Looking to Change oil on my 2015 Dodge Journey - new to forum.

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Dec 17, 2020
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I never thought to find a forum on oil. I came across this quite by accident. great place!

just looking to do my first oil change on my vehicle.it has the 3.6vvt motor, AWD transmission and oil is just showing signs of impurities.

of course, the owners manual says only Chrysler motor oil. I just want to know the best 5w-20 since it's colder and decent price-wise. the dealer did something to the oil filter (maybe cross-threaded it. it leaks about a drop or 2 nightly. unfortunately, it drips on the drive belt and causes a lot of squeaking in the morning when it starts.

I am not bringing it back there ever to fix it and it could be some other bolt or something not tightened down properly since I did find a loose nut up front about to work itself off. I decided an oil change would be in order while I investigate the leak issue.

tía.

at any rate, greetings! glad to have found this place
 
Welcome to the site. Pennzoil Platinum is a good choice. I have the same motor in my caravan. I use a Fram Ultra oil filter.

Buckle up and get ready for the onslaught of oil and filter information.

Are you comfortable changing the oil yourself (meaning you've done your own oil changes yourself previously)?

Your oil leak could be from the oil filter housing. I'll have to find the links and post them.

 
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Also people that run fram ultras leave them on for more than one oil change since they are rated for 20k miles. No issues with mopar or Wix, but the ultra is known to be a pretty stout filter. Also helps reduce the issue or cracking these oil filter housings since you are changing the filter half as much.

Here's a post to pics of one of them on my caravan.

 
Welcome to BITOG :)

Any synthetic oil should be fine for your Journey. Napa Synthetic is on sale this month for $3.19/qt and is made by Valvoline. The Napa Platinum filter is on sale for $7.49.

Dealers (and most shops) use random bulk oil, so whatever you buy is most likely better than what the dealer used.
 
Show us where the manual says use only Chrysler oil. Any major brand oil that meets the specs will serve you well. The Dexos rating is a far superior rating than Chryslers MS what ever number. Fram filters are Wix filters will do the job. and let you sleep at night.
 
Welcome to BITOG :)

Any synthetic oil should be fine for your Journey. Napa Synthetic is on sale this month for $3.19/qt and is made by Valvoline. The Napa Platinum filter is on sale for $7.49.

Dealers (and most shops) use random bulk oil, so whatever you buy is most likely better than what the dealer used.
Bulk oil is as good a oil in the bottles.
 
Show us where the manual says use only Chrysler oil. Any major brand oil that meets the specs will serve you well. The Dexos rating is a far superior rating than Chryslers MS what ever number. Fram filters are Wix filters will do the job. and let you sleep at night.

From my OM:


"2014 Dodge Journey Owner's Manual

Engine Oil Viscosity — 3.6L Engine

MOPAR® SAE 5W-20 engine oil approved to Chrysler Material Standard MS-6395 such as Pennzoil®, Shell

Helix® or equivalent is recommended for all operating temperatures. This engine oil improves low temperature starting and vehicle fuel economy.

The engine oil filler cap also shows the recommended engine oil viscosity for your engine. For information on engine oil filler cap location, refer to the “Engine Compartment” illustration in this section.

NOTE: MOPAR® SAE 5W-30 engine oil approved to Chrysler Material Standard MS-6395 such as Pennzoil®, Shell Helix® or equivalent may be used when SAE 5W-20 engine oil meeting MS-6395 is not available."


Says MS-6395, but I have been using a variety of synthetic oils since new, MS-6395 or not. No problems so far and I'm not expecting any oil related problems to show up in the future. I'm actually going to use 5W-30 starting with the next oil change. Will see how that goes.
 
Pennzoil Platinum is good, and any major brand full synth off Walmart's shelf will do, with a good filter. If you want to go OEM filter, that's good. NAPA filters are Wix so that's a good choice. Change oil and filter every 5 - 7k miles and you're set. Name brands aren't as important as doing your oil and filter changes on time. Check back to BITOG often. Lots of people often post rebates and coupons so watch for those.
 
hello rrb6699, if you get the chance please post a review of your dodge journey in the vehicles subforum. the journey doesn’t get alot of love but the stationary journeys (pun intended) that i have sat in and explored at car shows were quite pleasant for me. high enough, roomy, decent looking, well priced when used... thanks!
 
I never thought to find a forum on oil. I came across this quite by accident. great place!

just looking to do my first oil change on my vehicle.it has the 3.6vvt motor, AWD transmission and oil is just showing signs of impurities.

of course, the owners manual says only Chrysler motor oil. I just want to know the best 5w-20 since it's colder and decent price-wise. the dealer did something to the oil filter (maybe cross-threaded it. it leaks about a drop or 2 nightly. unfortunately, it drips on the drive belt and causes a lot of squeaking in the morning when it starts.

I am not bringing it back there ever to fix it and it could be some other bolt or something not tightened down properly since I did find a loose nut up front about to work itself off. I decided an oil change would be in order while I investigate the leak issue.

tía.

at any rate, greetings! glad to have found this place

If the dealer cross threaded the oil filter to housing and boogered up the threads I would be a but upset with them...
yea or overtightened it. they had to do the a/c twice because they used a compressor from autozone because the warranty company tried to cut corners on costs. this means stuff got taken apart twice.
after that job the belt started squeaking the next morning. I didn't mention it until I could figure out what was dripping on the belt. plus, every problem you report for them to look at costs $150 so, I have to nail it on them directly.

if they overtightened the filter and cracked the [should have been known poorly designed] plastic housing its probably "good luck proving it".

however, they did offer $15 oil changes for 3 years. more than I want to pay, but, perhaps I can get them after the next oil change and blame them for the problem so if that housing is cracked then it's on them.

I will change my own oil from now on after I get them to do it one more time for $15. lol.
 
Pennzoil Platinum is good, and any major brand full synth off Walmart's shelf will do, with a good filter. If you want to go OEM filter, that's good. NAPA filters are Wix so that's a good choice. Change oil and filter every 5 - 7k miles and you're set. Name brands aren't as important as doing your oil and filter changes on time. Check back to BITOG often. Lots of people often post rebates and coupons so watch for those.
I thought with these 3.6 vvl engines you had to change the oil more frequently than 7K.
 
I thought with these 3.6 vvl engines you had to change the oil more frequently than 7K.
A lot of the Pentastar motors (the 3.6 vvt) like yours in the journey people wait for the maintenance minder to tell them to change oil. The max I've gone on the caravan is just over 11,000 km (6800 miles). That was with Pennzoil Platinum. I usually change it at 6200 miles max. These days driving less, so I'll change it more often 4-5k. IMO 3k OCI Is too soon, oil is so much better than it was even 5 years.
 
hello rrb6699, if you get the chance please post a review of your dodge journey in the vehicles subforum. the journey doesn’t get alot of love but the stationary journeys (pun intended) that i have sat in and explored at car shows were quite pleasant for me. high enough, roomy, decent looking, well priced when used... thanks!
sure will do. look for it by tomorrow!
 
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