First Oil Change at 600 miles - What I Found

[zeroptzero]

So usually I just let my cars go long distances on the first factory oil fill, and change at the recommended mileage. On my new 2024 Subaru I just dumped the factory oil at 600 miles. I flushed the oil pan with a bit of fresh oil as well since I had some extra older oil sitting around not being used.

I switched the oil from the drain container I used as I will be dumping the used oil at a recycling location. It is a nice sunny day today and I could see all of the glitter in the oil as I transferred it between a couple of containers. I was surprised by the amount of actual metal sitting at the bottom of the containers, there was glitter being suspended in the oil which I expected, but quite a bit of metal that settled to the bottom of the container. I suspect it was mostly sitting in the bottom of the oil pan, as the oil filter did not pick it up. I went back and ran my finger through the glittery stuff, you could certainly feel it and rub it between your fingers, gritty feeling for sure.

I found about 3 pieces of metal that were a bit larger than grains of salt/sand , the rest of the material was much smaller, but very glittery. I am kind of glad that I got that metal out of the engine, it may not have harmed anything leaving it in there, but it was good to see how much metal comes out of these modern engines.

 

[dbias]

I know dropping the factory fill at 900 miles on my new GTI made me feel better to not only get any machining waste out but I replaced it with 0w-30 Mobil1 and at 4k miles I replaced that with HPL 0w-30. My car, my money and peace of mind. Did I remove anything harmful? I’ll never know as I didn’t even look at the old oil but maybe I did and I for sure got 0w-30 in it.

 

[Kira]

I for sure got 0w-30 in it.

As opposed to what?
Some 'super-thin' or just unknown factory fill?

 

[scoot]

So usually I just let my cars go long distances on the first factory oil fill, and change at the recommended mileage. On my new 2024 Subaru I just dumped the factory oil at 600 miles. I flushed the oil pan with a bit of fresh oil as well since I had some extra older oil sitting around not being used.

I switched the oil from the drain container I used as I will be dumping the used oil at a recycling location. It is a nice sunny day today and I could see all of the glitter in the oil as I transferred it between a couple of containers. I was surprised by the amount of actual metal sitting at the bottom of the containers, there was glitter being suspended in the oil which I expected, but quite a bit of metal that settled to the bottom of the container. I suspect it was mostly sitting in the bottom of the oil pan, as the oil filter did not pick it up.

I found about 3 pieces of metal that were about the size of grains of salt/sand , the rest were smaller, but very glittery. I am kind of glad that I got that metal out of the engine, it may not have harmed anything leaving it in there, but it was good to see how much metal comes out of these modern engines.

It was the correct thing to do , you only get one chance to do it .

 

[Urshurak776]

No harm in doing it early. I do the same thing. I doubt it matters much either way, otherwise the manufacturer would tell you to do the first one early.

Or, maybe they wouldn't because they know it could extend the life of your engine past warranty! (kidding of course.....maybe.)

 

[zeroptzero]

I know dropping the factory fill at 900 miles on my new GTI made me feel better to not only get any machining waste out but I replaced it with 0w-30 Mobil1 and at 4k miles I replaced that with HPL 0w-30. My car, my money and peace of mind. Did I remove anything harmful? I’ll never know as I didn’t even look at the old oil but maybe I did and I for sure got 0w-30 in it.

I have a 24 GTi as well, but it came with 2 years of free maintenance, so I've been letting the dealer do it. So far the 0w20 has not burned a drop , so that is a good sign I guess.

No harm in doing it early. I do the same thing. I doubt it matters much either way, otherwise the manufacturer would tell you to do the first one early.

Or, maybe they wouldn't because they know it could extend the life of your engine past warranty! (kidding of course.....maybe.)

I agree , not likely any harm or benefit either way, just peace of mind and being able to see what is in there. I thought I'd find some RTV silicone but did not see any bits.

I came across an old Honda video of a 90's Honda Accord, and they used to recommend 500 mile oil changes back in the early days from what I seen. I owned one of those cars, but I can't recall if I did the 500 mile oil change, but I might have.

 

[scoot]

I have a 24 GTi as well, but it came with 2 years of free maintenance, so I've been letting the dealer do it. So far the 0w20 has not burned a drop , so that is a good sign I guess.


I agree , not likely any harm or benefit either way, just peace of mind and being able to see what is in there. I thought I'd find some RTV silicone but did not see any bits.

I came across an old Honda video of a 90's Honda Accord, and they used to recommend 500 mile oil changes back in the early days from what I seen. I owned one of those cars, but I can't recall if I did the 500 mile oil change, but I might have.

It was a different oil , it wasn't meant to go over 3k . Early is smart

 

[Zee09]

I had a new 1982 Subaru and they required you to bring it back at 1000 miles for a free oil change. They called it break in oil....

