[RedOne07]

My daily car is a 4cyl 1200cc turbo Renault (engine not related to the Pontiac engine) from 2008. The engine requires an oil- and filter change every 12500 miles or 12 months.

In the manual of my Solstice I read Pontiac recommends to do this every 5000 miles or 3 months.

This is a HUGE difference! Is this a silent support of US oil change depots , are car manufacturers afraid to change the service manuals , or is there a good technical reason for this ?

 

[miller11386]

all depends on the oil you put in the vehicle. Sounds like your Renault as synthetic and the solstice has regular dino oil

What you will also notice is that the Renault's change will be more expensive due to the increased cost in oil.

 

[RedOne07]

I just found something interesting in the Opel GT with 2ltr Turbo (this is basically Saturn Sky Red Line) users manual. They have 2 tables. One for European Service Schedule and one for international Service Schedule. ( Link: http://www.manualslib.com/manual/504806/Opel-Gt.html?page=166#manual )

International service schedule: Engine oil and oil filter: replace 10000 miles / 1 yr

European service schedule: Engine oil and oil filter: replace 20000 miles / 1yr

Typically in the US the warranties are better, maybe that explains the huge interval differences.

5000 miles (see my previous post) or 20000 miles. Amazing. What is going on ??? I have the feeling some one is not telling the truth here ?!?!

 

[mstrjon32]

I suspect this is because in the US it's easy to obtain 5 liters of Mobil 1 for about $30. In Germany, 5 liters of Mobil 1 will cost you at least €80. There is more of an expectation from European customers that they won't have to be in for service so often since it's so expensive.

I change the oil in my 2.0 as per the OLM, which works out around 9,000-10,000 miles, or once every year.

 

[mcpigm01]

I'm from the states and I have my oil changed every 3 to 4k miles and I use synthetic. I think it's all in preference of the customer although I wouldn't ever consider waiting 12500 miles between oil changes. If it recommends 5k miles, I would probably stick to that. GM picks these numbers for a reason, or at least I would think they do.

 

[DaveOC]

I just found something interesting in the Opel GT with 2ltr Turbo (this is basically Saturn Sky Red Line) users manual. They have 2 tables. One for European Service Schedule and one for international Service Schedule. ( Link: Opel GT Operation, Safety, Maintenance Manual (Page 166 of 190) )




Typically in the US the warranties are better, maybe that explains the huge interval differences.

3000 miles (see my previous post) or 20000 miles. Amazing. What is going on ??? I have the feeling some one is not telling the truth here ?!?!

You have a 2.4 non-turbo, which does not require synthetic oil. The 2.0 turbos require a synthetic oil, which has a longer service life.

The OLM on my 2.4 typically is telling me to change the oil in my 2.4 at about 8000 - 9000 miles. So I just change it once a year regardless of the mileage, since I'm only putting maybe 4000 miles/year on it.

YMMV

.

 

[RedOne07]

The OLM on my 2.4 typically is telling me to change the oil in my 2.4 at about 8000 - 9000 miles.

I doubled checked my manual. I misquoted. It is not 3000 but 5000 miles. (will edit my previous posts)

But nowhere I see 8000-9000 miles.

And may I ask what OLM stands for ?

 

[Sly Bob]

OLM stands for Oil Life Monitor. It's a function of the DIC (Driver Information Center).

 

[DaveOC]

OLM stands for Oil Life Monitor. It's a function of the DIC (Driver Information Center).

TY Sly Bob! The OLM monitors your driving when the car is on, and runs a complicated algorythm, and then tells you via the DIC how much percentage of you Oil Life is remaining. With a bit of arithmetic you can calculate out your current Oil Life in terms of miles.

That's how I get 8000 - 9000 miles.

What GM is quoting in their manual is the suggested interval for changing oil if you don't have the Oil Life Monitor.

 

[RedOne07]

I was comparing what the car manufacturer put in print in hi manual, for cars without OLM.

I find the differences amazing. 400 percent differences.

 

[The_Ghost]

My question would be this. What year is your Renault? What year is your Sol? Right around 2006, 2007 US manufacturers changed the oil intervals like they did 4-6 years earlier. In the late ‘90s, early 2000’s, manufacturers change the recommended oil change intervals from 3500 miles to 5-6k. Then they changed it again in mid to late 2000’s from the 5-6k to 7500-9000 miles…with some vehicles as high as 10,000 miles…and even some higher at 15k. They attributed this to the cleaner burning engines and the use of synthetic blend oil. So, that being said….if your vehicles are within a year or 2, I would say that the Renault just doesn’t have a very clean engine. Or at least that would be my take on it all…..

 

[LatinVenom]

Also would not the European say Kilometers instead of miles.

 

[RedOne07]

The manual stated miles as well as kilometers.

My Renault is from 2008.

But do not forget that for the same car, in the same manual, the manufacturer states that when the car (Kappa built at Wilmington plant) is outside Europe the oil needs to be changed more often. One can read it in this GM manual Opel GT Operation, Safety, Maintenance Manual (Page 166 of 190) Go figure . . .

 

[WillBeck]

It also may have to do with your much higher grades of fuel. our glorious 93 octane premium is considered regular in many European countries. At least as far as i know.