New here, wondering what the experts have to say about oil type, filters and change intervals.
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2003 Chevy Trailblazer EXT 4x4 with 4.2L engine, 137k miles just bought it last month and have put about 1k miles on it so far.
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well.
"As in the chart shown previously, SAE 5W-30 is the only viscosity grade recommended for your vehicle. You should look for and use only oils which have the API Starburst symbol and which are also identified as SAE 5W-30. If you cannot find such SAE 5W-30 oils, you can use an SAE 10W-30 oil which has the API Starburst symbol, if it's going to be 0°F (-18°C) or above. Do not use other viscosity grade oils, such as SAE 10W-40 or SAE 20W-50 under any conditions.
Notice: Use only engine oil with the American Petroleum Institute Certified For Gasoline Engines starburst symbol. Failure to use the recommended oil can result in engine damage not covered by your warranty.
Don't add anything to your oil. The recommended oils with the starburst symbol are all you will need for good performance and engine protection"
I believe it has an oil life monitor dummy light.
3. Where you live
Upstate NY, very cold, snowy winters, moderately warm, but very humid summers (~5 or so 90°F or warmer days in the summer)
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Wife is primary driver, takes it pretty easy.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
Driving is probably about 25% city, 25% highway, 25% rural, 25% suburbs? Lot of shorter trips, but 90% of the time at least long enough for the engine to get up to temp.
6. Whether your car has any known problems
Working out a few things (running under temp, need to change the thermostat), but no engine related problems that I am aware of. Engine purrs along great other than what sounds like an exhaust tick at highway speeds. Pretty sure it doesn't leak or burn anything.
7. If you have any preferences -- synthetic vs. conventional, store-bought vs. ordered online, how long you'd like to go between oil changes, etc. -- or any other info you think might be important, let us know that as well.
I’ve stuck with Mobil1 full synthetic and OEM filter with my newer car and was sort of preparing to do the same with this, but I’m always up for saving money. I assume the previous owner stuck with dino 5W-30. He said he took it in to get the oil changed at 3k miles or a bit more. I’ve changed the oil myself on my other vehicles the past couple years and like to do so in the first good weather of April and the last good weather of October whether it really needs it or not (it usually does). It gets very cold and snowy up here in the winter and I really don’t want to get caught needing a change in January is basically the reason. The TB is for my stay-at-home wife with the kiddo, so not a whole lot of miles, I’m guessing it will see 400-750 miles per month once my wife stops working end of this month. If you can talk me into once per year oil changes at 5-9k miles, I wouldn’t be adverse to that, I’m just a little nervous about going 12 months between changes, regardless of the miles.
Thanks for your input!
1. What kind of vehicle you have
2003 Chevy Trailblazer EXT 4x4 with 4.2L engine, 137k miles just bought it last month and have put about 1k miles on it so far.
2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well.
"As in the chart shown previously, SAE 5W-30 is the only viscosity grade recommended for your vehicle. You should look for and use only oils which have the API Starburst symbol and which are also identified as SAE 5W-30. If you cannot find such SAE 5W-30 oils, you can use an SAE 10W-30 oil which has the API Starburst symbol, if it's going to be 0°F (-18°C) or above. Do not use other viscosity grade oils, such as SAE 10W-40 or SAE 20W-50 under any conditions.
Notice: Use only engine oil with the American Petroleum Institute Certified For Gasoline Engines starburst symbol. Failure to use the recommended oil can result in engine damage not covered by your warranty.
Don't add anything to your oil. The recommended oils with the starburst symbol are all you will need for good performance and engine protection"
I believe it has an oil life monitor dummy light.
3. Where you live
Upstate NY, very cold, snowy winters, moderately warm, but very humid summers (~5 or so 90°F or warmer days in the summer)
4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Wife is primary driver, takes it pretty easy.
5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
Driving is probably about 25% city, 25% highway, 25% rural, 25% suburbs? Lot of shorter trips, but 90% of the time at least long enough for the engine to get up to temp.
6. Whether your car has any known problems
Working out a few things (running under temp, need to change the thermostat), but no engine related problems that I am aware of. Engine purrs along great other than what sounds like an exhaust tick at highway speeds. Pretty sure it doesn't leak or burn anything.
7. If you have any preferences -- synthetic vs. conventional, store-bought vs. ordered online, how long you'd like to go between oil changes, etc. -- or any other info you think might be important, let us know that as well.
I’ve stuck with Mobil1 full synthetic and OEM filter with my newer car and was sort of preparing to do the same with this, but I’m always up for saving money. I assume the previous owner stuck with dino 5W-30. He said he took it in to get the oil changed at 3k miles or a bit more. I’ve changed the oil myself on my other vehicles the past couple years and like to do so in the first good weather of April and the last good weather of October whether it really needs it or not (it usually does). It gets very cold and snowy up here in the winter and I really don’t want to get caught needing a change in January is basically the reason. The TB is for my stay-at-home wife with the kiddo, so not a whole lot of miles, I’m guessing it will see 400-750 miles per month once my wife stops working end of this month. If you can talk me into once per year oil changes at 5-9k miles, I wouldn’t be adverse to that, I’m just a little nervous about going 12 months between changes, regardless of the miles.
Thanks for your input!
