GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I don't think anyone would argue against the advantages of synthetic oil. But how many miles is too many miles to switch to synthetic oil? What was the mileage on your Vibe when you switched? Any bad results of this switch? Oil leaks, Oil burning, engine noise, etc???
I had a friend who switched over a 110,000 Jeep straight six cylinder and it started leaking oil like a sieve!
chiadog

It should not be a problem with these cars 03+, my 05 trix with 90K didn't. The problem is with the engine seal material switching oils. Unfortunately many american made cars were slow to make the change.

I was told to wait till your first oil change before making the switch. In my case, seeing how I bought the Vibe brand new, I switched just after 5000 miles and no problems at all. Keep in mind that I'm only at just over 13000 today. Juniors Vibe we bought at 36000 miles and switched (assuming the prior owners were not using synthetic) and again NO problems yet.

my quip would be: "why switch at all?" Dino oil is very good these days; a lot better than when Mobil 1 first came out. I'd stick with regular oil and not worry about oil getting around the seals, or more importantly, Corolla engines (if you have one) pissing away money as it burns oil. I have never owned a Corolla that didn't burn oil (note the double negative here). Hey, I finally found a word that the genvibe word scrubber doesn't edit out!!

the only reason it began leaking is because of the superior lubrication abilities of full synthetic. it is able to squeeze through the smallest of clearances that regular dino oil couldn't before.

the higher the mileage the worse the results after the switch. plus your friends car is a chrysler product anyway....

Caretaker wrote:my quip would be: "why switch at all?" Dino oil is very good these days; a lot better than when Mobil 1 first came out. I'd stick with regular oil and not worry about oil getting around the seals, or more importantly, Corolla engines (if you have one) pissing away money as it burns oil. I have never owned a Corolla that didn't burn oil (note the double negative here). Hey, I finally found a word that the genvibe word scrubber doesn't edit out!!

Perhaps nitpicking, but It's my understanding that almost all "synthetic" oil, including Mobile 1, is highly refined (Grade III) dino juice, though some may have some amount of synthesized oil added, plus whatever detergents and additives the company adds in. But it's supposed to make little difference in performance compared to true synthetic oil. Fully synthesized oil is somewhat rare and expensive - according to the very informative link I've put below, "To the best of my knowledge, Delvac-1, AMSOil, Redline, and Motul 5100 are the only oils made from pure traditional synthetics."

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I never knew that before but I thought you guys might find it interesting.

I use synthetic oil just in the winter for its better low temperature flow properties. In the summer I switch back to normal 5W-30. I have 115,000 miles on my '06 and have never used more than 1/4 quart of oil in 5000 miles.

Hey Johno,
Why not synthetic year round? better gas mileage, longer oil change, far better protection (corrosion and wear). Seems like a no-brainer to me. Only reason I don't switch to synthetic is I have 140K of the hardest possible miles on this Vibe. Had to scrape the burned-on sludge off the underside of the oil cap with a knife blade after I bought it.

Chiadog wrote:Hey Johno,
Why not synthetic year round? better gas mileage, longer oil change, far better protection (corrosion and wear). Seems like a no-brainer to me.

It is mainly the expense. Gas mileage gain is slight. Longer oil change is debatable. I don't increase my oil change interval when using synthetic oil. The type of oil used doesn't really affect the things that cause the oil to get old. For corrosion and wear, the conventional oils are very good these days so I don't see that as a big factor. Like I said, I use it for the improved cold flow characteristics.

OK, I understand your point. The economy of synthetic oil is based on extending oil change intervals. Sounds like the basis for for a poll type question to the group!
Chiadog

no big deal, if you see synthetic go on sale, just go grab a 2-3 jugs. Now their prices is so low sometime it even cheaper than using conventional oil.

cq358 wrote:no big deal, if you see synthetic go on sale, just go grab a 2-3 jugs. Now their prices is so low sometime it even cheaper than using conventional oil.

Cq,
You're right about the prices getting much closer between synthethic vs conventional oil. I would have switched already, but at 140K, I'm afraid of oil leaking/burning issues.
Chiadog

I just bought my Vibe 3 weeks ago. It had 59000 miles and I just changed oil and put in Mobil 1 5w-20 fully syntheitc. I've been using fully synthetic for years in my other cars. But on one I am gonna change because it's leaking oil; hopefully conventional will slow the leak because I'm too lazy to change the valve cover gaskets!

leopardgirl88 wrote:I just bought my Vibe 3 weeks ago. It had 59000 miles and I just changed oil and put in Mobil 1 5w-20 fully syntheitc. I've been using fully synthetic for years in my other cars. But on one I am gonna change because it's leaking oil; hopefully conventional will slow the leak because I'm too lazy to change the valve cover gaskets!

