[rpps]

My Aussie Forte is scheduled to have the engine oil changed every 15000km or 7500km if the car is driven much. They don't even change the oil after the first 1000km like they use to a few years back.
My car has just done over 6000km so decided to change the oil today it took about 10 min max, I put Castrol GTX oil in which is recomended by the Castrol Co

Castrol Australia - NetLube
Gee when I took the car for a drive I couldn't believe the difference in performance, so much more up and go and willing and quick to rev.
It's probably mind over matter but the car seems much better performance wise. I don't know if just this oil brand made the difference or whether the car loved having new oil in it's bellie

 

[wbw]

It might be psychological. Then again, maybe the car had 10W-30 from the factory and you put in 5W-20. What weight did you use?

 

[MFury]

Is that the aussie wording for engine? lol, just kidding. I can see 15k with synthetic and a good filter as long as you aren't driving in harsh conditions like dust storms gravel roads and such. They state 5k km here for regular driving non synthetic. The Amsoil I'm using says 25k for the oil and 15k for the filter... kinda hard to change the filter with the oil still in isn't it?

 

[CorsaKoup]

Not at all. Remove the filter, install another one, and add about 1/3 quart of oil to the engine.

 

[rpps]

It might be psychological. Then again, maybe the car had 10W-30 from the factory and you put in 5W-20. What weight did you use?

The oil is rated at 10w-30w. Maybe the car is shipped with Synthetic Oil and thats why in my handbook it states oil intervals at 15000km.
A good Synthetic Oil over here like Mobil 1 costs about $70 for 5 litres, $40 for the oil like Castrol I just used.
I will find out from the dealer what oil to put in the car, especially if intervals of every15000km is recomended for oil changes.
Looks like Synthetic.
In any case the oil change is easy to do and the filter is in an easy accessible place, I might keep doing the work myself I will just keep my reciepts for the warranty

 

[wbw]

I've been doing my own changes for 35 years. It's one of the few things I feel comfortable doing myself. And yeah, the car usually does seem to run a little freer. Probably all in the mind.

I can do a better job than the dealer or the quick lubes can because I can get more of the dirty oil out. The dealer or quick lubes need to get you in and out of there. When I do an oil change, I get the car up on the ramps (after driving it to warm it up), pull the plug and let the majority of the oil drain out. I put the plug back in and go in the house and eat lunch. When I go back out and pull the plug again, you would be surprised to see how much more oil drains out. All the oil in the top end of the motor has time to drain down. I just feel better knowing that I got most of the old oil out. Of course if you really want to let your OCD show, you could let it drain over night. But I'm not that weird. Yet.

Yes. Keep your receipts for the filters and oil in case you need to prove it later on.

 

[CorsaKoup]

When I bought my car, my credit manager cautioned me that maintenance needs to be performed by an ASE certified technician (not necessarily at a dealership) in order for my warranty to remain intact.

The girl that I referred to that dealership told me the other day that her salesman (also my salesman) told her that if she does her own maintenance, just keep the receipts for the materials and she'd be fine.

To clear this up, I just called Kia and was told that there is no way Kia could enforce such a rule, and that if I keep my receipts for oil & filters I'll be fine warranty-wise.

Good news, because I MUCH prefer to change my own oil...and that's what I'll be doing from now on.

 

[rpps]

Like you guys I will be doing my own services from now on. The dealers service department get low paid apprentices to work on your car and they have a quota they have to do. I had a car a few years back and decided to check the oil level after a service at the dealer, to my surprise the oil level was well below the bottom add mark.
With oil costing $35 for 5 litre's, filter around $20 and it takes about 5-10 minutes to do (not counting drain time) I can't see paying $120-$150 makes sense. Labour they quote $60-80 an hour over here.