Oil change at 500 miles

[Viper Granny]

So I put 500 miles on my car in a week so I could get the oil changed. Called local Dodge place and made appt for my "2017 Viper." Went today after scheduling time off work, not an easy task, only to be told the Viper tech is on vacation. Ohhkayyyy (thinking why didn't you tell me that when I called for the appt?). Then the service mgr asked how many miles, I said 500, he said you mean 5000, I said no I'm at the break in of 500 and need first oil change. I said its recommended in the manual. He said he never heard of that and why would Dodge recommend 500. (Me in my head thinking, you work for Dodge, I'm just a schmuck, how should I know?) sooooo, now I have to wait till after Oct 31 when the tech returns which is no biggie, but has anybody ever had this questioned, the 500 mile oil change?

[swexlin]

Just wait until your tech returns, or take it to another dealer. They shouldn't care anyway, if they're charging you. My Viper oil gets changed about every six months, which averages every 750-1000 miles. Never a question.

Take it do a dealer who will do what you ask. Sounds like they don't want to deal with it at all.

[edc]

Take it do a dealer who will do what you ask. Sounds like they don't want to deal with it at all.

Yep.

[texasram]

Just wait until your tech returns, or take it to another dealer. They shouldn't care anyway, if they're charging you. My Viper oil gets changed about every six months, which averages every 750-1000 miles. Never a question.

Take it do a dealer who will do what you ask. Sounds like they don't want to deal with it at all.

Do you stick to a 6 month interval or would you change sooner if you drove more frequently, without going over 5k miles ofcourse

[swexlin]

Do you stick to a 6 month interval or would you change sooner if you drove more frequently, without going over 5k miles ofcourse

I should clarify, that's what it averages out to. I put 1550 miles on the Viper since last October, 1200 of that was since February, when the last oil change was done as part of R28.

If I daily drove it, I would probably just go every 3000, since synthetics are fine, and monitor my level of course.

My Ram, which uses "semi-synthetic" was still at about 30% oil life per the monitor, when I did the first change at 6000 miles (that was 6 months, it's my daily).

The Viper will not get driving much more this year - probably only another few hundred miles through December. It will sit most of Jan and Feb, maybe come out once or twice if the roads are clear and dry, and not too cold.

[Mopar'er no car]

Yes, find another dealer..

[7TH_SIGN]

DIY. Takes 10-20 min. The Viper is very easy. Screw dealerships.

[Viper Granny]

DIY. Takes 10-20 min. The Viper is very easy. Screw dealerships.

Hey thanks for the input. Gonna shop around.

[texasram]

DIY. Takes 10-20 min. The Viper is very easy. Screw dealerships.

Man i was fully prepared to do this but when pdv's engine went and one of the questions fca asked him was did he does his own oil changes i reconsidered, plus im 20 mins from VE

[7TH_SIGN]

Man i was fully prepared to do this but when pdv's engine went and one of the questions fca asked him was did he does his own oil changes i reconsidered, plus im 20 mins from VE

True. That does suck that a company can dictate how you choose to enjoy a car that you paid for yourself.

[ACR]

Voids warranty to diy change oil

[Vette2Viper]

Voids warranty to diy change oil

Where is this info coming from?

[ACR]

Where is this info coming from?

The heavens.

OK joking, however, I wouldn't be surprised if FCA tries to pull this on someone claiming intervals weren't right, oil didn't meet specifications, or some other nonsense. Shitty thing is Roanoke is 60+ miles from me and the local dealer is not going to touch the car

[Vette2Viper]

The heavens.

OK joking, however, I wouldn't be surprised if FCA tries to pull this on someone claiming intervals weren't right, oil didn't meet specifications, or some other nonsense. Shitty thing is Roanoke is 60+ miles from me and the local dealer is not going to touch the car

Nor would it me, that's why when I read your posts I thought someone may had had it happen to them.

[One Viper Bite]

A dealer should never question your request to change out wearable parts or fluid that YOU are going to pay for. You could as for an oil change ever 5 miles if you wanted to. Their job is to do it. Period.

[PTP]

Change the differential fluid as well. Mine looked terrible after the first 500 miles.

