DIY Oil Change

[bsterneckert]

Grettings,
I just bought a new 2012 Volt and love it so far. Haven't used a drop of gas yet. I have always changed the oil in my cars and was wondering if anyone has done it yet. I understand I won't have to do it for a while, but I am goign to be driving the car long distance in a few months and wanted to give it new oil before the trip. I think it is a cartridge filter replacement. Does anyone have any tips on doing it or pictures. Once I do it, I will post any lessons learned. Thanks in advance.

[black88mx6]

I know I will not be changing my oil until the oil life is at 10% or so, this should be sometime in 2014 or so. If you plan on moving forward with this, you might be the first.

[Noel Park]

Congratulations on your new Volt. Enjoy!

On the oil change front, I have to agree with black88mx6. I have had my Volt a year and driven it 21K miles, over 18K on electricity. The oil life display currently shows 73% remaining. I think I remember reading that it puts up an oil change prompt after 2 years regardless of mileage or hours. I'm planning on waiting for that. So you very well maybe the first if you go ahead and do it. And we may indeed learn from you.

I have also read that the oil life indicators are actually very reliable. So I would suggest not doing it until the car prompts you to. Might as well save oil along with gas IMHO.

[Solarwind]

Hi bsterneckert;
Congratulations, we still love ours 8200 miles purchased 10/20 of 11, 2012 model. I changed the oil in December with the indicator showing about 74% remaining but at that time we had just finished two trips and had 4500 miles and less then 300 EV miles. I have always tried to change around 3500 miles and in fact I always changed new engines early due to possible dirt/shavings during assembly. I called the volt adviser and they said don't worry about it, but old habits are hard to break.
Changing oil in the volt is a piece of cake. Purchased Fram filter at Walmart XG3387A Fram's best filter for synthetic oil required in the volt, purchased Mobile 1 also at Walmart. I bought a gallon but if I remember it holds less, book says. Drove Volt up on ramps, the filter is easy to reach from underneath and oil drain plug is handy. The only unusual thing i remember is the camshaft roller tappet is directly under the oil fill cap, but not a problem. Hope this helps, Bill

[DonC]

Congrats on your new car! I'd agree with Noel that you won't need an oil change for at least a year and probably two years. The idea of needing to change the oil every 3000 miles just doesn't hold any more. The last two cars we had only required an oil change every 12,000 miles or so. It will be more extreme with the Volt, since you're not using the engine very much. It's more like a generator where you base the oil changes on hours not miles.

I was reading an article today that said new cars and engines just don't require much service and last twice as long as the old ones. Blame it on the EPA which requires very low pollution levels up to 100,000. I can't remember exactly, but I think the article said that older engines would wear about 40 microns in 40,000 whereas newer engines, in part because of advanced lubrication, only wear 2 microns in 100,000 miles.

My conclusion is that new cars just don't need frequent oil changes, and there is no reason to waste time and money on oil changes that you don't need.

[Jim Fallston Md.]

I have had many GM vehicles with the oil life sensor and have never changed the oil in any of them until the sensor said 25% or so just to be on the safe side. I read somewhere that the ICE in the Volt is broken in at the factory where it is produced, So the obligitory first safety oil change is not even neccessary any longer. If you wanted to make sure youself that the oil is in good condition just check it with a clean paper towel and see if there is any dirt or dust giving the oil a darker color or gritty feel.

[WopOnTour]

FYI -There's no "sensor" , just an algorithm that looks at numerous inputs such as temperature, trip distance, RPM, calandar age, etc to determine the proper time to change the engine oil.

As far as DIY oil changes, no problem.
But if you wish to maintain your warranty just make sure that you:

- purchase/install a Dexos rated 5W-30 oil
- keep your dated receipts for the oil and filter purchase (preferably in your glovebox with other owner/maintenance materials)
- make note of the date and who performed the work on your maintenence record (also part of your glovebox owners materials)

HTH
WOT

[Fulgerite]

Grettings,
I just bought a new 2012 Volt and love it so far. Haven't used a drop of gas yet. I have always changed the oil in my cars and was wondering if anyone has done it yet. I understand I won't have to do it for a while, but I am goign to be driving the car long distance in a few months and wanted to give it new oil before the trip. I think it is a cartridge filter replacement. Does anyone have any tips on doing it or pictures. Once I do it, I will post any lessons learned. Thanks in advance.

You will not need an oil change for at least a year from now.

[DonC]

Here is the article about engines I was thinking about: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/au...pagewanted=all

[Flyingscotsman]

I agree with some of the replies on this post. Back in the old days when engines and oil were really poor, yes, 3000 miles was a good time to change the oil. But everytging has changed over the years, and our way of thinking has to as well. The choice of oil in the Volt is well suited for a long shelf live when only firing up the ICE now and then, so it is a waste of money that has an environmental impact if you change way too early. I project my ICE miles at only 1000 per year, so I have no problem waiting for the two year mark for the oil change.
For the DIY guys out there, you probably know it's best to do an oil change with a hot engine. Either run with a drained main battery and drive on gas power before the work, use mountain mode if the battery is low, or if all else fails, pop the hood with power on, that forces the engine to start. I guess 10 minutes of idle will be enough to warm the oil to help it drain better and mix up any material that may have settled.
One final point: With a projected oil change of two years it's even more important to check the oil level on a regular basis (you can also keep an eye on the look of the oil over time).