Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

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gjswaff
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Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2013 12:04 pm

Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by gjswaff »

I was hoping to hear back from some of you long time Vibe owners with high miles on your car. The last time I went to have my oil changed, the guy at Jiffy Lube said my '09 GT requires pure synthetic oil. I don't mean to sound cheap, but that stuff is pretty expensive. Is that necessary? I've had Corollas, Camry's, and and P/U's from the 80's and 90's and never used pure synthetics, maybe the occasional high mileage synthetic blends only. What's your thoughts? Will I hurt the longevity of my Vibe by using a blend or conventional oil? Is this something related to the gen2 2.4L?
beemerphile1
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by beemerphile1 »

Synthetic is not required.

Look in your manual for the oil specifications and then use any oil that meets those specifications.

Quit taking advice from minimum wage grease monkeys.
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Rayven01
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by Rayven01 »

The only cars that "require" pure synthetic are newer ones that specify long oil change intervals (10-15k+) in the manual. The Vibe is not one of them. Even on those if you change the oil more often, synthetic is not necessary, although it may possibly throw the accuracy of the oil life monitor off.
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Nasmfell
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by Nasmfell »

Of more concern, is that you don't have one of the excessive oil burning 2.4 engines.
09vGT
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by 09vGT »

I've had the dealer put in synthetic oil a handful of times towards the beginning of ownership but 95% of the time I just use conventional; change every 5,000 miles. I have 123,000 miles, and mines an excessive oil burner.
Mark
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by Mark »

I do my own oil changes usually at around 7,500 miles, with Mobil-1 0w-30 full synthetic and a NAPA Platinum filter.

The oil runs about $25 for a five quart jug at Wal-mart, the filter is about $12. Is it overkill? Probably. Do I care? No. It's my car, I'll put whatever I want in it.

The '04 has 143k and I usually end up using the extra quart from the jug about halfway through the OIC. The '08 only has ~80k and doesn't use any, so I'll get a "free" gallon of oil after every fourth change.
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vibolista
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by vibolista »

Good quality oil, the right viscosity and changed along with the filter at the proper interval will keep the engine humming along for many miles. I've used synthetic in mine since the first oil change only because I live in a place where temperatures vary so much. When it's 20 below zero, synthetic tends to splash around initially a lot better than dino oil.

I always change the oil and filter myself. I've heard about too many stories about oil change places "forgetting" to change the filter or actually forget to add oil to the crankcase in some instances. Was talking with our local mechanic the other day and one of his guys came in with a really rusty oil filter he had just pried off a vehicle. He said it probably hadn't been changed in at least couple of years by the look of the thing. That happens way too much.

All it takes is one mistake to ruin a good engine.
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gjswaff
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by gjswaff »

Thanks for the advice. I have heard that the 2.4 burns oil, but I checked it the other day and it was still full from 3 months and 4500 miles ago. I guess I got lucky and got a good one. I'll probably stick to the synthetic blends. I use that in my boat's twin engines that run at 4000 + RPM's all the time and they've lasted 10+ years. I never run my Vibe that hard, and drive like a grandpa anyway.
cptnsolo77
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by cptnsolo77 »

I have been using Castrol GTX ( non-synthethic) for the past 7 years with no probs changing oil between 5-7K. Used it since 38K when I bought it. I just recently changed to Castrol GTX high mileage at 160K. Its just $1 more & a freind recommended it cause he says it has conditioners for the seals. Its also a synthethic blend. I would prob be fine with non-synthethic for the rest of My vibe ownership but for $1 more I figure i would try it :D
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by triz »

It's just a preference for most people. Regular maintenance is the key to a engines long life.
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vibenvy
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by vibenvy »

I have used nothing but Penzoil 5W-20 (conventional) and Toyota OEM oil filters in both our 2009 Vibe GTs since we bought them new in 2009 and have had no issues whatsoever i.e. so far, they aren't using any oil.

I started out doing an oil change every 2500 miles because the oil seemed dirty at this point, so I figured every 2500 miles would keep with the 5000 mile interval stated in the owner's manual and it wouldn't hurt putting fresh oil in more often. Last year I sent samples of the oil from both our Vibes to Blackstone and they said we could safely go 5000-6000 miles between oil changes. The Vibes are both due for their next oil change in a little less than 1000 miles (50,000 miles). This will be the first oil change that has gone 5000 miles, so I will be sending another sample from each Vibe to Blackstone to make sure everything's looking good, but I'm not worried.

As others said, I don't think using synthetic or conventional oil really matters as much as regular maintenance in general does. My dad's 2001 s10 is currently at 298,xxx miles (all put on by him) and he's never used anything other than Penzoil 5W-30 conventional in it. We had a 1989 Pontiac Sunbird that had 300,000+ miles on it when my dad wrecked it in 1997 and again, it was only ever fed Penzoil 5W-30 conventional. We also had a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird that had 268,010 miles on it when we sold it to a junkyard in January of 2013. It still ran great, but was really rusted which is why we decided to let it go. It too only ever had Penzoil 5W-30 conventional. The mechanic that we used to go to had to change the head gasket on the 1994 Sunbird one time. He was always giving my dad a hard time about using Penzoil. Once he got a look at the inside of the engine, he never uttered another negative thing about Penzoil :lol:. All these vehicles always had their routine maintenance done on time and I know that is truly the thing that has given us so many miles out of all of them.

On a bit of a side note, this thread reminded me that I need to head over to TRD Sparks and order a 10 pack of Toyota oil filters :P!
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ColonelPanic
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Re: Oil Changes, Pure Synthetic? Really?

Post by ColonelPanic »

vibenvy wrote:He was always giving my dad a hard time about using Penzoil. Once he got a look at the inside of the engine, he never uttered another negative thing about Penzoil :lol:
Ha, that full of wax, sludge-causing Pennzoil! :lol:

I like Pennzoil products. PYB is a great oil and was my go-to for many years. The Sonic gets Pennzoil Platinum as I want something synthetic for the turbo and need dexos1 to appease the warranty gods.

The Vibe gets whatever is cheap, so brand loyalty is thrown out the window. 8-) It's had bulk half of its life. The second half has been whatever - PYB, Motorcraft syn blend, Walmart Supertech dino, Meijer brand dino, Valvoline Nextgen, and currently Valvoline Nextgen Maxlife. It's been fine on any of it though I have to admit it runs the quietest I've heard it in recent memory on this Maxlife which is a blend.

Anyway, agreed with the consensus - doesn't matter if it is syn or dino. Change it when necessary and use an oil that has the correct approvals, sleep well.
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