Heading in for my first oil change soon @ 3200 miles. I live in N. VA but car was purchased in another area of VA. Would like to know which Chrysler dealerships other Xfire owners in the area have found to be most reliable in servicing these cars.
Thanx,

 

Why after only 3,200 miles?

And you really should change the oil yourself.. you'll save quite a bit more money...

I'm sure you're looking at $90+ for an oil change from the dealer.

 

nox1s,
Although the manuals recommend oil change less frequently, I've always been told by dad, grand dad and uncles to do it at 3K miles. At a cost of $100 plus am considering doing it less often.

Just made the 600 plus miles ride to atlana at thanksgiving and will be heading back for two weeks at xmas and new year's. Driving 10 hrs straight going there and then again back (two weeks later). Is that not too much hard driving on the engine? Otherwise driving car about 50 miles total during the week (to and from work in stop and go traffic --6 spd manual limited).

Currently living in an apartment; changing oil in parking garage not a good idea or allowed. Might consider being a diy once in own home (during warmer weather ).

 

That 600 miles is MUCH easier on the engine than the 50 miles of stop and go stuff. It also extends the time between changes. Most of my driving is high mileage/highway driving and I get close to 10K miles before the FSS indicates service.

All the dads, granddads, uncles, etc. were preached to by the oil companies to change their oil every 3K. Do you now need an explanation as to why....or where it got us???? I don't think so. You must change your way of thinking. Synthetic oil and highway miles are the best things going for an engine....and our environment.

 

Thanx, will heed the advice and continue search for a reliable dealer for service as the miles accumulate.
C.

 

Here's why you no longer need to change the engine oil at 3k mile intervals on modern engines:

Back when your Dad, Grandfather, and your uncles all learned to drive, car engines were much dirtier machines. They used leaded gasoline, had points ignition systems, and used carbs that basically dumped as much gasoline as they could because there weren't any emissions regulations that restricted that.

Also, these engines had tolerances that were so loose, you could put a piece of paper between the piston ring ends with the rings installed in the cylinder bores, and that was acceptable for a clearance.

So, as the cars ran, gasoline would get past the piston rings, and contaminate the low quality engine oil, and shorten its already short lifespan quite tremendously.

Over the years, improvements have been made in all those factors.
- Engines from all manufacturers are built to tolerances that were simply unheard of 40 years ago.
- Emissions regulations have removed leaded gasoline, and require that engines have strong ignition sparks to fully ignite the fuel mixture, and burn it completely.
- Multi port fuel injection systems have eliminated carbs from all cars, allowing each cylinder to use exactly the amount of fuel it needs, and engines all run on the lean side from the factory.
- Engines run so much hotter today that 20 to 40 years ago, that the engines, pistons, cylinder heads, piston rings, valves, and all other components are now made of lighter materials that conduct and expel heat much more efficiently, that higher quality engine oil is required in order to keep these engines from seizing up just on your normal ride into work every day.

Since the engines are tighter, and run leaner, less unburned gasoline gets past the piston rings and into the oil to reduce its ability to lubricate the engine, and carry heat away from critical moving parts inside the engine.

Since the engine oil is less contaminated, it doesn't need to be changed as often.

Also, in the Chrysler Crossfire, you are using a fully synthetic engine oil, that is required to meet one of the most demanding engine oil standards - The Mercedes Benz 229.31 and 229.51 standards. Very few engine oils meet these standards, and only synthetic oils actually do meet this grade. (If you aren't using synthetic oil, you are doing your engine a disservice)

Then, there is the small fact that your engine contains 8.5 quarts of the best oil on the market. The larger the pool of oil, the lower the level of contamination, and the longer that large pool of oil can go between changes.

4 quarts of oil gets worn out quicker than 8.5 quarts of oil under the same operating conditions due to the simple fact that the oil gets circulated more times than the larger amount, and has to work harder at protecting the engine parts during that period of time.

Anyway, its entirely up to you how often to change your engine oil.
What I will always recommend to someone who is unsure, like I believe you might be, would be to have an oil analysis done at a lab that specializes in automotive lubrication, like Blackstone Labs:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

Its simply $22.50 for a normal analysis, but I recommend spending the extra $10 on top of that to get the TBN report, which will tell you exactly how worn out the engine oil is.

