GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I had this intro LOF coupon from the Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealer for $15.99. I made sure to ask that they use the 5W-20. Not a problem - they said they would "eat" the added charge for the 5W-20 but in the future it would cost me $3 extra. I asked why since the price at the store for 5w-20 is the same as any other weight. Well they buy the 10w-30 (5w-30?) in bulk whereas the 5w-20 they have to buy by the quart so it costs them more.I may get my future oil changes done at a Toyota dealer.

My dealer also served me an extra charge for 5W-20 oil on my first oil change. I've done every other oil change at the local Toyota dealer. It's closer anyway. I only go to the dealer for the warranty maintenance.

...and THAT my friends is *why* GM-management sucks!...they SELL vehicles requiring 5W-20 oil but don't expect their "franchised" dealerships to "...follow the GM warrantee requirements."...TOYOTA is getting my LOF business for this very reason...for both of our Vibes.

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...and THAT my friends is *why* GM-management sucks!...they SELL vehicles requiring 5W-20 oil but don't expect their "franchised" dealerships to "...follow the GM warrantee requirements."...TOYOTA is getting my LOF business for this very reason...for both of our Vibes.Ford was using 5W-20 seven + yrs ago and the quick lubes only had 5W-20 in quarts, not bulk.

...key word: warrantee service/work, which regular, scheduled LOF is one.

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...and THAT my friends is *why* GM-management sucks!...they SELL vehicles requiring 5W-20 oil but don't expect their "franchised" dealerships to "...follow the GM warrantee requirements."...TOYOTA is getting my LOF business for this very reason...for both of our Vibes.I doubt that using 5w-20 is a warranty "requirement" - to deny warranty coverage they would have to establish that use of 5x-30 caused the problem.And they have the recommended oil - we're just talking about the added surcharge since they apparently do not use enough of 5w-20 to buy it in bulk (assume in 55 gal drums). The Service Manager did n=mention that the reason they had 5w-20 was that they service a lot of Fords, but apparently not enough to warrant bulk purchase of that weight oil.Unfortunately the Toyota dealers are not convenient for me - but I do think the have a no appointment needed LOF that usually gets you out in 30-45 minutes.Bottom line for me - they have the right to charge what they want, and I have the right to go elsewhere. At least I got my first LOF for $16.

...uh, the PROBLEM is that unless you jump into their s***t they'll put the regular 10W-30 into the engine without even TELLING you they didn't use 5W-20! THAT's what I'm gripeing about (O'Rielly Chev, Watson Chev, Quebedeaux Pontiac and Macky Pontiac here in Tucson)....I should NOT have to "twist arms and make threats" to MAKE them simply "...follow the GM specifications..." rather than having them and use what's "cheapest" or "what we stock." It's simple--stock the RIGHT stuff!...maybe you're got better dealerships there?!?

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Well they buy the 10w-30 (5w-30?) in bulk whereas the 5w-20 they have to buy by the quart so it costs them more.You were correct the first time. The dealer has 10W-30 in bulk and if you don't specify a different weight, you get 10W-30. I don't trust the dealer and would fully expect them to put in the cheapest oil (10W-30 bulk) even if I specified something different.I have such a distrust that even if I brought in my own oil, I would half expect them to keep it for personal use and still dump in the 10W-30 bulk. How would you know? The cheap bulk oil and 5W-20 Mobil 1 look the same on the dipstick.

Precisely why I do it myself, that and I know it gets done right!

You guys don't drive Honda's, stick with the 5W-30.

I'd use 0w-20 if I could find it here!

Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 »I have such a distrust that even if I brought in my own oil, I would half expect them to keep it for personal use and still dump in the 10W-30 bulk. How would you know? The cheap bulk oil and 5W-20 Mobil 1 look the same on the dipstick.You have to lick the stick - the Mobil 1 has a distinctive taste.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »You guys don't drive Honda's, stick with the 5W-30.If 5W-20 is what it is calling for then they should use it. Ford has been using it for 6-7 yrs already.

Oh I'm not sayin they shouldn't use it. But for me I had bad experiences with my Honda and 5W-20.

What was the "bad experience" and why do you think it was related to use of 5w-20 oil?

