Motor Trend "long-term" Giulia Update

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RamFan

RamFan

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I'd hardly call 9,600 miles long-term, but, it's part of their long-term review so hey. Motor Trend's findings are similar to my 5k mile review. Now at 7k and I have nothing to add. The car has been a peach to drive in all conditions and is still just as much fun to drive as it was on day one. Still dealing with that annoying blower whine, but I've not taken it to a dealer to address that issue yet.

I do have to wonder about the oil and gas "conditioner" this dealer chose to pad their invoice with. Probably some BG product that is completely unnecessary. Maddening. What's more maddening though is that this entire service cost $197.35. If I go to the dealer simply to reset my oil light then they charge $69 for 30 minutes of labor. Not going to happen.
 
That, and I've heard the maintenance schedule calls for frequent visits to the dealership. My '18 Equinox needs very little the first 3 years, just rotations, inspections, oil every 7,500 miles or 1 year whichever comes first. I've heard Alfa's have crazy-busy maintenance, if thats true.(?) ..... The BG thing is ridiculous on a new vehicle. Unless you authorized it, they should not do it, or stick it in for free, period. Maybe contact Alfa & ask them to tell the dealership that additives are forbidden, as the Owner's Manual probably says that explicitly.

Below is the '18 Alfa Guilia ( https://www.alfaromeousa.com/conten...a/2018-Alfa_Romeo-Giulia_Base-OM-2nd.pdf ) owner's manual:
... And be sure to check the oil level every 1,864 miles (hee-hee) like it says:

AlfaOM.JPG
 
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At first I thought the maintenance schedule was bad, but really, the more I compare to others the more my opinion changes. Maybe it's confirmation bias on my part. Below is the schedule.

Oil & Filter - 1 Year or 10k OR when the OLM tells you - whichever occurs first
Air Filter - 3 Years or 30k miles
Brake Fluid - 2 Years, regardless of mileage
Cabin Filter - 2 Years or 20k miles
Spark Plugs - 3 Years or 30k miles
Coolant - 15 Years or 150k miles
Serpentine Belt - 4 Years or 36k miles

Trans is considered sealed. Front diff, rear diff and transfer case if I remember correctly are only called for a change under Severe driving but even that is at 60k-ish miles.
 
Originally Posted by RamFan
At first I thought the maintenance schedule was bad, but really, the more I compare to others the more my opinion changes. Maybe it's confirmation bias on my part. Below is the schedule.

Oil & Filter - 1 Year or 10k OR when the OLM tells you - whichever occurs first
Air Filter - 3 Years or 30k miles
Brake Fluid - 2 Years, regardless of mileage
Cabin Filter - 2 Years or 20k miles
Spark Plugs - 3 Years or 30k miles regardless of time
Coolant - 15 Years or 150k miles
Serpentine Belt - 4 Years or 36k miles

Trans is considered sealed. Front diff, rear diff and transfer case if I remember correctly are only called for a change under Severe driving but even that is at 60k-ish miles.


(Spark plugs are actually miles-only, not time, so corrected above. Page 201 in the manual.) ..............Its not as bad as the off-hand remarks I've heard about it after I looked in the Owner's Manual at the maintenance schedule..... Serpentine belt & spark plugs typically go 100,000 miles on other cars though. The brake fluid usually is about 5 years on most other cars, except BMW which matches the 2-year thing, and I'd change brake fluid every 2 years in a humid or rainy climate but 5 years otherwise (hygroscopic fluid is the problem).
 
yeah, those intervals look normal except for spark plugs- 30K looks shockingly low after my 105K Honda and 120K Toyota, and those are several year old vehicles.
 
I'd wager the plugs are copper, which performs a little better but doesn't last nearly as long. For a regular car, no one wants to change plugs all the time, but I suppose for a performance car like the Giulia, Fiat figures people won't mind.

It's probably going to be in the shop all the time anyway.
 
Originally Posted by Propflux01
"Check oil when hot and on level surface" Dry Sump system?

Those are the instructions for most cars...
 
Originally Posted by littlehulkster
I'd wager the plugs are copper, which performs a little better but doesn't last nearly as long. For a regular car, no one wants to change plugs all the time, but I suppose for a performance car like the Giulia, Fiat figures people won't mind.

It's probably going to be in the shop all the time anyway.


For a long time, most Hemis called for 36K plug changes.

Wouldn't have been bad, except it uses sixteen, and access is a bear.
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by RamFan
At first I thought the maintenance schedule was bad, but really, the more I compare to others the more my opinion changes. Maybe it's confirmation bias on my part. Below is the schedule.

