A Curious Question About Oil
My 2017 Cruze 1.4L, according to both the owner's manual and the oil-filler cap, uses 5W-30, Dexos 1 engine oil. However, I've seen some 2nd-Gen Cruzes that say 0W-20 on the oil-filler cap, also for a 1.4L gasoline engine. Why the difference? Same engine, should use the same oil, no? :blink:
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So pure conjecture on this but they use 0-20 for break-in then switch to the oil specced for normal use. I still have the 0-20 cap since mine hasn't gotten its first oil change yet. Tempted to take it in this weekend since its at 3200 but oil life is still saying 56%...
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Sounds like you're right, the 0W-20 is used as a break-in oil and 5W-30 after the break-in period. I just find it odd that nowhere in the manual or anywhere else have I seen this officially documented.
As hot as that turbo gets and as hard as that oil has to work, I would always err on the side of caution with the oil in these vehicles. Personally, I won't let it go below 40% or so. That's also why I use nothing but top-tier 93-octane fuel in the car, which it runs much better on. A few bucks extra to save that motor and its pistons as much as possible sounds like a good trade to me. Just my 2 cents.
So I got my first of my 5 free oil changes. The oil they use is 0w-20 Synthetic Oil. The cap wasn't changed out nor a different type of Oil. However this is a 2018 LE2 so that may be part of the equation. I will say though that the oil change quieted her up quite a bit. I was truly amazed.
From what was discussed in an earlier thread about this is that the 16 and 17 Gen 2's are recommended to get 530. The 18's now get Ow20, which to me is weird considering the issues that the early engines seem to have with pre ignition spark.
In the owner's manual on the 18's it states 0w20 is the oil required for the gas engine.
In the owner's manual on the 18's it states 0w20 is the oil required for the gas engine.
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I change mine at 50% oil life, the oil is dirty at that point, I don't trust it to get any dirtier especially with the turbo...
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Anybody in our forum know why the change between 2017 / 2018.? My 2017 LT manual calls for 5/30.
They changed the oil to help deal with LSPI there was TSB starting 17's should use Dexos 1 second gen (full synthetic) 0-20 it has nothing to do with break in oil
I have an 18RS and my owners manual states 0-20w ONLY!
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I would talk to another dealer and make sure.
GM stated the 5-30w was part of the LSPI
problem.
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That must have been a very sudden, abrupt change for Chevy to alter the oil spec without even having enough 0W-20 filler caps to equip all the new Cruzes. I worked for a lot of years in the engineering dept of a major automotive mfr making component parts. Even a mild mid-production change like changing the oil spec is an earth-shattering event. Such events are usually planned for months unless the changeover is driven by something major. Could it possibly be that something GM figured out in their root-cause-analysis about the engine problem being caused by the 5W-30 oil? I can't imagine anything about a slightly heavier oil causing such problems, but something sure put a bee under their saddle.
Where's the news on your statement?
If that's the case. Wouldn't there need to be a customer notification and 0-20 caps sent out?
I just recall a 0 cap when i got my car. And thinking a lower weight oil then the hyundai I traded in which was 5-30. I thought they'd both be the same.
I won't take my car back to dealer for second free or future oil changes. Their oil is lower quality then the original oil my car was shipped with. Mileage dropped from 32 to 28 and engine never cooled down during 12 hour work days. At 70 degrees. I'm back up to 36 using penz and the car cools down.
The abrupt change was in response to 1.4T and 1.5T melting pistons because of Low Speed Pre Ignition (LSPI) I read it had something to do with oil droplets in the combustion chamber Pre Igniting from the engines heat being produced. This is a well documented problem with these engines.
The also reprogrammed the ECU's on these engines to run a bit leaner I believe and to use full synthetic Dexos 1 2nd gen. Oil only.
Not sure if it was a switch to 0-20 also.
I read that letters were sent to some Malibu customers explaining the need to get the ECU reflashed and amendment to the owners manual about the changes in oil requirements not sure about Cruze owners.
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You state that you saw the 0 cap when you got the car? Then why use 5-30?
" The news" on my statement, is all the investigating I've been doing about the risk of a tune and warranty.
I'm not sure if 17's are being suggested to use 0 weight but I know for sure according to a GM TSB (I saw somewhere in this forum ) from dexos 1 to dexos 1 gen 2 which is full synthetic.
My 18 has a 0-20 cap and the owners manual specifies 0-20 dexos 1 gen 2 for all oil changes.
It seems there seems to be more care being givin to Malibu 1.5 owners than cruze owners.
https://gm.oemdtc.com/7357/17019-02...ing-cracked-piston-2016-2017-chevrolet-malibu
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The cap on the car says 5. The owners manual says 5. So that's what i use. I just figured the 0 cap was a mistake.