I think when synthetic oil first came to the market many years ago , they do give a bad reputation for freeing up seals. But now oil companies reformulated all the synthetic oil and they are backward comparable with dino oil. It does not matter what oil you put in and it still leak. But for some reason i got a 17 years old corolla that has oil burning problem , but after switching from a dino oil ( 1 liter per 3000km) to Canadian tire synthetic (made by Shell Canada) the oil consumption reduced to 0.5 liter per 6000km. I think synthetic seems to flows better that even make the piston rings seal better i suppose.

The rule of thumb is to buy the best oil you can find in this 18-22 dollars range. Oil is oil, it won't make your car drive any faster, I won't sweat over it too much.

I think when synthetic oil first came to the market many years ago , they do give a bad reputation for freeing up seals. But now oil companies reformulated all the synthetic oil and they are backward comparable with dino oil. It does not matter what oil you put in and it still leak. But for some reason i got a 17 years old corolla that has oil burning problem , but after switching from a dino oil ( 1 liter per 3000km) to Canadian tire synthetic (made by Shell Canada) the oil consumption reduced to 0.5 liter per 6000km. I think synthetic seems to flows better that even make the piston rings seal better i suppose.
The rule of thumb is to buy the best oil you can find in this 18-22 dollars range. Oil is oil, it won't make your car drive any faster, I won't sweat over it too much.

How many miles did the old Corolla have on it when you switched it to synthetic oil? How long ago was that (years/miles)?
In the Saturn car community, Synthetic oil is known to turn the 1.9 liter engine into an oil burner! I found out the hard way by ruining the engine in my 2000 SL1 Saturn with 1 oil change to synthetic! I used Mobil 1, if I recall correctly from 2006. The Saturn had 60K at the time.
chiadog

Chiadog wrote:

I think when synthetic oil first came to the market many years ago , they do give a bad reputation for freeing up seals. But now oil companies reformulated all the synthetic oil and they are backward comparable with dino oil. It does not matter what oil you put in and it still leak. But for some reason i got a 17 years old corolla that has oil burning problem , but after switching from a dino oil ( 1 liter per 3000km) to Canadian tire synthetic (made by Shell Canada) the oil consumption reduced to 0.5 liter per 6000km. I think synthetic seems to flows better that even make the piston rings seal better i suppose.
The rule of thumb is to buy the best oil you can find in this 18-22 dollars range. Oil is oil, it won't make your car drive any faster, I won't sweat over it too much.

How many miles did the old Corolla have on it when you switched it to synthetic oil? How long ago was that (years/miles)?
In the Saturn car community, Synthetic oil is known to turn the 1.9 liter engine into an oil burner! I found out the hard way by ruining the engine in my 2000 SL1 Saturn with 1 oil change to synthetic! I used Mobil 1, if I recall correctly from 2006. The Saturn had 60K at the time.
chiadog

120k miles,
80k miles started to burn oil, it become worst when using synthetic blend or dino, switching to synthetic reduce the oil consumption rate by 50%.
From your best information, which part of the engine fail to make oil leak past the seal?

[quote 120k miles,
80k miles started to burn oil, it become worst when using synthetic blend or dino, switching to synthetic reduce the oil consumption rate by 50%.
From your best information, which part of the engine fail to make oil leak past the seal?[/quote]

The switch to synthetic in my 2000 Saturn caused extreme oil burning (600-800 miles per quart). When I tore the engine down, everything looked great EXCEPT for cracked rings on at least one piston. I believe the Dino oil had gummed-up the split in the rings. Switching to synthetic cleaned up the rings and allowed the cracks to begin passing oil into the combustion chamber. No more synthetics in Saturns for me, but I will still use it in other cars.
chiadog

I have a 2003 with 240,000 so uhh I probably should not change to synthetic. lol

Good Call! synthetic might run out faster than you can add it.

Have been using synthetic Mobil 1 for years in new cars. My Vibe went synthetic on first oil change. Use it for the same reasons some have stated- the flow characteristics, especially in cold weather. Have never had oil burning issues with it. It has probably helped keep great mpg figures going. I get 35-38 mpg on the Vibe and have had a couple of 40 mpg tanks under ideal Summer conditions.

We own a '99 Saturn wagon (SW2) that I bought used with 38,000 miles on it and didn't switch to synthetic, but since around 70,000 miles, did change over to "high mileage" or "older engine" dino oil. The 1.9L Saturn engine is known for its ability to make oil disappear! So far, so good, and with around 165,000 miles on it, there's still no oil burning.

If your engine is in good shape and doesn't burn oil now, you could probably make the switch to Mobil 1 without problem. Regular oil and filter change intervals, do more to preserve an engine than any other form of maintenance.

Hey Vibolista,
Good call NOT switching the Saturn to synthetic oil! How did you know? Did you research Saturn engines and synthetic oil? I am told the single cam (1) is more known for burning oil than is the twin-cam (2) engine. My 2000 SL1 is again burning oil, 2nd engine @ 160,000 miles!
chiadog