Oil & Filter - 1 Year or 10k OR when the OLM tells you - whichever occurs first
Air Filter - 3 Years or 30k miles
Brake Fluid - 2 Years, regardless of mileage
Cabin Filter - 2 Years or 20k miles
Spark Plugs - 3 Years or 30k miles regardless of time
Coolant - 15 Years or 150k miles
Serpentine Belt - 4 Years or 36k miles

Trans is considered sealed. Front diff, rear diff and transfer case if I remember correctly are only called for a change under Severe driving but even that is at 60k-ish miles.


(Spark plugs are actually miles-only, not time, so corrected above. Page 201 in the manual.) ..............Its not as bad as the off-hand remarks I've heard about it after I looked in the Owner's Manual at the maintenance schedule..... Serpentine belt & spark plugs typically go 100,000 miles on other cars though. The brake fluid usually is about 5 years on most other cars, except BMW which matches the 2-year thing, and I'd change brake fluid every 2 years in a humid or rainy climate but 5 years otherwise (hygroscopic fluid is the problem).

All Euro cars are 2 years!
 
Originally Posted by RamFan
At first I thought the maintenance schedule was bad, but really, the more I compare to others the more my opinion changes. Maybe it's confirmation bias on my part. Below is the schedule.

Oil & Filter - 1 Year or 10k OR when the OLM tells you - whichever occurs first
Air Filter - 3 Years or 30k miles
Brake Fluid - 2 Years, regardless of mileage
Cabin Filter - 2 Years or 20k miles
Spark Plugs - 3 Years or 30k miles
Coolant - 15 Years or 150k miles
Serpentine Belt - 4 Years or 36k miles

Trans is considered sealed. Front diff, rear diff and transfer case if I remember correctly are only called for a change under Severe driving but even that is at 60k-ish miles.

Take into consideration that unlike BMW, Audi, Alfa etc. ZF recommends fluid exchange every 60-75k.
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies


(Spark plugs are actually miles-only, not time, so corrected above. Page 201 in the manual.) ..............Its not as bad as the off-hand remarks I've heard about it after I looked in the Owner's Manual at the maintenance schedule..... Serpentine belt & spark plugs typically go 100,000 miles on other cars though. The brake fluid usually is about 5 years on most other cars, except BMW which matches the 2-year thing, and I'd change brake fluid every 2 years in a humid or rainy climate but 5 years otherwise (hygroscopic fluid is the problem).


Yup, my mistake. Missed the asterisk when doing the original write up. Good catch.

Originally Posted by edyvw

Take into consideration that unlike BMW, Audi, Alfa etc. ZF recommends fluid exchange every 60-75k.


Absolutely! I'll be doing fluid changes along side the diffs and transfer case. I was stating that Alfa considers this a lifetime full which is becoming industry standard, rather than advocating for a shorter than expected interval like some would assume being an Alfa.

Originally Posted by littlehulkster

It's probably going to be in the shop all the time anyway.


You're missing the point entirely. Alfa has notoriously been lacking in the reliability department. The Giulia and Stelvio have been proving otherwise. Yes, they haven't been in the market long, but with the exception of a few bad apples, ownership among drivers has been a great experience with these two vehicles.
 
I'll let you know what the plugs look like when the time comes. I will do a trans fluid swap roughly 60k...and the serp belt shouldn't be a problem. 3K in, and she is still purring like a kitty...
 
Originally Posted by HangFire
yeah, those intervals look normal except for spark plugs- 30K looks shockingly low after my 105K Honda and 120K Toyota, and those are several year old vehicles.

I would say expectations and delivery of an engine in Alfa is substantially different.
 
Originally Posted by littlehulkster
I'd wager the plugs are copper, which performs a little better but doesn't last nearly as long. For a regular car, no one wants to change plugs all the time, but I suppose for a performance car like the Giulia, Fiat figures people won't mind.

It's probably going to be in the shop all the time anyway.

I had 1999 Lancia Lybra 2.4 JTD, and in 425k km never seen anything except regular maintenance.
Had 1996 Alfa Romeo 146 1.6 Boxer, and in some 250k km same thing, just regular maintenance.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Those are the instructions for most cars...


Tranny, yes, engine oil, never seen a hot-only check (except for a Harley, which is Dry Sump).
 
My Mini owners manual calls for the engine oil to be checked at normal operating temperature as well.
 
Originally Posted by Propflux01
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Those are the instructions for most cars...
Tranny, yes, engine oil, never seen a hot-only check (except for a Harley, which is Dry Sump).
Originally Posted by MCompact
My Mini owners manual calls for the engine oil to be checked at normal operating temperature as well.
I guess it needs a little heat on the Oil Level Sensor to get an accurate reading, no dipstick here after all. No dry sump either.
 
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