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Just a note, viscosity will not change whether or not LSPI occurs. That was most likely done to chase fuel economy. GM's dexos1 gen2 spec also allows 4 LSPI events during the test in order to pass. I'd rather have 0 events, which is how all of AMSOIL's oils for this car test.
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To add a comment on when to change the oil, I've owned turbo Mopars, GMs and Fords since the 90s and have always run a quality synthetic oil in all my cars. GM makes a very good oil life monitor and if you use an oil that meets their minimum specification to which it's programmed for there's no need to change it at 40-50% life remaining.
It won't hurt, and if you it gives you peace of mind I'd so go for it, but a better suggestion would be to spend part of the money you'd have used for the oil change and put it towards having your used oil tested at a reputable lab. I've personally used Blackstone Labs for years and there a few other choices on the market now.
As an example, I've ran my Cobalt SS Turbo at atuo-x events, dozens and dozens of passes down the drag strip and even down to 0% life remaining the testing showed there was still likely another 3k+ miles life left in the oil. If you use a quality filter that captures the larger particles it's almost always going to be the additive package in the oil that gets used up neutralizing acids and providing enhanced wear prevention characteristics.
While I haven't owned a 1.4L turbo or the 1.8L naturally aspirated Cruze engine (we do have one in my extended family), every engine is different so how long you can safely go on the oil will depend on the specific engine and your individual driving conditions. I'm sure over on the oil forums or even here you might be able to track down some used oil analysis (UOA) reports to get an idea based on scientific testing how hard the engine is on oil.
And if that backs up the GM oil life monitor you could always run the full service life or longer (if out of warranty) and use the money towards periodic testing. In addition to telling how much life is remaining in the oil it's also a great way to spot other internal engine problems early, such identifying tiny amounts of coolant getting into the oil, if something is prematurely wearing, how well your air filter is keeping contaminants out, etc.
It won't hurt, and if you it gives you peace of mind I'd so go for it, but a better suggestion would be to spend part of the money you'd have used for the oil change and put it towards having your used oil tested at a reputable lab. I've personally used Blackstone Labs for years and there a few other choices on the market now.
As an example, I've ran my Cobalt SS Turbo at atuo-x events, dozens and dozens of passes down the drag strip and even down to 0% life remaining the testing showed there was still likely another 3k+ miles life left in the oil. If you use a quality filter that captures the larger particles it's almost always going to be the additive package in the oil that gets used up neutralizing acids and providing enhanced wear prevention characteristics.
While I haven't owned a 1.4L turbo or the 1.8L naturally aspirated Cruze engine (we do have one in my extended family), every engine is different so how long you can safely go on the oil will depend on the specific engine and your individual driving conditions. I'm sure over on the oil forums or even here you might be able to track down some used oil analysis (UOA) reports to get an idea based on scientific testing how hard the engine is on oil.
And if that backs up the GM oil life monitor you could always run the full service life or longer (if out of warranty) and use the money towards periodic testing. In addition to telling how much life is remaining in the oil it's also a great way to spot other internal engine problems early, such identifying tiny amounts of coolant getting into the oil, if something is prematurely wearing, how well your air filter is keeping contaminants out, etc.
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Aye, a saucy tale if there ever was one. Just one thing missing... PROOF... Any kind of proof whatsoever. This is NOT an attack on you, alanl11, so please don't take it as one. "I heard" and "I read" do NOT constitute proof and if indeed that's the case, then why hasn't GM contacted the rest of us who bought from a GM dealer? Something just doesn't smell right here.
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Just a bit of caution here. Blackstone doesn't test anywhere nearly enough metrics to make a reliable judgment on how much longer someone can drive on a given oil. Oxidation, for example, is a very important metric in turbo engines that Blackstone doesn't test for.
TBN is nonlinear and is not an absolute number, it has to be interpreted. Some oils should not go below a certain number. For example, if you're running Rotella diesel oil in a truck, oil needs to be changed before base oil drops below 4.0, but if you're running AMSOIL or Lubrication Engineers, you can often get base number down to even 0.5 and still maintain protection. It's not as black and white as it looks.
GM oil life monitors are not that great. I have a whole folder on my computer full of sludged up 1.4L turbo engines from 2011 and 2012 Cruzes that were dealer maintained at OLM recommended intervals. Maybe they've gotten better, but the engines have also become harder on oil.
Oil analysis is very limited in scope and testing ability. Just wanted to caution you from reading too far into one. They are only really useful when evaluated as trending. One single oil analysis tells you very little. Furthermore, your effective range for particle counts is 1-6 microns, which will not catch serious wear such as that of component failure and will also miss wear that occurs below the 1 micron size, which I've noticed most turbo bearing wear falls under (an observation from reviewing oil analysis reports for many years). Without something like ASTM D7647 particle count testing, the wear numbers you get in a basic oil analysis is like looking into a dark room through a keyhole and trying to explain what's inside to a blind man that barely speaks your language.
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