There are a few reasons. You need to put the right fluids into your vehicle. Whether it's the right coolant, the right gas, oil, etc. If you care about your engine lasting two or maybe even three hundred thousand miles, you should be using a quality synthetic oil like AMSOil or Rotella.

The biggest hurdle with oil changes is the drain plug. You should never over tighten it, never cross thread it, and you should be changing the crush washer on it once every few oil changes.

It is as important if not more important than the gas you put in it. Almost as important as the brakes that stop you, and the tires that hug the road. Without all cylinders pumping, you're going nowhere.

 

I'm not talking about the difficulty changing oil ccernst. What "what-ifs" can cost a person thousands of $$$ if you change your own oil, tranny fluid, and other critical maintenance items while under warranty, and then something breaks. I've seen it happen numerous times in my life when this has happened and the dealer would not accept liability and has told the person to essentially pack sand and eat the costs of repair. Mitsu is great for this, mainly bercause there are so many grey areas in their warranty schedule such as: changing the timing belt on an '07 Outlander at 60,000 miles, which we all know is crazy. Even though Mitsu only "recommends" the change, if you lose your engine while under warranty after 60,000 miles and before 100,000 they will NOT repair the engine. Seen this happen a couple of times. Cheers.

 

That is true.

 

I suppose I've lost my confidence in a tag or a title. We've seen on here a dealership's service dept swear up and down that the guy had a CVT in his '07 and filled his tranny with CVT fluid. The ASE mechanic snapped two of my valve stems off with his air chuck and claimed it happens all the time. They snapped the threads part, not at the base. These forums are really helpful. All fluid recommendations are in the owner's manual. We have a complete service manual. That being said, I'm not attempting to dig too deep in the thing. I just do "low hanging fruit", which most fluid changes are in that group.

 

There is something called the magnuson-moss warranty act. The only way mitsu could deny warranty coverage is if the engine failure was due to the actual belt failing. Any other issues would still be warranted. Please familiarize yourself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuso...s_Warranty_Act

If you've "seen this happen a couple of times", it might be a good idea to let the victims know and start a claim in court.

Do you think a certified mechanic changes your oil at the dealership? Seriously? It is the lowest paid shop rat that gets to overfill your engine and overtorque your drain plug, while soiling your seats, dripping oil all over your exhaust and stealing your change.

 

My understanding of rickfrick's advice is to only have vehicles serviced at a Mitsubishi dealership during the warranty period of your new vehicle. This creates a data trail in Mitsubishi's system that doesn't let them object to proper maintenance being performed on the vehicle.

As soon as you have service done anywhere besides a Mitsubishi dealership - including an ASE mechanic shop - you'd have to prove proper maintenance was completed if requested because Mitsubishi doesn't have any service data - which is fine. This is all normal - keep records, maintain your vehicle and it will last a very long time.



The reason that I do my own oil changes and fluid maintenance is to know that the job is done correctly and higher quality components are used beyond the dealerships bulk tank oil. I just happen to save a bit of money along the way too. Next time you are at a dealership ask what it costs to upgrade to a synthetic oil change.

Extended oil change intervals are not for people who have no interest maintaining their vehicles. You can't just put oil in the crankcase wipe your hands and walk away for a year or 25,000 miles. You need to check the level now and then to make sure your engine is not consuming oil, replace oil filters every 10,000-miles/6-months and top up the oil if you use stock Mitsubishi, Wix or Mann filters, check for system leaks, etc.

Like I said extended oil change intervals are better for the environment since the vehicle generates less waste oil and are more convenient than the standard 4 oil changes/year interval - but you need to decide on your own concerning warranty, environmental impact, cost, frequency of changes and what that costs you in time and money.

For my 2009 Outlander I am going to stick with the API certified XL line (6months/10,000 miles) until my 5 year warranty expires then go to the Signature Series 1 year oil changes supported by a used oil analysis indicating my oil is performing and protecting my engine properly.

 

Just changed my oil 2011 OUTLANDER, only one auto parts store carried 0W-20 and it was 8.50 quart, plus 6 bucks for filter

 

Check your local WalMart- I saw 0w-20 Mobil 1 (which I use) for around $25.00 five qt jug.

I'm due in about 100 miles, and I plan on using the "free" oil change I got from Misu.

Will be the 2nd time in the dealership's shop, and hopefully the last.

 

A few quick questions about oil change intervals on the RVR (Outlander Sport). Coming up on my first oil change and the dealer thoroughly confused me with recommended intervals that are not in the owners manual. As best as I can tell my owners manual recommends 0W-20 and the severe maintance schedule for all vehicles operating in Canada. That would mean 6,000km/3month oil changes and tire rotation every second oil change. They are telling me that because it's synthetic oil (all 0w-20 is) I only need to follow 8,000km/5month oil changes and rotate tires every oil change since 16,000km is too far apart and I'll get uneven wear.

This is very different from the owners manual, and for peace of mind in the event of warranty repairs would it be better to go against their advice and just change oil every 3 months, and rotate every 6 months? Seems a little excessive to rotate my tires every 4-5 months or so based on my driving amount. To me it just seems like a cash grab.

They did say they'd let me bring in my own oil, so I'll be keeping an eye out for sales on the Mobil 1 or Castrol Syntec for the next oil change.

 

The dealership should have a very new Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) that confirms any changes in viscosity and OCI from Mitsubishi depending on the year of your vehicle. My dealership said they just received one when I was there last week. Sorry, I don't have a TSB look up number to quote you since it was a conversation that didn't apply to my vehicle.

I rotate at every other oil change because my 2009 is on the 6,000-km/3-month OCI. But 8,000-km/5-months doesn't seem bad for tire rotation. A little early but better than going 16,000km or almost an entire year! When you end up buying new tires - get them from a local shop that provides lifetime rotations.

My tire rotations tend to happen when I swap tires with the seasons. All depends on the number of km's you put on as the summers tend to be on a bit longer than the winters here in southern Ontario.

As for available oils I'm a bit biased - see my signature. AMSOIL's Original Equipment line of synthetics which have recently been expanded to include the 0W-20 weight. The AMSOIL OE line gives you an excellent quality to price ratio.
http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/oez.aspx?zo=1950160