Oil Change
Created September 8, 2007, at 11:24 pm by f77126
I almost hit the dealer recommended 3750 miles for oil change. Where do you guys go for oil change or do it on your own? Since this car is recommended to use 0W-20 oil, it seems the oil change will be expensive. How much is it?
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I will probably hit the 3750 mark in about 3 weeks but when I negotiated the deal with Capistrano Nissan they gave me the 3750 mile service for free. They will also be installing the kickplates and I plan to have them replace the drivers side rear clear tail light cover as it somehow is streaked on the inside. Otherwise the car has been great with mileage in the 29 to 36 range (it includes a 1100 mile trip to Arizona across the desert doing 80 - 83 mph outside temp was 116 deg.).
As soon as I get it serviced I will inquire on the cost, you can also call them as I suspect they would quote the cost over the phone.
Later
My dealer told my to bring it in at 3750 for a free change. After that I don't know.
my was just regular oil. it will run fine on regular oil and any fuel savings you get from using 0w20 is lost from the cost of the oil change...
the dealership is just trying to make extra money off of you. my oil changes cost $29
I'm having the same issue. I called 6 local dealers and got a split answer - 3 said synthetic ($75-85 range) and 3 said regular was fine. Who knows what to believe. Does anyone know if the rule of thumb is 3750 or is it the earlier of 3750 and some number of months. I don't put too many miles on mine so I'm only at about 2k miles after 6 months. Also, I'm averaging around 31 mpg according to the display - mostly around town driving. Does that seem low? I was thinking I'd be in the upper thirties.
This is from Nissan Tech Bulletin NTB07-007c which was released on August 27th:
Engine Oil for the Altima Hybrid
• SAE 0W-20 is recommended.
• SAE 5W-20 OR 5W-30 engine oil may also be used. However, SAE 0W-20 is the best choice for optimum fuel economy and optimum starting in cold weather.
5W-20 and 5W-30 can be purchased as non-synthetic as well as synthetic. I don't believe there's a non-synthetic version of 0W-20.
Mileage intervals run from 3,750 to 7,500 depending on how severe your driving conditions are. I've always used 5,000 or 6 months.
question #1 is, will it start in cold weather? if so, then it doesn't matter, does it?
question #2 is, will i be saving $40 worth of gas within the 3000-5000 miles when i'm driving it? let's say we average 30 MPG (conservative estimate) @ $3 /gallon. That means you need 100-167 gallons(3k-5k) to drive that distance and that's $300-$500(3k-5k) worth of gas. You would need to increase your fuel economy by 15% (to 34.5) @ 3000 miles oil changes or 8.3% (to 32.5) @ 5000 mile oil changes. let's face it, that aint happening, so really, it's Nissan Corporate throwing a bone to the Nissan dealers.
While using a non-synthetic 5W-20 or 5W-30 might save money in the short term, a 0W-20 synthetic might save money in the long haul. I would assume that a 0W-20 synthetic would protect the engine better on cold start ups when most engine wear occurs - especially in the winter. Also, a synthetic would probably allow longer drain intervals which would lessen the extra costs of using a more expensive oil.
I do my own oil changes. I paid about $5.30 (shipping included) a quart for 0W-20 Pennzoil on the internet. I also bought Nissan oil filters for $4.00 (shipping included) on the internet so an oil change costs me about $30. I'll do 5,000 mile intervals. If I was using non-synthetic then I would probably do 3,0000 - 3,500 intervals.
*shrugs*
this is quite confusing (i was reading many forums) i guess most places do say 0w20 is the way to go, but that's a tough pill to swallow if it's $5 a quart
I'm not sure that the NAH would last any longer if you use synthetic motor oil instead of the "dino" variety.
I know with other makes of cars it can make a difference. I traded in a 2003 Passat for my NAH and my wife still drives a 2005 Passat Wagon. There were all kinds of problems with sludge deposits with these cars becuase - VW claims - people weren't using the correct oil and weren't changing it often enough. The only oils that VW recommends are a handful of certain synthetics that have the VW certification. I believe Toyota and SAAB also had similar problems. These cars were over stressing the oil for a number of reasons like too small an oil pan and turbocharges. The Nissan could be engineered so that the oil isn't stessed that hard but I wonder about all those start-ups it has to do when coming out of the EV mode where the oil presuure has to build up each time.
that's the argument for the 0w20's. they recommend it for the constant startups
The engine is always spinning at >1000rpm. The startups just involve opening the valves and turning on the ignition. This isn't like the "mild hybrid" Saturn that actually turns the whole engine off when you stop at a light. The requirement for lighter oil is probably because the engine clearances are machined smaller on this engine.
I have to say that synthetic oil is the only way to go. On my first cars I religiously changed the oil every 3000 miles, but they still wore out the rings by 100k miles. Starting in 1992 I used synthetic oil from the first change and never saw ring wear.
The ICE's in the NAH and the Toyotas are at 0 rpm - stopped - whenever you're in the EV mode.
Here's a diagram:
http://eahart.com/prius/psd/
Synthetic oil is best....some believe it does not make a difference unless it is a race car and/or harsh conditions but there is no dispute that synthetic oil holds up and lubricates better in tests. Since Synthetic is less volitile to temp. change etc. you can use 5w30 in place of the 0w30 recommended. No you don't NEED it and the avg. car will run 100k+ without skipping a beat on regular oil, but why not join the synthetic oil 250k+ club.....as I did in my last car (a lexus) which was still running strong & not burning oil when I sold it w/ 280k.
I put Mobil1 in my Altima Hy, 5w30 and plan to use it for the life of the car. The local Nissan dealer gets $27- for a standard oil change and $90- for a synthetic oil change which is a TOTAL RIP OFF considering a gallon of Mobil 1 cost $25- at the auto parts store (Pep Boys) The dealer agreed to use my oil and charged me $13- for the filter, labor and disposal so in essence I get a Synthetic oil change by Nissan for $44.25 (5 quarts).
A few more thoughts: You should switch to Synthetic if you plan to use it as early as possible after you get the car, I switched to it after 500 miles (some believe you should change the oil regardless after the 1st 500 miles in all new cars due to high contaminants deposited during the break-in - impossible to prove/disprove the wisdom of this). Once you change to Synthetic, keep it that way; like yo-yo dieting, it is bad to go from synthetic to regular back and forth. It is also bad to vary oil weights seasonally or otherwise, cntrary to wisdom of yore. Also the 'synthetic blend' oil touted by some dealers and oil change shops is the biggest rip-off of all as you never really know what you are getting as far as ratios of synthetic:regular; go 100% synthetic (I'm a big fan of Mobil1 brand) every time or not at all.
some say that you should keep dino oil in your car until 10,000 miles so that a seal builds up on the gaskets.
and you want to look for 0w-20 which is better for hybrids. hard to find it right now though, $5-6 a quart of Mobil 1
You can get the 0W-20 at any Wal-Mart. Even have it changed there. The oil is expensive almost $6 a quart but I think worth it in gas savings and performance. You have to judge.
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