Oil change immediately after purchase

zuponicafe · May 26, 2015

I finally got a delivery date on the Pat I ordered 6 weeks ago (SO excited! 6/08/15).
Since there is not a 'stupid question' section, I will post this here.
My father, who is in his early 70's and has a gift of embellishing the facts, said I should get my oil changed right off the bat since it's going to come to me fresh. I have no clue if it matters or not, so I was going to do it just to appease him, plus every now & then he's not just telling a tall tale.
Should I just tell him I did it, do it or does it matter?
I'm assuming there's no need, but just thought I'd ask.

harold · May 26, 2015

You'll get a thousand people saying yes and another thousand saying no.

I say sort of !

Personally, I change the delivery oil after 2-3000km to fully synthetic, then I revert back to what the service book says (for timing - but I stick with fully syn)

Sarkus · May 26, 2015

You don't need to change it as far as I'm concerned, but there are people who think that during "break in" the oil can get full of stuff and it makes sense to do it early.

croat · May 26, 2015

I did mine right away as always, right to synthetic.

Metaxa · May 27, 2015

The factory fill on a brand new engine contains additional additives and such that help the motor break in. Valve seating and such.

removing this oil also removes the additive package that has been designed by well educated and well paid people to ensure the long and trouble free operation of your brand new vehicle.

Back when your father was starting out driving the manufacturing tolerances weren't as good as they are now so perhaps there is a grain of truth in what he says but a modern engine needs no special treatment beyond what the manual calls for regarding the break in period.

Change it early to your choice of brand? sure.
Change it immediately? I say no.

autoped · May 27, 2015

I can see where he's coming from. Every car I've bought new off of the lot has been on the factory oil until the first regularly scheduled oil change at 3,000-5,000 miles, and no one has told me otherwise.
I bought a brand new Yamaha motorcycle in 2005 and I was informed to alternate speeds, and slowly increase the demand on it over the course of 650 miles (1/2 throttle for 200 miles, 3/4 throttle for the next 200 miles, and full throttle periods for the next 200 miles, constantly vary speeds for the last 50 miles) and then bring it in for its first oil change at 650 miles. A week later (lol), I brought the bike back to the dealership and they changed the oil and adjusted the valves. They said it was to break in the valve seats and piston rings.
Whether this could be due to a non-electronic engine, or an air cooled engine is beyond me, but I figured I'd throw this bit of info out there...

ploc36 · May 27, 2015

No need to change right away, as the factory oil is there to clean out all the crap in your new engine. I changed after 2000 - 3000K to Mobil 1. I will keep up the oil change as per maint schedule, while under warranty. After that, I change every 10000K, as Mobil 1 or any synthetic last longer than reg oil.

SREJECT · May 27, 2015

I personally did mine a little early the first time, right around 2500 miles I think.

Went to a synthetic blend my first oil change, and Full synthetic the next time and every time since. Currently I do them every 5000 miles now regardless of the oil change warning light.

For my next oil change I will likely try some Amsoil and run it for 7500-10,000 miles. Might just change the filter at 5000, and new oil + filter every 10,000 afterwards.

croat · May 27, 2015

Remember ... these are also the same people that have designed/engineered some of the biggest issues in automotive parts/designs in history as well. It takes many years (decades in many cases) for them to come to that conclusion ..... those oil additives may be yet another. Me and mine have been changing factory oil from new with great success.

Metaxa said:
removing this oil also removes the additive package that has been designed by well educated and well paid people to ensure the long and trouble free operation of your brand new vehicle.

jack.allwardt · May 27, 2015

I wouldn't do anything until the oil change light comes on--sometimes around 2K mi, and up to 5K miles. I guess it depends upon your driving style--long or short trips--and climate.

If this were a "new" used car--the first thing I'd do would be to change the oil.

zuponicafe · May 28, 2015

harold said:
You'll get a thousand people saying yes and another thousand saying no.

I say sort of !

Personally, I change the delivery oil after 2-3000km to fully synthetic, then I revert back to what the service book says (for timing - but I stick with fully syn)

Thank you all for the responses. Now I must go investigate synthetic oil. I thought oil was oil & that synthetic thing was just an upgrade @ Prompto like washer fluid.
(I know nothing about cars if couldn't tell!)

dixiedawg · May 29, 2015

Many things have improved since your dad's younger years. Heck, I might be his age. With leaded gas, valves were softer, so there really was a break-in period. Not so much on today's engines. I have no idea if Jeep, like some other manufacturers, uses a special break-in oil from the factory. If they do, they should let us know not to change till 3K or whatever.

I'm still sort of old school and do the first change at 3K, then others between there and when the oil change indicator comes on.

Pacerized · May 29, 2015

I usually do my first change at 3k and every 5 k after that with synthetic blend. Our Patriots don't require synthetic and today's conventional oil is far superior to what we used 20 years ago. All that's required of our Patriots is to change every 6,000 miles with an approved 5w20 oil and conventional oil is approved. Synthetic is better and may make your engine last longer if you want to pay the price.
I have 159,000 miles on my Patriot now using synthetic blend and would have the same results from conventional. I have very little doubt that I'll get 250,000 if I want to keep it that long but I plan to at least keep it into the 220k range. Conventional or synthetic blend is good enough unless you plan on keeping it for 500,000 miles. They key is to make sure you do your oil changes every 6,000 or less.

croat · May 29, 2015

A friend of mine went to 50k on his break in oil on his 2001 Altima .... things are most def different than back in the 60's/70's.

harold · May 29, 2015

wow - i've seen the oil in a car that went to 33000km, and it was black sludge

needed a new timing chain and other expensive work done to it

regular oil changes are cheap and easy, timing chains etc...are not

Pacerized · May 29, 2015

harold said:
wow - i've seen the oil in a car that went to 33000km, and it was black sludge

needed a new timing chain and other expensive work done to it

regular oil changes are cheap and easy, timing chains etc...are not

I look back to when I was a kid and it seemed to me like people never changed their oil. You would also seldom see an engine go 100,000 miles. Engines have improved a great deal and so has oil but IMO the single biggest thing you can do to extend the life of your vehicle is to change the oil without failure.

croat · May 29, 2015

Only thing about break in oil from the manual.

ENGINE BREAK-IN RECOMMENDATIONS

A long break-in period is not required for the engine and
drivetrain (transmission and axle) in your vehicle.
Drive moderately during the first 300 miles (500 km).
After the initial 60 miles (100 km), speeds up to 50 or
55 mph (80 or 90 km/h) are desirable.

While cruising, brief full-throttle acceleration within the
limits of local traffic laws contributes to a good break-in.
Wide-open throttle acceleration in low gear can be detrimental
and should be avoided.

The engine oil installed in the engine at the factory is a
high-quality energy conserving type lubricant. Oil changes
should be consistent with anticipated climate conditions
under which vehicle operations will occur. For the recommended
viscosity and quality grades, refer to “Maintenance
Procedures” in “Maintaining Your Vehicle”.

CAUTION!
Never use Non-Detergent Oil or Straight Mineral Oil
in the engine or damage may result.

NOTE: A new engine may consume some oil during its
first few thousand miles (kilometers) of operation. This
should be considered a normal part of the break-in and
not interpreted as an indication of difficulty.

Oil change immediately after purchase

zuponicafe

harold

Sarkus

croat

Metaxa

autoped

ploc36

SREJECT

croat

jack.allwardt

zuponicafe

dixiedawg

Pacerized

croat

harold

Pacerized

croat

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