It may have not been related. My 2002 Civic decided after onlt 50,000 miles to start burning 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. Basically if you go by 3k per oil change, I am putting in 3 quarts so why change the oil.I took it to the dealer (I had the 7yr. 100k bumper to bumper warranty), they could not find the issue. They tested it every 1000 miles, bring it to them, they checked the oil level, topped it off, etc. Got a history and found the 1qt. per 1k miles. They had my car for two days while they inquiried with Honda of America about options. Basically they told me that they can break the top of the motor down and look at the gaskets and what not to see where the burn is. I had no smoke, no smell, oil was just disappearing. Now the kicker, if they couldn't find the issue, then I was responsible for paying the labor of taking apart and putting back together the engine. I was like (removed)! So if the work THEY do cannot locate this burn and THEY cover my car, I was gonna have to shell out $900 of my own money for labor. I basically told them to screw off and that I would just stop changing my oil since I put new oil in all the time. They said I would void my warranty which I snidely replied "It's not like your warranty does anything for me anyways." Needless to say two dealerships and no results on the issue. I sold the car with 75,000 miles on it and never reported my oil issue to the new owner. Hey, according to Honda of America, and I quote "1 quart of oil per 1,000 miles is within the acceptable limits of oil usage on your vehicle." LOL apparently that is OK for a car that is two years old with only 50k on it. Whatever, I transferred the warranty to the guy just in case and never looked at a Honda again. Extended warranties are bogus.Personally I should have driven it till the oil dried up and the engine seized then gotten a new engine since it would have been covered, I did nothing to the internals of that car to cause it. I now have a 2005 Matrix XR AWD with 102,000 and no issues whatsoever.

Not just GM... My 2007 Jeep Compass uses 5W-20 oil too. A friends 2009 Patriot does too, so all the Calibers, Compass's and Patriots out there do then. It may cost the same as other weights, but not all oil brands carry it, at least in the stores that is. It also is important to use 5W-20 or else the valves can chatter more on cold starts. I do not know what the Jeep dealer stocks because I do all the oil changes myself but I would imagine they carrry it now. May not have years ago but I am sure now. Wait until the dealer sees more GM's requiring 5W-20, they will buy it in bulk too then.

The smaller 4cyl Jeeps use the 5W-20. The Liberty and 3.7L V6 I know uses 5W-30 and 10W-30

Quote, originally posted by Whelan » My 2002 Civic decided after onlt 50,000 miles to start burning 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles. Basically if you go by 3k per oil change, I am putting in 3 quarts so why change the oil. My mons 01 civic used to do that and I've heard that from some people at work, too. It seems that after about 1988 (or so) Honda's just start burning oil at around 125-150000kms. My friends 93 civic started about 150000 and my moms 01 civic had 170000 and burned a whach of oil! That's why I don't drive a honda. My 84 civic wagon had 501000kms when it died... and only burned about 1Liter per 5000kms. (The honda died from Elk at 100km/h!)

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...and THAT my friends is *why* GM-management sucks!...they SELL vehicles requiring 5W-20 oil but don't expect their "franchised" dealerships to "...follow the GM warrantee requirements."...TOYOTA is getting my LOF business for this very reason...for both of our Vibes.Like you stated, GM dealers are Independently owned. GM management has nothing to do with telling dealers what types of oils to purchase. This dealer happened to not purchase 5w-20 oil, that is their bad. Better dealers with have it in stock... Good dealer, bad dealer kind of thing. I am not sure how Toyota runs its dealer body myself, however it goes back to my previous post that this dealer will eventually have no choice and buy the 5w-20 oil.

The Vibe I bought has FREE oil & filter changes for life !

Quote, originally posted by Esteban »The Vibe I bought has FREE oil & filter changes for life !Ok, I'm the pessimist here.......Seems great right now but as your car ages, that free will cost you as they find issues to fix and replace, all at GM dealer inflated prices! Even warranty work will be done, at times bogus and uncalled for but it is work for the shop with GM footing the bill. I used to work at dealerships, false warranty claims are all part of the game.There is no such thing in this world as Free!Free oil changes just make you a "loyal" customer to the dealership.Dave

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »Ok, I'm the pessimist here.......Seems great right now but as your car ages, that free will cost you as they find issues to fix and replace, all at GM dealer inflated prices! Even warranty work will be done, at times bogus and uncalled for but it is work for the shop with GM footing the bill. I used to work at dealerships, false warranty claims are all part of the game.There is no such thing in this world as Free!Free oil changes just make you a "loyal" customer to the dealership.DaveStill - I'd be happy to have that deal. But are they using 5w20?

At Walmart - saw they have 5 qt jugs (not 4 qt) of Mobil 1 for $19.99.