Truck Maintenance

[QuarterMillionMan]

Rec'd a mailer for $29 full synthetic oil change & filter at MMS automotive near me, regular price is $110. Used it today and gave the owner $20 to buy sodas for his workers of about 5 male technicians and 2 female office workers.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I remember that as a kid my grandma going to fill oil and they would check the oil measuring stick.

[Like2Plan]

And here is this:

https://www.trailblazertalk.com/threads/2024-tb-rs-and-acceptible-oil-consumption-at-3800-miles.1728/

From the above link:
"1-quart of oil consumption every 2000 miles is considered/documented as acceptable."

This seems a little crazy to me. It reminds me of the olden days when you were supposed to check your oil at each fill up.

https://youtu.be/dmTmKfJOyMA

[QuarterMillionMan]

Or valve seals/seats leaking oil into the intake or exhaust or head gasket leaking oil into the coolant, etc.

[QuarterMillionMan]

And yes ua_guy I lumped in my mind leaking = burning as well such as a piston ring leaking oil which is burning inside the combustion chamber.

[QuarterMillionMan]

1) Nope, I didn't check right after the oil change nor did I check after the oil change until today (I figured new car so no need to check but I may road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for Memorial day so on a whim decided to check the oil and wow I was floored it was very low).
2) Yes new car 2024 Chevy trailblazer which I bought in Nov 2024 from Carson Chevrolet in Carson, CA.

[Like2Plan]

Did you check the dip stick right after the oil change? (Or any time between then and now?)

This is a brand new vehicle, is it not?

Yes, I would have gone back to the dealer. A lot of places will top it off between oil changes. But, I can't think of any good reason for the oil to be so low in such a short period of time.

A leak somewhere in the system is not good. Someone not filling the oil the proper amount is not good. Burning oil is not good. You could still go back. If the vehicle is still under warranty it would be good to get that documented.

[ua_guy]

Or, it could be burning oil.

[QuarterMillionMan]

In March 2025 took my car to the dealer for a free oil change. Today checked my oil level and it barely showed on my dip stick. Went to O'Reily's and bought 1 qt of Penzoil full synthetic 0-20 for $11.99 and dip stick now shows 3/4 full in the safe zone. It got me thinking either I have a leak somewhere or the technician didn't fill the oil adequately. Would you have advised me to take it back to the dealer with the receipt to have them reevaluate where something went wrong or do what I did and just paid $11.99 and topped off the oil.

[QuarterMillionMan]

At the free oil change at the Chevy dealership yesterday they found my hidden key fob in this magnetic holder (very strong magnet) attached to my chassis. To those who think it could fall off wrong assumption, you'd have to pry it off. I guess they couldn't open it and they used a hammer to smash it open where the hinges broke off so it is no longer functional. They probably thought it was some kind of tracking device, lol. Today I wrapped up the spare key fob in a zip lock sandwich bag and taped it up to weather-proof and zip tied it under the grill on the inside engine compartment along with the belt clip to the key fob. It is far enough away so to those who think the engine will start wrong assumption the engine does not start. I tried it and the dashboard says, "No key detected." BTW, the synthetic oil change and tire rotation was a $150 value, complimentary 1st service which ua_guy corrrectly called it. I asked if the 1st year of oil changes is complementary but only the 1st oil change is free.

[Fishindude77]

I'm not a fan of mandatory vehicle inspections. We had that here many years ago, was just another form of state taxation and most keep their vehicles in decent shape.
I do believe some minimum standards should be enforced and drivers with unsafe or obviously unclean automobiles should be pulled over and ticketed, or towed away if it's serious. There is a fair amount of unsafe junk on the road and some real stinker polluters like the modified diesel pickups that emit horrible black smoke because the drivers think it's cool.

[QuarterMillionMan]

My car has an auto shut engine off feature which is new to me where when I come to a complete stop the engine shuts off then automatically restarts when I engage the accelerator so you have a point ua_guy where smog may not be needed where emissions have gotten very good with modern day cars. Instead like you mentioned vehicle inspections should be implemented. When I lived in Hawaii they don't require smog checks and instead they implement an annual vehicle inspection which makes better sense for a public safety measure. In Los Angeles some people drive with their bumpers hanging on by a string which is so hazardous should the bumper fall off on the freeway going 85 mph.

[ua_guy]

Smog checks made more sense when the majority of vehicles were carbureted and in the days of primitive emissions controls like smog pumps. Washington State eliminated smog checks a few years ago as the business case for having them just wasn't there anymore. Modern emissions controls are reliable and mostly non-intrusive. Modern electronic engine management systems are very, very good. Cars and trucks are designed to burn cleaner than ever while having more power/torque and efficiency than ever. That's progress. The vast majority of people run emissions-compliant vehicles.

I'd argue that where states have smog checks, they should change to having bi-annual vehicle inspections. Cars and trucks are lasting longer than ever and people are running them longer than ever. That greatly increases risk to public safety, i.e. extremely worn components, corrosion. It would also help clean up all the illegal equipment (noncompliant lighting, "stanced" cars and trucks with stretched tires, jacked pickups without adequate fender coverage, extremely loud exhausts). Invariably you'd snag diesel tuners and other small populations intent on disobeying emissions laws.

[QuarterMillionMan]

On the topic of the Transportation Freedom Act, some channels on Youtube are saying no more smog checks will be required in places such as California. That would be going backwards from all the progress that has been made at cutting down pollution. Maybe those people are misinterpreting how this Act would roll out.

[ua_guy]

A synthetic oil can be broken down into two basic components, its base, and its additive package. The base is oil-derived but is typically from a higher quality stock than conventional, and more refined, and with artificially made compounds. The additive package rounds out the oil and makes it more stable and prevents against breakdown/deterioration. The end result is an oil that more consistently protects at extreme temperatures, both in the combustion process, and exterior/ambient temperatures exerted on the engine and its oil.

If you have a 0w20 oil, a synthetic version is going to flow like 20w oil across a broader temperature spectrum, from a cold start at 0 degrees, to driving around in a desert at 110 degrees. A conventional oil may be more viscous in cold temperatures which can accelerate engine wear, and it might thin out too much at high temperatures, also accelerating wear. If you have a turbocharged engine, oil is subjected to very high temperatures in the turbo because the turbo is fed by hot engine gases, so a more robust oil which remains stable under high temperatures is preferred in these applications.

The additive package is "secret sauce". Every oil/brand is different, and the claims are absolutely wild. Protects for 10,000 miles! Reduces startup wear by 25%!. Additives contain things like detergents, and chemicals to balance pH. Oils become acidic as they wear and are exposed to moisture in the engine (combustion byproducts are hydrocarbons, CO2, and water).

As I always say, synthetic oil DOES NOT automatically extend your drain/change intervals, period. Your engine beats on the oil and feeds it garbage just the same whether it's synthetic or regular. The oil filter can only do so much to keep large particles out. And with direct injection, those systems dilute oil with trace amounts of gasoline over time. Although the oil itself may hold up better, synthetic oil cannot mitigate those other things.

I use synthetic oil in all my engines including yard equipment, generators, etc. It's just better. However, I don't get into boutique oils - Amsoil, Lucas, Redline, etc. I can't justify the added expense or claims compared to a good quality, off the shelf synthetic with a good base.