Nope, none whatsoever. I've done my own oil changes since 5,000 miles. Many other owners have as well.
Doing Own Oil Change?
I'm wondering whether there is any problem with doing my own oil changes as far as the warranty is concerned......
I've always preferred doing it myself.
I've always preferred doing it myself.
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
Just retain receipts for the parts used and you should be ok. Personally I feel dropping by the Dealer every now and then for their $49.95 Oil change is a good idea
I have done all of my own oil change on the Cruze. It's super easy on the gen 1 and only takes me about 15 minutes. I don't even lift the car. I have an oil drain container that fits perfectly underneath. The oil change place I used in the past wants $69 for the Cruze because it requires synthetic oil. The dealership wants to keep my car all day, which is unbelievable.
Keep your receipts. Keep a log of oil changes with the dates and mileage. There is one in the back of the owners manual. Also, read through the owners manual. There are other items you are supposed to do at every oil change (I bet the dealers don't do most of these). Here is the check list I use:
Lubricate hood and door hinges and lock cylinders.
Lubricate hood latch assembly, secondary latch, spring anchor and release pawl.
Lubricate weather strips.
Check engine air filter.
Check brake fluid and coolant levels.
Inspect trans drain and fill plugs.
Inspect engine and trans for leaks.
Check tire pressures, spare and inspect valves and caps.
Inspect wheels and lug nuts.
Inspect joints, struts, linkage, shafts and seals.
Inspect lights, wiper blades, battery terminals, glass.
Inspect brake pads, drums, rotors, plugs, booster, calipers and brake lines.
Inspect park brake cable and system.
Starter switch check on page 10-29 in owners manual (2014).
Ignition transmission lock check on page 10-30.
Park brake check on page 10-30.
Auto trans shift lock control check on page 10-29.
Restraint system check on page 3-15.
Accelerator pedal check on page 11-4.
Check sunroof track and seal. page 2-24.
Safety system check. page 3-15.
It only takes a few minutes to do all of these. Instructions are included for most of them in the OM.
Keep your receipts. Keep a log of oil changes with the dates and mileage. There is one in the back of the owners manual. Also, read through the owners manual. There are other items you are supposed to do at every oil change (I bet the dealers don't do most of these). Here is the check list I use:
Lubricate hood and door hinges and lock cylinders.
Lubricate hood latch assembly, secondary latch, spring anchor and release pawl.
Lubricate weather strips.
Check engine air filter.
Check brake fluid and coolant levels.
Inspect trans drain and fill plugs.
Inspect engine and trans for leaks.
Check tire pressures, spare and inspect valves and caps.
Inspect wheels and lug nuts.
Inspect joints, struts, linkage, shafts and seals.
Inspect lights, wiper blades, battery terminals, glass.
Inspect brake pads, drums, rotors, plugs, booster, calipers and brake lines.
Inspect park brake cable and system.
Starter switch check on page 10-29 in owners manual (2014).
Ignition transmission lock check on page 10-30.
Park brake check on page 10-30.
Auto trans shift lock control check on page 10-29.
Restraint system check on page 3-15.
Accelerator pedal check on page 11-4.
Check sunroof track and seal. page 2-24.
Safety system check. page 3-15.
It only takes a few minutes to do all of these. Instructions are included for most of them in the OM.
Do it yourself. The previous owner of my car always had GM do it, and the last tech who changed the oil used an impact gun to put the train plug back on. When I did my first oil change on it, it required a welder and a torch to get the drain plug out.
Ha, don't forget to spray all those suspension joints with silicone spray, buried deep in the shop manual each oil change.I have done all of my own oil change on the Cruze. It's super easy on the gen 1 and only takes me about 15 minutes. I don't even lift the car. I have an oil drain container that fits perfectly underneath. The oil change place I used in the past wants $69 for the Cruze because it requires synthetic oil. The dealership wants to keep my car all day, which is unbelievable.
Keep your receipts. Keep a log of oil changes with the dates and mileage. There is one in the back of the owners manual. Also, read through the owners manual. There are other items you are supposed to do at every oil change (I bet the dealers don't do most of these). Here is the check list I use:
Lubricate hood and door hinges and lock cylinders.
