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Oil change question on 2009/2010

46K views 41 replies 27 participants last post by  gottobecdn 
#1 ·
Hello, I have 2030 miles on my 2010 Ram 1500. If I am not mistaken, the manual say's to change the oil at 6000 miles. But in another thread I read an owner of a 2009 say that his change oil light/indicator came on at 2800 miles.

So I'm guessing, go by what the truck's computer tells you? Is this normal?

Thanks.
 
#4 ·
Oil Change Intervals

I am sure that you will get plenty of opinions on this issue. Good timing on this question as my 2009 (5.7L) just turned 2500 miles and my EVIC is telling me to change the oil. I will change it at 3000 miles and switch over to Mobil-1 5w-20 at that time. I plan on changing the oil at every 4000 miles after that. It is probably overkill given the use of synthetic oil but I would rather be safe than sorry. Even if I was going to continue using conventional oil I would change the oil at every 3000 miles. I live in Texas and the heat is tough on engines in the summer thus my rationale for changing probably more frequently than a lot of folks on this site will tell you.

It is hard for me to understand how the service manual says change it at 6000 miles when a significant number of truck owners on this site are routinely reporting that their EVIC keeps displaying the Change Oil message at approximately 2500 mile intervals. I don't drive my truck hard so I was surprised that the Change Oil message was displayed so early. Just my opinion but I hope this helps.
 
#6 ·
Thanks Hemicrew, I don't tow anything or make my truck do anything extreme. But I do plan on keeping my truck for the longterm so I want to do what's best for the engine.

Thanks to everyone who replied also. I don't doubt that the dealer would say to change the oil every 3000 miles to make money. But I've heard and read that 3000 miles is overkill.

If the EVIC says's change the oil, I'll change it early and ask the dealer to see what their opinion is on the subject.
 
#8 ·
Be cautious also guys . There have been alot of reports of the factory filters being extremely tight and leaving the filter seal on the block . If you do your oil change or someone else does it for you please make them aware of this issue . Would hate to see someone loose a motor in their truck because of this .
 
#36 ·
Oil filter seal



The oil filter seal on my ram did the exact same thing. After I finally got the filter loose I was puzzled as to why the filter didn't have a seal on it. To my surprise it was still stuck to the engine. If someone wasn't paying attention it would be easy to overlook.
 
#11 ·
As a tech in a dealership, my recommendation is to change the oil with synthetic every 5k and cross rotate the tires at the same time. Make sure you use the recommended weight as it's critical for proper MDS operation in the Hemi. Contrary to popular belief, we make little if any money from oil changes.
 
#15 ·
They say the first oil change should come early to get rid of any residue or metal flakes from breaking in the motor. After that a regular interval should be fine. With regular dino oil you should go every 3K miles and synthetic every 5K miles. Overkill is never a bad thing. Think about it in terms of what is better to spend a few bucks on oil that you threw out early or a few thousand on replacing a motor you burned out early? I would prefer to throw out the oil to early rather than too late. Same as I just threw out a pair of perfectly good windshield wipers but I don't want to have a scratched windshield when they give out in the middle of a rain storm. Ask me how I know. Yea, happened to me on another car.
 
#20 ·
I have an 08 Hemi and my Change Oil message comes on at around 3,000 miles everytime. I have been using the dealer to change my oil at 3,000 I always get a service discount message over the internet that gets my oil changed for $30.95. I have 32,000 on my hemi now and it has run like a swiss watch. WE also have an 08 hemi Charger and we do the same thing on that car.
 
#21 ·
Why would you pay $31 to have an oil change? I do all my oil changes myself. Even when I can get them for free, I still pass on it. I can do an oil change in a few minutes cause it's easy as can be. It only costs me $15 oil & filter, and it's a great way to check out everything under the vehicle while I'm there. I also avoid having anyone touch my vehicles if I can at all avoid it. I've seen plenty of vehicles returned to owners with something missing or not hooked up. That's all I would need is to have them leave the oil cap off.
 
#30 ·
I dont know about your area. but i can tell you up here in Ontario, Canada we can not do our own oil changes or we void our warranty.
I just did my first Oil change.. light came on at 4500 but i pushed it to 5000k due to xmas season and all the running around.. I paid 59.00 cnd at a 10 min oil change place.. and will go tot he dealer right after xmas when i have more time.. want to talk to them about going full synthetic and how that works on warranty. Our biggest issues up here in Canada is they look for any reason to void the warranty on our trucks and Jeeps.
 
#22 ·
My truck just rolled over 3200 miles. Still no oil change indicator. My dealer said to bring it in for a free oil change at 3000. I guess I will go get the free change.

How does the truck know when to turn the light on? Is it a set mileage or determined by the computer according to driving style?
 
#23 ·
I believe its done by duty cycle, believe it or not, driving from light to light in the city, is considered a heavy cycle, as is driving on gravel & dirt a lot

out here in San Diego, i don't see how the dealership stays in business
i went in for service 25th of august, the invoice reads

Labor amount $12.25
Parts amount $18.54
total charges $30.79
less insurance $18.54
tax $1.76

pay amount $14.01

you tell me how they do it?
 
#25 · (Edited)
If you do every oil change yourself and other routine maintenance, does that void your warranty?
No, performing routine maintenance does not void the warrenty.

And if not, what kind of documentation do you need to keep?
Mostly the dated receipts with a mileage reference of some sort. I write the miles downs on the back of each receipts and then keep them stuffed in an envelop with the user's guide that came with the truck. Some guys keep logs and there are web pages where you can keep this info recorded. So long as you can verify what you did and when you did is all that matters.
 
#26 ·
.

I don't think warranty is an issue, because if you went twice as long as you should on
oil changes, maybe the engine would have a problem at 100k miles instead of 200k
miles. It's out of warranty at 100k miles....and if you left the original oil in until the
engine broke, it would be obvious that the oil didn't get changed. There would be
telltale signs.

.

.
 
#27 ·
you MUST keep correct records of all service on your vehicle
oil & filter change receipts, air filter, transmission fluid change, rear differential, etc.
don't toss them, it will come back & bite you

always have a paper trail, vehicles, payments, marriages, etc.
 
#28 ·
I agree with GT..keep anything and everything related to maintenance on the vehicle...kinda like your taxes! keep all receipts..
 
#31 ·
Wow, that's a good one. I'm in California and we have a lot of stupid laws, but so far that hasn't taken place, Yet! I get amazed every so often when I hear about weird stuff like that. Like in Oregon (and there is one or two other states) for example where you CAN'T pump your own gas. Huh? Yea, that's what I said. Specially me who hates anyone touching my vehicles.

If you gotta do it to save your warranty then you gotta do it, no arguments there. But given the choice I prefer doing it myself. To make matters worse anytime you have anything done at a dealer in my area you have to dedicate almost half a day to waiting around, even for an oil change.
 
#38 ·
So how many qts does this hemi take I have heard 6 and also 7 from others. I bought 7 just incase since the synthetic was on sale anyway. I can always save it for next time but I may co grab a case for $5 a qt plus a mail in rebate for $15 for the Pennzoil platinum. wish there truck used 5w30 though. paint in the ads having 3 vehicles that all take different weight oil.
 
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