Dealer oil change, ever wonder?

[1978elcamino]

Ever wonder if your standard dealer oil change brew was good manufacture specific oil, ie motorcraft, dexos etc... or cheap bulk oil. Just think, if someone went to every auto brands dealer in a given town for an oil sample what the results would be? Just curious to what you think most results would be? I would bet that most would be a semi blend 5w20, unless they asked or told what viscosity you were given. Your thoughts?

 

[Wolf359]

Depends on the dealer. At the MB dealer, they had pallets of Mobil 1 oil in the parts department.

 

[Railrust]

I think you're absolutely right. It probably depends on the dealer, but I'd guess most use a non descriptive house brand from local distributors. I know someone that works at a Toyota dealer and I've asked what they use, he says you have a choice between Mobil 1 or TGMO. But Toyota of course is now doing their 10,000 mile oil changes standard. I've talked to someone that works at a local Chevy dealer, he says they use a house brand dexos oil with option of paying more for Mobil 1.

And I know another guy who works at a dealer and he told me how they all used to grab a quart here or there for their own vehicles until manage,ent cracked down on it. Then they had to go to the parts counter and place their order (amount per repair order). He said the techs got around it by skimming a half quart on each oil change and would pump it into milk cartons for themselves. Bottom line...do your oil changes yourself if you can. Lol

 

[SirTanon]

I do the changes on my Fusion myself, but I have an agreement with the Nissan dealer for our Altima, so they do all the oil changes for us, and I know exactly what they are putting in... and it's not what is spec'd for the car.

The 2.5 engine in our '14 Altime is supposed to get syn 0w-20 but the dealership puts semi-syn 5w-30 in it. I found out on our 3rd oil change and had a long discussion with the service advisor there about it after I noticed on the paperwork, which ended up turning into a discussion with the service manager. I asked him how they think it's okay to use it when the manual clearly states 0w-20, and he ended up digging up a document issued by Nissan USA stating that in warmer climates, the 5w-30 was approved for use.

We talked further, and I expressed my concerns and they noted them in their system, but since they do all the maintenance, and the car is covered by a 7-year, 100,000-mile warranty, I'm leaving it up to them. Since it's all done in-house, there's no push-back.

 

[1978elcamino]

I know a guy that works as a tech at a Cadillac dealer. back in the day if I went to his work, an oil change was GM oil, a molly additive and every hinge was dabbed with grease from a can that had a brush connected at the lid, like pvc glue. When I was a teenager I worked at Tire kingdom, every oil change was 5w30 conventional valvoline, even the diesels got 5w30. This was in the 90s though.

 

[nthach]

The local Toyota dealer near my parent's place uses TGMO for warranty work and Chevron for everything else. The local Lexus dealer, or one of them still uses Kendall.

I think dealers stick to a brand-name oil just to make their customers sleep well at night. I see lots of Amtecol at indie shops around my neck of the woods. I wouldn't even use that stuff on my bike.

 

[skyactiv]

There is a new trend starting. More and more dealers are owned by a large conglomerate that owns several dealers.
Sonic Automotive as an example has dealers in 14 different states and represents 24 different brands.
Clearwater Toyota in Florida is a Sonic dealer as is Hatfield Volkswagen in Ohio. They can use their size as negotiating power
to obtain a better deal with a national well known brand, even through the oil will be distributed by a local or regional distributor.
They used SOPUS products across the board where possible at one time and they still might.

 

[oldhp]

I saw a huge square caged plastic tank with Mobile 5W30 sticker at the Chevy dealer, not "Mobil 1". At the Mopar dealer they use bulk Chevron Supreme 5W20.

 

[TTK]

In some states, it is the law for the dealer doing the oil change to put Brand of oil and viscosity grade on the work order. Many don't even know it is a law. My Subaru dealer uses Subaru 0w-20 motor oil and that is what is written on the invoice. My Volvo dealer does not put the information on the invoice, although by Law they are supposed to and if you ask they say Castrol "semi-synthetic" or Castrol Synthetic OE, depending on what year your car is.