Lubricate hood latch assembly, secondary latch, spring anchor and release pawl.
Lubricate weather strips.
Check engine air filter.
Check brake fluid and coolant levels.
Inspect trans drain and fill plugs.
Inspect engine and trans for leaks.
Check tire pressures, spare and inspect valves and caps.
Inspect wheels and lug nuts.
Inspect joints, struts, linkage, shafts and seals.
Inspect lights, wiper blades, battery terminals, glass.
Inspect brake pads, drums, rotors, plugs, booster, calipers and brake lines.
Inspect park brake cable and system.
Starter switch check on page 10-29 in owners manual (2014).
Ignition transmission lock check on page 10-30.
Park brake check on page 10-30.
Auto trans shift lock control check on page 10-29.
Restraint system check on page 3-15.
Accelerator pedal check on page 11-4.
Check sunroof track and seal. page 2-24.
Safety system check. page 3-15.
It only takes a few minutes to do all of these. Instructions are included for most of them in the OM.
Do a lot more than just peek at the brake pads, also rotate my tires at the same time, also check for break drag.
All kinds of stories from these quick lube places, like three quarts low, oil filter ready to fall off, one kid had his welded nut on his oil pan broken off, takes after his dad, took them to small claims dealer, picked a Ford dealer to do the work, quick change oil place had to pay them directly for a new oil pan.
Another striped the drain plug, but was to far away to take it back, just got a repair kit, but while at it, changed the oil and the filter.
78 Fleetwood, in Oregon back then, no self service. Tank was clear to the rear back then, guy filling the tank leaned to hard on the neck and broke it off, didn't notice this until a hundred miles away and not enough time to drive back and complain about it. Just keep my tank half full, but dropped it when I got home, could solder the neck back on on these steel tanks.
What's the point? Can even fill your gas tank without breaking something, an oil change is even a lot more complicated for these idiots.
Caught my dealer not replacing that hidden oil filter with that James Bond gluing a hair to it trick, was still there after it was done, but sure didn't forget it on the invoice.
That's a good idea. I am going to add it to my checklist. There are a lot of things buried deep in the shop manual. That thing is not easy to use.Ha, don't forget to spray all those suspension joints with silicone spray, buried deep in the shop manual each oil change.
I rotate my tires every 7500 miles. That's usually not the same time as the oil change for me. I check for brake drag and inspect the suspension parts when I do the tire rotation. Also only takes a couple minutes. That's probably when I will start spraying the suspension joints, and any other rubber parts with silicon spray.Do a lot more than just peek at the brake pads, also rotate my tires at the same time, also check for break drag.
Who came up with 7,500 miles, why not 7,499 miles or even 10 miles would be a lot better. Key reason for rotating tires is to even out the wear with single wish bone McPherson suspension. Every time you hit a bump, plenty of these on the roads, the tires have a side scrub, on the Cruze doing the calculations, and be as much as a half an inch of side scrub.That's a good idea. I am going to add it to my checklist. There are a lot of things buried deep in the shop manual. That thing is not easy to use.
I rotate my tires every 7500 miles. That's usually not the same time as the oil change for me. I check for brake drag and inspect the suspension parts when I do the tire rotation. Also only takes a couple minutes. That's probably when I will start spraying the suspension joints, and any other rubber parts with silicon spray.
Worthless anyway with the crappy tires they put on these new cars, back in the 50's-70's used a 2 ply tire with a 4 ply rating, with my new 65 Buick was lucky to even hit 10K miles with these. Cruze was the first car I purchased that actually had an 80K mile thread wear warranty, but was worthless, even took the time to register each tire, by copying that mile long serial number.
At 40K miles already down to the thread wear marks, so I took it to my good Chevy dealer, yes there are good Chevy dealers. but trying to find one is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
His first comment was, you actually got 40K miles out of this thing, most have to be replaced at 25k. And while I could prove proper tire rotation and alignment, he told me I would never be able to prove what kind of road surface or how I was even driving this thing. Also said, even as a service manager, he could get nowhere, just buy new tires. Bottom line, that threadwear warranty was worthless.
