I got this "new" one is due to the cash for clunkers program and rebate incentives whereby I got a total of $8,000 off of the sticker by trading in my '94 Crown Vic Police Interceptor that had a very good body but the motor was about to be on it's last leg, it had a roar in the rear end, and the tires were wearing thin, etc., etc. .. so instead of rebuilding/replacing the engine and installing a new headliner, new tires, maybe a rearend, and then looking forward to maybe a tranny rebuild I traded it in for more than I could have sold it for.

So far, So good...we've only had it a week but I can't get my wife out of it..she loves it and the free for a year Sirius radio doesn't hurt - and this is her coming out of driving an extremely nice '99 Buick Lesabre Limited that I recently bought from my Mom (that she bought new and I maintained) ... my daughter is now driving the buick - yep, we tend to keep the newly purchased vehicles in the family for all they're worth...and along that line, the lifetime powertrain warranty is comforting to have as well.
 
Grrr.. See, I absolutely love the styling of the Avenger. But, I could get what I believe is a much nicer Ford Focus for much less.... But I don't know anymore. It's still a ways off before I could afford a new car anyway.
 
I hear ya...I had no plans of buying a new vehicle or any vehicle as I already had enough..but, the Crown Vic had developing issues and the Limited Exploder that I went thru from end to end just left a bad taste in my mouth and so I ended up putting it up for sale after I took the opportunity to buy a good '97 Ranger that came along the day before I went to look at the Avenger...so now I've let my daughter take the Buick to drive and I've also got my late Father's '90 model Chevy "Chattanooga" pickup (just to have) as well...nope, I didn't "need" a new vehicle - just took advantage of the opportunity.

I was gonna check out the Ford Focus as well but I couldn't find as good a deal as Dodge was offering...if you can get a better deal with the Ford Focus that sounds great - Ford is doing better than Chrysler, financially speaking...

Hahaha...so now I've got a Buick, a Chevy, a Dodge, a Ford, and a Harley - can't be more American than that!

BTW, just for who's interested, it has the inferno red crystal pearl paint and they had it striped with a flat black decal along the bottom with the word AVENGER in the stripe with another wide stripe following the line of the rear fender - looks good and sporty for a 4 door if I do say so myself - a little scaled down Charger economy car!
 
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