I've used this several times on my 2007 Nissan Altima during the break in process to let me know how the engine was doing during that very critical stage in its life. I actually have 4 more samples I need to send in and get tested from the past two years on that car, and that will happen soon enough.

If you want to know when you should change the oil, sending in a sample is the best way to know for certain. Its cheaper than an entire oil change, less than a third on this car. You grab 4 ounces of oil, put it in the bottle, seal it up, mail it in, and within a week, you get a full report on your engine. You can then either keep going for another 3k miles, or make an appointment with your dealer to get the work done.

Hope you have a great time with your car.

BC.

 

I don't know about that for sure. But all my car's I have had new from the dealer, and all my Chevy 350 rebuilds, I always changed the oil at the 1000 mile mark, which was during the break-in periods of these new or rebuilt motors. Sometimes on the 350's, I changed at the 500 mile mark. Just to get all that worn metal out of the system from rings scrubbing in, etc. I know on all my newer motorcycles, 2004 and up, the manual wants the oil changed at 600 mile mark. I believe this to be true to get rid of all the particales during the break-in period. That's my 2 cents!

 

Not the case in most instances these days.
Here's the results from my Nissan Altima at 733 miles, and those were fairly hard miles as I was using a more aggressive break in method.

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/5476/733mileslo3.png

Here's the next one at 2897 miles, right before I went on a road trip from here in Denver to NYC, and then a return trip back to Denver, while pulling a Harbor Freight trailer, and my '89 Honda Hawk GT motorcycle, averaging ~75 mph the whole way back.

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/5...97mileslo7.png

Next up is my analysis at the 7847 mile mark.
This batch of oil had 4590 miles on it.

http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?i...87milescq9.png

So, the oil was not changed at the 733 mile mark.
It was changed at the 2897 mile mark.
It was changed at the 7847 mile mark.

As you can see, no real amount of wear from the reports.

You can find my Altima forum posts here:

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/new...s-results.html

So, I am not going to tell you what to do.
This is my contribution to the discussion, and I can only offer what I know from my personal experience, which includes the year I went to college for my AS in Automotive Engineering.

I personally try my best to change my engine oil in my Altima every 5k miles. But I only use semi-synthetic in it.
For Bat's Crossfire, we will most likely be going with a combination of the car's computer, and oil analysis.

BC.

 

Back to your original question, I've had more than a satisfactory experience with Passport Chrysler on Duke Street in Alexandria. Bought my used '07 Roadster Limited there in March with 6400 miles. They agreed to a free oil change as part of the purchase contract, and I just had it done at 9 months, but only about 2800 miles. If I were paying to change it, I'd have let it go a little longer, but I think that about a year is long enough regardless of mileage. I think the manual says something like that. I also had Passport look into leaking valve covers (those little deals that attach to the actual valve cover). They said they have learned through experience to use some gray sealant that they got from Mercedes -- put it on both pieces and let it set up a little before joining the pieces. So far, it's working fine. No other problems with the car. Good luck with yours. I love mine.

 

Virginia Gent,
Thanx for providing the info on Passport. I'll be sure to contact them once I return to VA.
Happy Holidays!!!

 

I like to think that, with new cars, the 5k oil change is the new 3k oil change.

 

From the manual...

Change Engine Oil
The oil change interval for your Crossfire is initially set at
7,000 miles (Canada: 11,000 km).
The Flexible Service System (FSS) in your vehicle evaluates
engine temperature, oil level, vehicle speed, engine
speed, distance driven, and the time elapsed since your
last service. It determines when your vehicle needs
maintenance service and alerts you in advance. The next
necessary service is indicated by the FSS in your instrument
cluster.

 

The service for these cares is expensive, even if you do it on your own. From my perspective I follow the FSS system designed into the car. Synthetics are amazing oils.

 

I sincerly appreciate all the information supplied regarding oil changes on the Xfire. Hubby (Mr. Frugal) surprised at the cost of oil change and has now shut his ears to my suggestion that he get a matching xfire coupe. He won't consider it even with the super reduction in price.

