DIY Oil Change

16084 Views 65 Replies 32 Participants Last post by SLEEPS, Nov 30, 2011

BAF

Discussion Starter · Aug 20, 2010

So, what's the verdict on DIY oil changes? I see a lot of conflicting reports, both regarding whether or not you will have warranty issues doing it yourself as well as what records to keep/how to prove you did the changes.

I took it to the dealer for the first change, and got raped paying almost 90 bucks!

I have another area dealer that charges 30 bucks, which is much more reasonable, however I'm doing a DIY change tomorrow (I'm driving the car to Florida and back, leaving Sunday, and nobody around here could fit me in before then). I probably won't go over 7500 miles since the last change, but I'm doing it just for the peace of mind, better safe than sorry.

If this is going to be a warranty liability, I won't continue to do so. Otherwise, it would be nice to do changes on it myself when no other major service is required to save time.

1 - 20 of 66 Posts

EspanaSX

· #2 · Aug 20, 2010

Thats funny I just posted on this in another forum.

YOU WILL HAVE WARRANTY ISSUES IF YOU DIY. (not yelling, more like emphasizing, sorry I just don't want anyone to get screwed)

My cousin blew his RX8 motor. It is still covered under warranty, He takes in the car and the first thing they ask, "do you have proof of maintenance records?" They would not honor the warranty without the proof. So, he said what if I did it myself and they replied "you can't prove that maintenance was done and done correctly if you did it yourself. We don't know if you purchased oil for another vehicle or if you're just bringing in a friends receipt. We have no way of telling anything was done to your vehicle.

Hope this helps. Keep records. keep all receipts. Keep it in a binder in your glove box. It is good to have when and if you decide to sell the vehicle as well.

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tampajoey

· #3 · Aug 20, 2010

and along that same line- see the thread where guy takes car to dealer
(he put a secret mark on the filter) and turns out - they never changed the filter.

and there is another thread where guy picks up new car-
only to find its gas tank, and other various fluids on empty

in otherwords- trust no one out there
its a bummer alrighty

BAF

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 20, 2010

I just did that change, I suppose I'll just hit the dealer in the future, these were extenuating circumstances though.

Also, WTF do they expect you to torque the drain bolt to? I could hardly get it off in the driveway, had to resort to a breaker bar. Did the dealer freaking impact it on?

[email protected]

· #5 · Aug 20, 2010

You wrote:
"I took it to the dealer for the first change, and got raped paying almost 90 bucks!

"

...How can that happen? Didn't you ask the dealer how much was an oil change 'before' you commited to it'? How can you buy something without first knowing the cost?

corytate

· #6 · Aug 20, 2010

1) 90 is about what an oil change SHOULD cost, but oil changes at a lowerr rate are ALWAYS a loss of profit.
Think about it: parts and a half hour of labor, theres NO WAY it should be less than 60, and thats if the shop labor is only 75 an hour
2) I've been doing my own oil changes since the first, when I asked what oil they were going to use, they said whatever they have lying around the shop. That tells me that their attitude is basically "so what if it blows up, It'll be replaced under warranty."
I dont want to have to worry about that, so I do my own work so I know it's done right. If I run into a problem and they wont cover it under warranty, I'll take it to court with my documentation. If they still won't cover it, whatever, a NEW engine is only 6k from the dealer, it'll work out okay. But they better be able to prove it was the fact that I did my own oil changes caused whatever happened.

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EspanaSX

· #7 · Aug 20, 2010

It's not a matter of them proving you doing your oil changes ruined the car, because actually all they have to say is that the oil changes were never done. They can easily argue that based on you having only a receipt for oil and a filter, that it wasn't for your vehicle. You would bear the burden of proof. Take photos before/during/after each DIY oil change. This way you have proof.

side note, I am all for DIY and on the side of the owners, I don't want anyone to get screwed into having to pay 6k for an engine just because the dealer reject's your DIY oil change receipts. They didn't except my cousins. He had to pay for a new engine.

BAF

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 21, 2010 (Edited)

I thought they had to prove that improper maintenance was cause for the failure? They can easily pull the oil from the engine and send it to a lab and get a pretty good idea of the age of it. I did call a local dealer today and inquired about DIY changes, they told me no problems with warranty, just keep oil/filter receipts and document mileage.

