So much for $1.97 ST filters or $2.97 Motorcraft filters from Wally World. My new Mazda 6i takes a drop in cartridge type filter that is a dealer only item (save one or two specialty web shops). The filter and two o-rings add up to just under $15.00.
No more cheap filters
- Thread starter mikep
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And I have been screaming for 2 years over $8 at snooty dealer, $5-6 at inconvenient Pep Boys cartridges for my Cavalier Ecotec. At least the only little O-ring comes already mounted on the cartridge. It is actually easy to change, but it burns me to pay that price for the media, 2 plastic end caps, and nothing more. this is for an engine that GM claims will have one of the highest volumes of any.
Found it for you including the O-rings for $6.26
http://ma-parts.drivewire.com/Buy-Mazda/6i/Oil-Filter.html
http://ma-parts.drivewire.com/Buy-Mazda/6i/Oil-Filter.html
Holy highway robbery Batman! The dealers have really been sticking it to people. Thanks for that link ALS!
Plus free shipping on orders of $50.00....looks like I'll be ordering 9 filter/o-ring sets.
[ April 15, 2004, 08:48 AM: Message edited by: mikep ]
Mikep, Just curious but what does the dealer charge to change the oil in your car. If it's in the "usual" dealer range of $21-$25 that would make it a bargain. Especially considering the filter element costs you $15 at the dealer. Before you go and buy 9 filter sets maybe you should wait a bit and see if they allow you to convert to a spin on filter, as with the Mazda 3 and Focus with the same engine I believe. I seem to remember Crossbow saying that it was being "worked" on to allow it and retain the warranty.
Whimsey
Whimsey
The aftermarket crowd (Purolator, Wix, Champion, etc.) will come to the rescue soon enough once a demand emerges...
It hasn't been soon enough to suit me. The different divisions of GM have been using the Ecotec engine for several years in volume. Pep Boys is still charging about twice as much for the Purolator L15346 as most of their numbers. Last I looked the Fram was $8 at Wally's.
I'm really puzzled by this recent trend back towards cartridge type filters. The spin on filter was a big convenience step forward when most vehicle mfg. switched over in the 1950s and 60s.
Volvo went back to cartridges around '98 or so, and it looks like many other companies are as well.
The official reason being given is to reduce the amount of waste in landfills.
I suspect that another reason is to further discourage DIY mechanical work. A large portion of the oil sold over the counter is never accounted for on the recyling side of the motor oil equation.
For example, these statistics are sited at the website of theCalifornia Waste Management Board :
"Of the over 1.3 billion gallons of used oils (industrial and lubricating) generated each year in the U.S., less than 60 percent is recycled. "
"Over 20 million gallons of used motor oil is disposed each year in an unknown manner in California by do-it-yourself oil changers. This equates to nearly 1 gallon of DIY used oil improperly disposed of for every adult. "
The other factor sited by the auto mfg. is that it is seen as environmentally wasteful to throw away the steel outer shell with every oil change. I suppose that when oil filters are properly recyled this steel is recyled, but why use it at all is their thinking.
Convenience wise cartridges are a big step backwards, but I reluctantly admit that they are likely to have some environmental advantages.
Expect more and more cars to go this way over time.
As to the cost, new form factors of automotive filters always carry a premium price when first introduced. I recall buying a 1987 Ford Taurus new and being shocked that a replacement air filter for it cost 3x more than a filter for my '82 VW Scirocco it replaced. Five years later the Taurus filter was plenty cheap.
New cars are serviced mostly at new car dealerships, so it takes quite a while for the aftermarket volume to build up and prices to come down. Basic economics in action.
John
John
Volvo went back to cartridges around '98 or so, and it looks like many other companies are as well.
The official reason being given is to reduce the amount of waste in landfills.
I suspect that another reason is to further discourage DIY mechanical work. A large portion of the oil sold over the counter is never accounted for on the recyling side of the motor oil equation.
For example, these statistics are sited at the website of theCalifornia Waste Management Board :
"Of the over 1.3 billion gallons of used oils (industrial and lubricating) generated each year in the U.S., less than 60 percent is recycled. "
"Over 20 million gallons of used motor oil is disposed each year in an unknown manner in California by do-it-yourself oil changers. This equates to nearly 1 gallon of DIY used oil improperly disposed of for every adult. "
The other factor sited by the auto mfg. is that it is seen as environmentally wasteful to throw away the steel outer shell with every oil change. I suppose that when oil filters are properly recyled this steel is recyled, but why use it at all is their thinking.
Convenience wise cartridges are a big step backwards, but I reluctantly admit that they are likely to have some environmental advantages.
Expect more and more cars to go this way over time.
As to the cost, new form factors of automotive filters always carry a premium price when first introduced. I recall buying a 1987 Ford Taurus new and being shocked that a replacement air filter for it cost 3x more than a filter for my '82 VW Scirocco it replaced. Five years later the Taurus filter was plenty cheap.
New cars are serviced mostly at new car dealerships, so it takes quite a while for the aftermarket volume to build up and prices to come down. Basic economics in action.
John
John
Not when they are done right. I have seen some horror stories here, but with the Ecotec in my Chevy, it is simply a matter of unscrewing the cap with a 5/4'' socket I happened to have, pull the cartridge and cap out, unclip the cartridge, clip on a new one, and screw the cap on again. I do it standing up, not under the car. With an extension, there is plenty of room to swing a bar. Unscrewing the cap defeats the ADBV leaving a mostly dry cartridge.
I have some vague memories about a canister of oil going everywhere, and then trying to get a bolt up through a hole on my 57 Chevy, 283 V-8.
I pumped a whole lot of oil on the ground one day from a old chevy pickup with a canister. I had bought it used and on the first oil change did every thing right, I thought but had this huge puddle of oil under the car. Took off the canister and checked and there was a number of old o rings stuck up into the indentation for the filter. Got them out put the filter back on, new oil and lot of cleaning the driveway and all was fine. For every new was old idea there is an old problem that creeps back into the picture.
I would have to agree that the move to canister type filters is most likely an attempt to discourage DIY'rs.
The filter setup on the 6i is actually not really such a PITA to change. It isn't as convenient and quick as a simple spin on but still not all that bad. The biggest PITA is getting the engine bay undercover off for access to the filter and drain plug.
When it comes time for the first scheduled maintenance I'll check with the service manager if the conversion has been given the Mazda seal of approval. If so I'll have them put it on this way there is no chance of any fingerpointing down the road.
The filter setup on the 6i is actually not really such a PITA to change. It isn't as convenient and quick as a simple spin on but still not all that bad. The biggest PITA is getting the engine bay undercover off for access to the filter and drain plug.
When it comes time for the first scheduled maintenance I'll check with the service manager if the conversion has been given the Mazda seal of approval. If so I'll have them put it on this way there is no chance of any fingerpointing down the road.
I suspect these numbers. Do they assume that a gallon of new oil automatically turns into a gallon of old oil? What about cars that burn oil? What about people/businesses that have private waste oil furnaces or friends with them? In cali they have a deposit, IIRC, on oil that encourages its return but it isn't like that everywhere and they are probably assuming it is...
No deposit, at least nothing refundable, on motor oil here in California. There is a "disposal fee" on oil which in theory is used to pay for the collection and recyling of oil. Whether or not the fee actually gets used that way I do not know.
John
John
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