 

[dbias]

As opposed to what?
Some 'super-thin' or just unknown factory fill?

The factory fill was 0W-20 VW508. The HPL is VW 504

 

[Glenda W.]

I’ve had the same experience several times. First change between 500-1500 miles for me on new cars.

 

[zeroptzero]

I flushed the pan with 4 quarts of spare oil I had sitting around doing nothing and it came out with some glitter as well, so I put it to good use.

I had to order a Subaru filter and crush washer from Amazon yesterday as my dealer parts department seemed to think it was okay to close at 1pm on Saturdays - eeek. As I was waiting for it to arrive today, I had the car draining all day yesterday and a long time today, about 24 hours. The owner's manual stipulated that it took 5.3 quarts including the filter. I put in 5 quarts at first and it was at the bottom of the low level mark. I put in a 6th quart and it was just below the upper fill mark. I then put in about .25 quarts. In all I got 6.25 quarts into the engine, far more than I expected, glad that I had some spare bottles on hand. I don't know if the long drain caused me to get more oil out of it than what typically happens. I was so afraid to overfill it going by the specs, but the dipstick can't really lie ?

The new Amsoil 5w20 feels very smooth, pretty sure it has more viscosity than the factory fill 0w20, judging by feel and quiet smooth sensations on the initial drive.

 

[nomas]

Why aren't the oil filters trapping this " glitter " ?

 

[Nessism1]

Why aren't the oil filters trapping this " glitter " ?

I want to know as well. Could be the metal is heavier than the oil, and sinking to the bottom of the pan, out of harms way?

And FWIW, I've watched OEM engine assembly lines before, and before assembly, all the large parts like the block, crank, etc, went through a cleaning machine. The engine parts had already been cleaned after machining also.

 

[nomas]

People around here obsess over oil filters just as bad as they do oil . Every little detail in the construction is analyzed and criticized . Even the country of origin can become a major issue . Now , nobody want's to trust them to do their job . Particles large enough to be seen with the naked eye are passing through apparently ? THAT'S what people should be concerned with .

 

[zeroptzero]

The glittery material at the bottom of my drain container could be felt between your fingers, it was gritty feeling , in my opinion it should have been picked up by the oil filter if it was sent upwards at any time. But the metal could have sheared off the cylinders early on and washed and dropped to the bottom of the oil pan, maybe sitting there the entire time, not sucked upwards.

 

[notharry]

I have experienced this before as well. IF the next change looks the same inquire but it is a good idea to et the brake in wear out early. The aluminum "slag" will fall out as it loosens easly on.

 

[mikeduf]

I had a 23 Subaru Forester. And I changed the oil at 100 miles and it was dirty full of metal shine, Grit, pieces of unknown at the bottom of the waste pan. Yes I do believe the filter should have picked up all that as well but they don't. Changed it again at 500 miles, still saw a lot of glitter and crap. Then did another change at 1500 miles. Very minimal glitter and crap at that point. Then at 2500 got rear-ended!
Oh the joys of car ownership!

 

[willbur]

So usually I just let my cars go long distances on the first factory oil fill, and change at the recommended mileage. On my new 2024 Subaru I just dumped the factory oil at 600 miles. I flushed the oil pan with a bit of fresh oil as well since I had some extra older oil sitting around not being used.

I switched the oil from the drain container I used as I will be dumping the used oil at a recycling location. It is a nice sunny day today and I could see all of the glitter in the oil as I transferred it between a couple of containers. I was surprised by the amount of actual metal sitting at the bottom of the containers, there was glitter being suspended in the oil which I expected, but quite a bit of metal that settled to the bottom of the container. I suspect it was mostly sitting in the bottom of the oil pan, as the oil filter did not pick it up. I went back and ran my finger through the glittery stuff, you could certainly feel it and rub it between your fingers, gritty feeling for sure.

I found about 3 pieces of metal that were a bit larger than grains of salt/sand , the rest of the material was much smaller, but very glittery. I am kind of glad that I got that metal out of the engine, it may not have harmed anything leaving it in there, but it was good to see how much metal comes out of these modern engines.

Yet, that motor would probably last 300k miles if you did nothing ?

 

[PF52]

Yet, that motor would probably last 300k miles if you did nothing ?

There are some here who would suggest it will need three head gaskets by 100K.

So which is it?

 

[Marcozi]

People around here obsess over oil filters just as bad as they do oil . Every little detail in the construction is analyzed and criticized . Even the country of origin can become a major issue . Now , nobody want's to trust them to do their job . Particles large enough to be seen with the naked eye are passing through apparently ? THAT'S what people should be concerned with .

I'm on a couple of BMW forums. There are some horror stories of how an aftermarket oil filter collapsed in the oil filter housing. I use only MANN filters.