Also, is your cousin pushing hard enough? Since when is it up to the dealer if they accept the proof? Is the dealer just being an asshole and giving him a hard time? Your cousin isn't dealing with KIA, has anyone around here had an oil-related engine failure denied due to DIY oil changes? Why did your cousin's engine fail (if it wasn't oil/lubrication related, then the DIY oil changes shouldn't even come into play)?

As far as asking - I didn't ask ahead of time because I never dreamed it would cost that much. Bulk oil, oil filter that they get for next to nothing from KIA, and a few minutes of shop time to do the change (nowhere near 30 minutes). They did a tire rotation too (though I've always gotten rotations for free on my old car - free rotations + rebalancing for life when you buy tires there, and the dealer didn't even rebalance my tires).

And for that $90 oil change they couldn't even manage to put the proper amount of oil in.

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EspanaSX

· #9 · Aug 21, 2010

Yea they were giving him a hard time.

My cousin is the type of guy you would think of as "the smart analytical type of guy" He really is super intelligent and he was throwing all kinds of situations and explanations to the dealer.

The dealer was trying to get out of doing a free costly repair. It was a blown motor. My cousin told me that he honestly got the oil changes done but he just didn't have proof and the dealer told him they needed proof or they would just consider it owners neglect and improper maintenance was the cause of damage. But those RX8 motors are known to give out by 60k even with moderate driving. Its really a cheap motor, even though its kinda fast.

But I think he some how came up with proof by calling all the oil lube people he went to. I believe they dug up the receipts. Now, these were like little hole in the wall mechanics. Not a big national place like JiffyLube or something. If he went to jiffy then they could have just printed him everything.

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landiscarrier

· #10 · Aug 21, 2010

Did anyone besides me get the Kia publication in the mail this week? They talk about oil changes and they speciifically say if you do your oil changes yourself just keep the receipt of the oil and filter purchase and keep track of the mileage and you will NOT have any warranty issues.

dehart

· #11 · Aug 21, 2010

I work at Valvoline and just a little hint for you guys if you do it yourself...

you do need a receipt for any and all work done to the vehicle for the warranty to be in effect, there is a small parts store where i go to buy my oil and filter for my car and they put the year, make, model, engine and mileage of my vehicle on the receipt for my oil and filter, i am also a certified mechanic so they can't say i am not capable of performing the service my self

but both the drain plug and filter will be SUPER TIGHT the first time you do your oil change because the assembly line machine does it. when you take the drain plug out ALWAYS replace the aluminum ring on the plug before putting it back in, this ring is a crush ring in place to get a good seal so there is no leakage, once it is used once it can not be used again, when putting the plug in only finger tighten and use a wrench to tighten it only enough to crush the aluminum ring a little bit

when replacing the filter always check to make sure the gasket from the old filter is on it, and not stuck to the base plate, put NEW oil on the gasket of the new filter, this prevents double gasketing because a dry rubber gasket will fuse to the base plate where an oiled one will not, and once the new filter is tightened to the base plate only tighten another 3/4 of a turn to make sure it is tight, it does not need to be ANY TIGHTER

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Ratdaddy

· #12 · Aug 21, 2010 (Edited)

corytate said:
1) 90 is about what an oil change SHOULD cost, but oil changes at a lowerr rate are ALWAYS a loss of profit.
Think about it: parts and a half hour of labor, theres NO WAY it should be less than 60, and thats if the shop labor is only 75 an hour
2) I've been doing my own oil changes since the first, when I asked what oil they were going to use, they said whatever they have lying around the shop. That tells me that their attitude is basically "so what if it blows up, It'll be replaced under warranty."
I dont want to have to worry about that, so I do my own work so I know it's done right. If I run into a problem and they wont cover it under warranty, I'll take it to court with my documentation. If they still won't cover it, whatever, a NEW engine is only 6k from the dealer, it'll work out okay. But they better be able to prove it was the fact that I did my own oil changes caused whatever happened.

Where the heck are you getting oil changes for $90.00 ??? Just had my wifes Rondo done at the dealer for $31.95 U.S. and that included checking air pressure and toping off all other fluids...Plus buy 4 and get the fifth free...This is in Oklahoma City Okla-- Castrol GTX 5-30--

Rainyraven

· #13 · Aug 21, 2010

I had my kia dealer do one oil change here with 5/20 synthetic.. *sorry for wrong spelling, but it came out to about 90 dollars, normal oil was around 30.00 dollars.

