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Oil change at dealership

9K views 30 replies 23 participants last post by  aeyPines 
#1 ·
Hello everyone! I've stalked this forum many times but I've never joined. I have a 2019 Nissan Frontier 4.0 V6. I went by my local dealership today to get an oil change (I prefer to do it myself but I moved into an apartment where it makes it hard to do). I asked for full synthetic, expecting to get 5w-30 full syn. What they put in is 0w-20. I did some research, and saw that some of you on the forum have had this issue before. I then went back and spoke to the service manager, and he claims that when he looked up my vin it says he can use 5w-30 or 0w-20 and that it wouldn't violate my warranty. So I left. What would you guys do? Thanks!
 
#4 ·
In the drive to higher mileage, many manufacturers have gone to using 0W-20 oils. This viscosity can only be achieved with synthetics which drives the cost up for owners. I betcha the new 3.8 L uses 0W-20.

Dealers buy huge quantities of oil for their service business so they carry a lot of 0W-20. It would be inconvenient for them to carry a less popular blend such as 5W-30 used in our 4.0. The heavier oil has stronger film strength which I prefer for the 4.0. But the service manager has a business to run so magically your VIN shows 0W-20 as acceptable oil. It would probably work OK. Just expect less engine life. You would not see any detrimental effects until after the warranty period.

Personally, I would not put up with this and demand the correct oil be put in the truck. At least Nissan was forthright in their documentation. I imagine a Jiffy Lube would put in whatever they had and say it's 5W-30 oil.
 
#28 ·
If all of your oil changes are done at a Nissan dealer, I would agree with that.
But what about that rap that develops shortly after the warranty?
Or the following changes are not done by a third party. Nissan can claim the oil wasn't changed.
Your receipts prove you bought oil, they don't prove it went into this vehicle.
Zero weight oil is too thin, don't use it. You're much better off with 10w-30 than 0w-30.
 
#11 ·
It's probably more than fine unless you're towing or offroad a bunch. It's a good opportunity to do a Used Oil Analysis to prove it works or doesn't work, and keep the documentation from the dealership on it. 0w20 synthetic will outperform most if not all 5w30 conventional oils. Personally, I'd just keep an eye on the level and use it for data.
 
#12 ·
If the manufacturer put out a bulletin about 20 weight then they should be able to provide it to you. If they can't provide you with legitimate documentation then your call bud. If you are uneasy about it, it's your truck, and you should do what you want to with it. IMO it's protected well, especially going into the winter months, and on short commutes, I bet it performs better than 5w30.
 
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#13 ·
I would worry less about the lighter oil now that it is approaching winter. The lighter weight synthetic may be better at protecting the engine in cold temps if you commute and do errands this winter. Next change it is time for the 5w-30.

Get a quart of 10w-30 to use as a top up if you are worried. Mobile One even has a 15w-50 but I'm not suggesting that.

Tt
 
#14 ·
Mixing oils is probably not a good idea. Engine oils are designed with a chemical additive package that allows the oil to perform. Unless you can get the exact same brand of oil I wouldn't risk mixing oils of different viscosities because the different additive packages might not work well together. It's the same reason no one recommends oil additives.

Really though, you should use the oil that the engine was designed for. The bearings are designed differently to allow the use of the low viscosity fuel efficient oils in newer engines. The VQ40 is not a new engine.

Starting in about 2007 BMW decided to cover all preventive maintenance of their cars for 4 years, including oil changes. The same year they increased all of their maintenance intervals by 2x. Brand new turbocharged cars were being sold with 15k mil oil change intervals - that's crazy. Lots of turbos were destroyed mostly beyond the warranty period. I bought a car with 56,000 miles and the turbo seals were shot from the oil not being able to properly lubricate the turbo bearings. It was just out of warrenty. I modified the oil change interval to 7,500 miles and replacements have more than 100,000 miles on them.

Dealers do things like this all the time. They are mainly interested in the initial sale and making sure the vehicle lasts beyond the warranty period. After that their interest is in you buying a new car.

If it were my truck I would drain the oil and remove the filter to get the oil sitting in it out. Put everything back together and use some Pennzoil Premium 5w-30 or other quality synthetic. I wouldn't even trust a bulletin stating 0w-20 can be used in the VQ40. See my comment about BMW above.

Read some online reviews and find a local independent mechanic. It will save you money in the long run.
 