 

[Audios]

All of the dealers I was at used either BMW, Mercedes genuine oil, or we had the Formula M 5/40 at the time that went into everything but the diesels at MB.

 

[PWMDMD]

Originally Posted by SirTanon
I do the changes on my Fusion myself, but I have an agreement with the Nissan dealer for our Altima, so they do all the oil changes for us, and I know exactly what they are putting in... and it's not what is spec'd for the car.

The 2.5 engine in our '14 Altime is supposed to get syn 0w-20 but the dealership puts semi-syn 5w-30 in it. I found out on our 3rd oil change and had a long discussion with the service advisor there about it after I noticed on the paperwork, which ended up turning into a discussion with the service manager. I asked him how they think it's okay to use it when the manual clearly states 0w-20, and he ended up digging up a document issued by Nissan USA stating that in warmer climates, the 5w-30 was approved for use.

We talked further, and I expressed my concerns and they noted them in their system, but since they do all the maintenance, and the car is covered by a 7-year, 100,000-mile warranty, I'm leaving it up to them. Since it's all done in-house, there's no push-back.



Half the dealerships use cheap oil that does not meet the official specs for an engine and yet we have people here who believe if you put quality 5W-30 in a car spec'd for 0W-20:

1. A perfectly sound engine will blow up if it's too cold and you give it too much throttle
2. Your warranty is immediately void
3. The dealership will absolutely know you used 5W-30 and not 0W-20 and will interrogate you until you admit the truth.

 

[MParr]

Our local Hyundai dealership uses 5W20 Quacker State blend in all NA vehicles.They use 5W30 Quaker State Ultimate Durability in all turbocharged vehicles.

 

[sloinker]

Mopar is running a bunch of ads nowadays about their use of Pennzoil. I was at the dealer the other day and can attest to Pennzoil on the shelves. Don't know about their bulk tanks.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted by MParr
Our local Hyundai dealership uses 5W20 Quacker State blend in all NA vehicles.They use 5W30 Quaker State Ultimate Durability in all turbocharged vehicles.



Good thing they didn't put that Quacker State in the turbo models, that would have been one duck of a mistake.

 

[ammolab]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by MParr
Our local Hyundai dealership uses 5W20 Quacker State blend in all NA vehicles.They use 5W30 Quaker State Ultimate Durability in all turbocharged vehicles.



Good thing they didn't put that Quacker State in the turbo models, that would have been one duck of a mistake.


Yep, might cause a quacked turbo housing.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by PimTac
Originally Posted by MParr
Our local Hyundai dealership uses 5W20 Quacker State blend in all NA vehicles.They use 5W30 Quaker State Ultimate Durability in all turbocharged vehicles.



Good thing they didn't put that Quacker State in the turbo models, that would have been one duck of a mistake.


Al the Quacker ducks I know use Mobile-1. They don't like SOAPUS.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

Your quacking me up...

My dealership uses Valvoline oil. Since my car can take SM I am not concerned. Their bulk tank probably has SN or SN+. My problem is they overfilled my Elantra by 1/2 quart. I like free oil, but not that way.

 

[mazdamonky]

I know my local Mazda uses Castrol all across the board. I won't complain as I believe Castrol makes good oil.

 

[MParr]

You guys are just too funny. In a hurry and not proofreading before hitting the post button. I can't go back and edit the reply. You all new that I meant Quaker State. 🦆🦆🦆

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by Railrust
He said the techs got around it by skimming a half quart on each oil change and would pump it into milk cartons for themselves.


Weird, when I was a tire tech we had more than handful of various half-quarts of Mobil 1 and other synthetics. People would pay for the bottled oil change, buy the stuff right there in the store, and not want the last fraction. I assume because they didn't burn oil and didn't want hazmat to deal with.

We used it for charity cases but could have taken it probably. It was in our way and off the books.