Needless to say I went back to doing my own oil changes again.

Ratdaddy

· #14 · Aug 21, 2010

And now we know..

HE HE i saw $90.00 and fell out of my chair..

Rainyraven

· #15 · Aug 21, 2010

Ratdaddy said:
And now we know.. HE HE i saw $90.00 and fell out of my chair..

Yeah I understand, I felt the same way about it when the service man gave me a price qoute lol

BAF

Discussion Starter · #16 · Aug 22, 2010

EspanaSX said:
The dealer was trying to get out of doing a free costly repair. It was a blown motor. My cousin told me that he honestly got the oil changes done but he just didn't have proof and the dealer told him they needed proof or they would just consider it owners neglect and improper maintenance was the cause of damage. But those RX8 motors are known to give out by 60k even with moderate driving. Its really a cheap motor, even though its kinda fast.

Oh, so it wasn't an issue with him DIYing his oil changes, but rather an issue with him not having any receipts?

dehart said:
but both the drain plug and filter will be SUPER TIGHT the first time you do your oil change because the assembly line machine does it. when you take the drain plug out ALWAYS replace the aluminum ring on the plug before putting it back in, this ring is a crush ring in place to get a good seal so there is no leakage, once it is used once it can not be used again, when putting the plug in only finger tighten and use a wrench to tighten it only enough to crush the aluminum ring a little bit

when replacing the filter always check to make sure the gasket from the old filter is on it, and not stuck to the base plate, put NEW oil on the gasket of the new filter, this prevents double gasketing because a dry rubber gasket will fuse to the base plate where an oiled one will not, and once the new filter is tightened to the base plate only tighten another 3/4 of a turn to make sure it is tight, it does not need to be ANY TIGHTER

Yeah, that would be expected, but the dealer had changed the oil. I'm pretty sure they took the drain plug out (or at least attempted) because I could see on the bolt head where it had been torqued on to loosen it. I did replace the crush ring, put it in finger tight and torqued it prolly between 1/16 and 1/8 of a turn.

Also, the KIA oil filter says 4/5 of a turn.

Just being a wiseass here (though it really does say that), 3/4, 4/5, it's all close enough.

Rainyraven said:
I had my kia dealer do one oil change here with 5/20 synthetic.. *sorry for wrong spelling, but it came out to about 90 dollars, normal oil was around 30.00 dollars.

Needless to say I went back to doing my own oil changes again.

At least you got synthetic. All I got for my 90 bucks was their bulk oil. And that was with a coupon they mailed me after buying the car.

jcbel

· #17 · Oct 4, 2010 (Edited)

I have yet to read my owner's manual cover to cover, but is there no torque spec for the drain plug in there?

The dealer supposedly threw in free lifetime oil changes with my EX, but we'll see how that works out.

EDIT:

Found it on www.kiatechinfo.com

Oil Filter
Tightening torque :
11.8 ~ 15.7N.m (1.2 ~ 1.6kgf.m, 8.7 ~ 11.6lb-ft)

Drain Plug
Tightening torque :
34.3 ~ 44.1N.m (3.5 ~ 4.5kgf.m, 25.3 ~ 32.5lb-ft)

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P-51

· #18 · Oct 5, 2010

Never in my life have I replaced a drain plug washer. I've probably done 50 oil changes. Never a leak. And I've never torqued a drain plug with a torque wrench. I always tighten it "about that much". But, if you're uncomfortable with this, might be best if you use a torque wrench.

FYI, in engineering torque control studies, a skilled mechanic can get closer to a torque spec just by feel, than an unskilled person using a torque wrench.

jcbel

· #19 · Oct 5, 2010

P-51 said:
FYI, in engineering torque control studies, a skilled mechanic can get closer to a torque spec just by feel, than an unskilled person using a torque wrench.

Some of us don't realize our own strength, LOL...

Seriously though I don't do this stuff enough to trust feel (yet).

WandersX

· #20 · Oct 5, 2010

To try and shed some light here, I paid 90$ as well. It was a Scheduled Maintenance B there are also other maintenance you need to do some costing 300 dollars. I was looking at the maintenance guide list with prices. I am definitely just going to let the dealer do this stuff in case I have any future problems.

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