[EvilWon]

Man i was fully prepared to do this but when pdv's engine went and one of the questions fca asked him was did he does his own oil changes i reconsidered, plus im 20 mins from VE

I'll take my chances to know it's been done correctly. As long as the oil that comes out is the correct weight I see no issue.

[Vette2Viper]

I'll take my chances to know it's been done correctly. As long as the oil that comes out is the correct weight I see no issue.

Agree completely. Looking through corvette forum and there are just too many horror stories of dealership screwing crap up. Granted completely different oiling system. The only person who will care for your car like you is you.

[SRT BILL]

Don't forget to save a sample of the oil and send it out for your own independent oil analysis. This will give you a good starting point.

[BlueAdder]

So I put 500 miles on my car in a week so I could get the oil changed. Called local Dodge place and made appt for my "2017 Viper." Went today after scheduling time off work, not an easy task, only to be told the Viper tech is on vacation. Ohhkayyyy (thinking why didn't you tell me that when I called for the appt?). Then the service mgr asked how many miles, I said 500, he said you mean 5000, I said no I'm at the break in of 500 and need first oil change. I said its recommended in the manual. He said he never heard of that and why would Dodge recommend 500. (Me in my head thinking, you work for Dodge, I'm just a schmuck, how should I know?) sooooo, now I have to wait till after Oct 31 when the tech returns which is no biggie, but has anybody ever had this questioned, the 500 mile oil change?

Did the oil change yesterday. When I took the appointment on Monday, the Viper mgr dude just said: "Ah, doing it early". Then we did some paperwork, brought the car yesterday morning and picked it up later in the afternoon. I would rather do the oil change myself but right now I can't due to lack of space in my garage and secondly, if FCA frowns on owners doing the oil change themselves, I'll just fork up the $250... ugh.

[swexlin]

Did the oil change yesterday. When I took the appointment on Monday, the Viper mgr dude just said: "Ah, doing it early". Then we did some paperwork, brought the car yesterday morning and picked it up later in the afternoon. I would rather do the oil change myself but right now I can't due to lack of space in my garage and secondly, if FCA frowns on owners doing the oil change themselves, I'll just fork up the $250... ugh.

$250???

I get charged half that! And I sit in a waiting room, and know it's done right.

[BlueAdder]

$250???

I get charged half that! And I sit in a waiting room, and know it's done right.

That's the State of California for you, and more specifically Silicon Valley... The Ford dealership in San Jose wanted to charge me $170/hr for a flippin' Focus ST!
My local dealer charged $140/hr.

[Viper Granny]

There's another alternative but I hesitate. There's a local garage that has been caring for my '04 F150 for years. I trust them implicitly, however when I told them about getting the oil changed on my Viper, the guy said they've never done one. Plus I'm pretty protective of that beautiful sepia interior. It's a typical grungy garage. Bill P sent an oil filter and a qt of Pennzoil Ultra Platinum with my car so at least they would have that to show what the car takes. I dunno. I trust them but that sepia... Any thoughts on that?

[CarolinaViper]

There's another alternative but I hesitate. There's a local garage that has been caring for my '04 F150 for years. I trust them implicitly, however when I told them about getting the oil changed on my Viper, the guy said they've never done one. Plus I'm pretty protective of that beautiful sepia interior. It's a typical grungy garage. Bill P sent an oil filter and a qt of Pennzoil Ultra Platinum with my car so at least they would have that to show what the car takes. I dunno. I trust them but that sepia... Any thoughts on that?

VG,

Oil changes are the simplest fluid to change in any vehicle, bring a big beach towel to protect your seats, along with 11 qts oil and the proper oil filter and have your local shop that you have been using for years do your oil change, Make a folder at home for all your maintenance records that are not done at a Dodge dealership and you will be fine. Only word of caution is driving onto the ramp, my local Dodge dealer ramps were not low enough, so I made some ramps out of wood for them...until my fourth free oil change, then they go back home with me.

[ViperJon]

Since they are replacing engines under warranty on cars where the oil was 4 quarts low which is clearly operator error I wouldn't be worried about changing your own oil.