 

Just wait until you get your first nail in your tire and you have to pay 350 to get it replaced. Even if it is patchable it is hard to find a place to get it done. Many places won't touch it because of how hard the rubber is, and how skinny the tire is.

I loved my car while I had it, and hope to get another one at some point, but the maintenance is a added cost you have to consider when getting this car.

Top down driving is totally worth the 100 dollar oil changes in my opinion!

 

I have had terrible service from 3 different Virginia dealers but had very good service with http://www.pohankachryslerdodge.com/. They even mopped up a few things the others could not.

 

• As WE all know one of the items to be done on a 7000 mile inspection was change the oil and oil filter. I had this done last week at the Dodge-Chrysler dealership where I bought the car.

When I drove home, after the oil change was done, the oil low light came on. I stopped the car and turned the engine off. I waited a few minutes and restarted the car. The light was off. I drove a few hundred feet and the light came back on. I stopped again, turned the engine off and called the service department. I told them about the problem and they advised me to turn around and drive the car back to the dealership, which I did. The light came back on and it stayed all the way to your dealership. I left the car running so they could see the light was on. I had suggested taking the car for a test drive. A few minutes later the mechanic and I took it for a test drive. The light did not came on. I asked the mechanic if he could hook up the computer to see if there was a oil low light fault in the computers memory. He agreed to do that and no faults were recorded. So I drove off and when I went over the first speed bump the light came back on. I turned around and drove the car back to your dealership. I told them the light low oil light came on again and was advised that it could be a lose connector. I made an appointment for Friday to get that problem fixed. I drove the car home on another route. The light never came on again. I parked the car in my garage. A few hours later I reset the maintenance interval meter on the dash board...The mechanic had tried to do it but did not know how so I told him I will do it at home....
As WE all know you can check the oil level inside the car without taking the dipstick out. (The car came with no owner's manual so I learned on the go) I checked this oil indicator on the dashboard and got a -2.0 reading. This indicated 2 quarts of oil BELOW the MAX! Thinking the meter was wrong I checked the dipstick and to my horror I could see the engine oil was on MINIMUM....! I checked my bill and found that 6 quarts were added. I went online and found that a Crossfire needs 8.5 quarts of oil. The car was 2.5 below it's recommended level..!
I called the service manager and he agreed, on my suggestion, that a mechanic should come to my house and put 2.5 quarts of oil in my engine as I was not going to drive the car until the problem was fixed. A few hours later this was done....

What a nightmare.... I still wake up at night in sweat after blowing up the engine in my dreams!

Pete

 

I couldn't agree more. D I Y it ain't rocket science!

Suggestion on the tire plugging issue....as long as its not in the side of the tire, tell them to plug it any way and you wont hold them responsible. I had a nail in the crease at the top of the sidewall. Guy didn't want to do it, I asked him nicely to try it and that was 2 winters ago and its been fine.

 

My Chrysler dealership (which is now out of business) usually charged me $145 for the oil change, but the last time the 'mechanic' had no idea how to reset the toolbox, which now annoys me with a "-700" display. How can I do it myself?

Quote:

As WE all know you can check the oil level inside the car without taking the dipstick out. (The car came with no owner's manual so I learned on the go) I checked this oil indicator on the dashboard and got a -2.0 reading.

OK, so how do I do this?

Candy <-- looking for a sweet '08

 

[quote=Candy]
My Chrysler dealership (which is now out of business) usually charged me $145 for the oil change, but the last time the 'mechanic' had no idea how to reset the toolbox, which now annoys me with a "-700" display. How can I do it myself?


OK, so how do I do this?

You can find the instruction in point 114 understanding your instrument panel in the owners manual.

1. Turn key to ON/RUN position.
2. Within one second press the ****/button twice.(**** to reset trip meter)
3. The present status for days or distance is displayed.Within 10 seconds turn the key to OFF/LOCK.
4. Press and HOLD the ****/button, while turning the key to ON/RUN again. The present status for days or distance is displayed once again. CONTINUE to hold the ****/button.

After approximately 10 seconds, a signal sounds and the display shows 7.000 miles for approximately 10 seconds.

5. Release the ****/button.

If the PSS counter was inadvertently reset, have an authorized dealer correct it.

Pete