#15 ·
Stories like this are why I will never pay a dealer to perform services on my vehicles, especially oil changes. I will only have the dealer do work on my vehicles if it is free warranty work, otherwise I do it myself or take it independent shops. Some argue that dealers know best and have the specialized training to work on certain makes/models, but I disagree. A competent mechanic can do the work that a dealer will do at the same or higher quality. Plus, dealers are generally they are more expensive. Maybe not more expensive for oil changes, but I bet the certified techs aren't wasting their time doing oil changes.

Arguing if 0W-20 will be okay is a different subject and will be filled with peoples opinions and no real facts. If a dealer put the wrong oil in and your have a receipt showing it, then you will have good evidence later down the line if problems come up and you need warranty work, so I wouldn't worry about that part of things. The dealer should be liable at that point.

If it was me, I would go back to the dealership and demand a full refund. If they continue to tell you that the 0W-20 is okay for your truck, ask them to provide an official document on Nissan USA's letter head stating that 0W-20 is an acceptable oil since it is not listed in the owners manual.

If they offer to change the oil again to 5W-30 free of charge I would decline and demand a refund and go to a independent shop to have it done. They have already showed you they are incompetent of doing a simple task such as changing the oil correctly. I would not let this dealer touch my vehicle again.
 
#17 ·
I believe consistency in oil type, and even brand, is important. Based on 40+ years of car and motorcycle home oil changes with no failures and hardly any oil consumption.
Stick with the manufacture recommended and not some cheap dealer trying to bs their way out of a screw up.
Free country, you want to deviate from the recommended viscosity and put a different brand in depending on where you go and what they have in stock, go ahead. Not me.
 
#18 ·
I believe consistency in oil type, and even brand, is important. Based on 40+ years of car and motorcycle home oil changes with no failures and hardly any oil consumption.
Stick with the manufacture recommended and not some cheap dealer trying to bs their way out of a screw up.
Free country, you want to deviate from the recommended viscosity and put a different brand in depending on where you go and what they have in stock, go ahead. Not me.
I have 40+ years in changing oil in cars, trucks, and power equipment, and regularly change between brands. I have never had an engine failure related to lubrication, and minimal consumption. Motor oil from any single brand changes more over the life of the vehicle than the differences between major brands at any one time. Just follow the manufacturer recommendations.
 
#19 ·
OP: betting you paid a pretty penny for this oil change?
Though I've heard of some Nissan dealerships using Mobil 1, most use a blend as their 'synthetic oil'. These could be as little as 5-10% synthetic mixed w/ conventional oil to qualify as a blended synthetic. So, by demanding 100%/full synthetic, their hands were tied, but not to the point that they shouldn't have explained what they have to offer viscosity-wise.
 
#20 ·
Wow, thanks for the replies everyone! I'm going to go back and demand that they change it. And yes shift_RUSH, it was way to damn expensive. This will be my first and last time going to a dealer. The service manager actually told me they have Mobil 5w-30 syn, but that it costs more than the 0w-20 Nissan branded oil. Thanks everyone!
 
#22 ·
My question is how would you even know if you are getting full synthetic, 0w-20 or synthetic which is what they will put in if you don’t elaborate on full synthetic. They pump it out of barrels.. who knows what it is..

The thing is with the warranty.. they may be putting the wrong oil in the whole term of your warranty doing damage that they won’t own up to after warranty is out!
Damage Already Done
 
#23 ·
My question is how would you even know if you are getting full synthetic, 0w-20 or synthetic which is what they will put in if you don’t elaborate on full synthetic. They pump it out of barrels.. who knows what it is..

The thing is with the warranty.. they may be putting the wrong oil in the whole term of your warranty doing damage that they won’t own up to after warranty is out!
Damage Already Done
That's what I was thinking. They just throw in whatever oil and when the warranty is up and damage is done they will stick me with the bill and find some excuse not to warranty it.
 
#24 ·
Nissan brand oils are ExxonMobil oils. So, 40 bucks if you do it yourself, and no more headaches ever again.
 
#27 ·
Your warranty should not be at issue with the dealer recording the oil change. Winter is on the way and the lighter oil could become a benefit these next few months. If you have any worry, you could add some oil stabilzer to make sure it coats well. Lucas has one I like and I believe that STP and Rislone have stabilizer additives
 
#31 · (Edited)
I used to go to a gas station with a Mobil 1 oil changer all the time. They'd change it in less than 30 minutes and since they only use Mobil 1 products, I didn't have to worry what they put in there. It was pretty cheap, too. Unfortunately, they've long closed that place up.
 
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