With my 04 Cavalier, was told it was a miracle I hit 25K with the Goodyears they put on this thing, was the sports coupe. I did put on Dumont tires on this thing with a thread wear warranty, was buy four and get on free. Said the heck with rotating tires, never did, but actually put on 90K miles before they had to be replaced.
Always seem to forget when buying a new vehicle, keep your crappy tires, give me a credit so I can buy some decent ones. Not even sure if they would do this. But have a 60 year history in buying new vehicles with crappy tires on them, some things never change.
Did purchase a new 57 Plymouth Fury, was working for a Chrysler Plymouth dealer, got it for 1,800 bucks, but getting drafted ended that in a hurry. Tires on that thing barely lasted 6K miles. Was a bit heavy on the gas pedal.
Been there-done that! I had to use a pipe wrench to get mine out! Rounded it off so bad I had to replace it!Do it yourself. The previous owner of my car always had GM do it, and the last tech who changed the oil used an impact gun to put the train plug back on. When I did my first oil change on it, it required a welder and a torch to get the drain plug out.
Just for the record. I like doing my own changes as well for a host of reasons, mostly because it saves me money and there is a peace of mind knowing exactly how it was done and can do a visual inspection under the car. I am very confident my local Chevy dealer does a honest quality job on an oil change and other service for that matter. I think on a forum everyone shares some horror story about getting service done. I think it can paint a unrealistic picture that all dealers do a bad job on service, I do not think that is fair. I take my Ford F-150 to the dealer for oil changes, they have some mechanic that is 55 years old do the changes, I can watch, he does a very good job and sometimes finds other things I might miss that may need attention. They do it for a very fair price. Plus we have had folks on the forum that really don't know the basics of anything mechanical, like righty tighty, lefty loosely. Those folks should take to a dealer or someone qualified to do the oil change.
Care to add the products you prefer here and possibly why if they may be somewhat controversial?I have done all of my own oil change on the Cruze. It's super easy on the gen 1 and only takes me about 15 minutes. I don't even lift the car. I have an oil drain container that fits perfectly underneath. The oil change place I used in the past wants $69 for the Cruze because it requires synthetic oil. The dealership wants to keep my car all day, which is unbelievable.
Keep your receipts. Keep a log of oil changes with the dates and mileage. There is one in the back of the owners manual. Also, read through the owners manual. There are other items you are supposed to do at every oil change (I bet the dealers don't do most of these). Here is the check list I use:
Lubricate hood and door hinges and lock cylinders.
Lubricate hood latch assembly, secondary latch, spring anchor and release pawl.
Lubricate weather strips.
Check engine air filter.
Check brake fluid and coolant levels.
Inspect trans drain and fill plugs.
Inspect engine and trans for leaks.
Check tire pressures, spare and inspect valves and caps.
Inspect wheels and lug nuts.
Inspect joints, struts, linkage, shafts and seals.
Inspect lights, wiper blades, battery terminals, glass.
Inspect brake pads, drums, rotors, plugs, booster, calipers and brake lines.
Inspect park brake cable and system.
Starter switch check on page 10-29 in owners manual (2014).
Ignition transmission lock check on page 10-30.
Park brake check on page 10-30.
Auto trans shift lock control check on page 10-29.
Restraint system check on page 3-15.
Accelerator pedal check on page 11-4.
Check sunroof track and seal. page 2-24.
Safety system check. page 3-15.
It only takes a few minutes to do all of these. Instructions are included for most of them in the OM.
EDIT: I don't mean to hijack jcountry's thread with this. Actually I think you should start a new thread with this. This is a good list. I also have things to add. I started a list of oil related items offline building a post, but would be happy to add them to yours.
I probably also hijacked the original thread. Started a new one here:Care to add the products you prefer here and possibly why if they may be somewhat controversial?
EDIT: I don't mean to hijack jcountry's thread with this. Actually I think you should start a new thread with this. This is a good list. I also have things to add. I started a list of oil related items offline building a post, but would be happy to add them to yours.
http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/9-general-discussion/205946-diy-oil-change-checklist.html
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
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