Change own oil?

REDDDRAGGON

Do people change their own oil? I was thinking of doing because I like playing with stuff and I expect that I'll save some money in the bargain.

Bearing in mind I currently drive a 2014 Nissan Juke:

What kit do I need? Tools etc (assume I have nothing car specific).

Affect on service history or warranty? If get a garage to do it, it official, but if I do it myself it doesn't go down in service history right? Would it void my 3 year warranty?

Oil filter - OEM or 3rd Party? I imagine I could get a 3rd party one that's just as good if not better for less? But again would that void my warranty?

And finally, is it worth the hassle of doing it myself? I've tinkered with bicycles and computers, and I have quite a technical background, but I've not done anything with cars (only had a car 9 months).

Thanks in advance.....

bryanb

I bought one of those suction devices that suck the oil out through the dipstick hole. It makes oil changes much cleaner than grovelling under the car and removing sump plug etc etc.
Cost me about £40 but I saved that on the first oil change.

Edit. I waited till the warranty had expired. Not worth the hassle of potential disputes over warranty claims.

Tiexen

REDDDRAGGON wrote: »

Do people change their own oil? I was thinking of doing because I like playing with stuff and I expect that I'll save some money in the bargain.

Bearing in mind I currently drive a 2014 Nissan Juke:

What kit do I need? Tools etc (assume I have nothing car specific).

Affect on service history or warranty? If get a garage to do it, it official, but if I do it myself it doesn't go down in service history right? Would it void my 3 year warranty?

Oil filter - OEM or 3rd Party? I imagine I could get a 3rd party one that's just as good if not better for less? But again would that void my warranty?

And finally, is it worth the hassle of doing it myself? I've tinkered with bicycles and computers, and I have quite a technical background, but I've not done anything with cars (only had a car 9 months).

Thanks in advance.....

If you have a new car its under manufacturer warranty you should have it serviced by the dealer you bought it from.

At two years old my car had a leaking shock absorber (not covered under warrent - wear and tear) my dealer changed it at no cost as a gesture of goodwill.

Ebe_Scrooge

As above, it's a good idea to stick to having it serviced by a professional whilst under warranty. You don't actually need to use a main dealer, any garage can do it as long as they're VAT registered and use genuine OEM parts. Though there is a school of thought that says if you stick to main dealers they can't argue over any warranty claims.

However, when the warranty runs out, then oil / filter changes are a very simple DIY job, and is probably the single most important thing to prolong the life of the engine. Tools you'll need vary depending on the car. Usually you'll need a socket for the sump plug, and maybe a socket for the filter if it's the type with a paper filter inside a plastic housing. If it's a cartridge type then these are just done by hand. That's about all you'll need on most cars - a very simple job.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Your under manufacturers warranty, I would ring a few Nissan dealers and ask them for their service prices to compare them and go with the cheapest.


Using non OEM spec parts would effectively ruin your chances of a warranty claim further down the line.
Doing it yourself would ruin the warranty and as no service stamps in the book would reduce the price come resale.
Youd be hard pressed to find pattern parts and filters for a new car anyway as manufacturers of such parts are subject to pattern patenting and copyrighting usually takes 12-18 months for such service parts to start entering the aftermarket scene unless the engine is a recycled one from earlier models but even then I have found slight updates to the design of these filters and older ones don't quite fit properly.

ariba10

If you do change the oil yourself (not a difficult job once you have seen it done) make sure you change the oil filter at the same time.

nobbysn*ts

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

................ then oil / filter changes are a very simple DIY job,................

Not entirely sure I agree. I've one that you can reach under with a socket, and let the sump drain while you swop the canister filter from the top. Clean, quick job. I've another, where first off it needs jacking up, the under tray removing, then the sump can be drained. The air inlet hosing has to be removed to get to the filter. It's sitting end up, so the oil runs out as you unscrew it, so another tray under that part of the engine. It's a cartridge type, so the old insert has to be removed, and the o ring. Quick wipe out, new o ring, new cartridge, clean around the engine, then the assembly goes back on. Torque back down, and reassemble the air pipes. Sump plug, undertray, replaced. The only easy thing really is pouring the oil in. Not exactly hard, but not very simple. Newer cars are getting worse.

Ozzuk

For a new car I'd always want to maintain dealer history for as long as possible for resale purposes. Sure if you want to change the oil more regular than the service schedule then go for it but I wouldn't bother.

The oil change is a small part of what most dealers do as part of a service (and charge for!). I'm surprised you didn't get some kind of service deal actually. They also grease hinges etc, check for issues, reset ECU, free software updates (usually), lots of 'extras'.

Personally I think its the worst 'I've got a new Duke' thread ever :P:P

londonTiger

LOL you paid £14,000+ for the car, now you want to save £20-£30 on bi-annual oil change? LOL

A warranty is probably worth £2000-£3000 so if you do your own service you lose that. You can do oil changes inbetween factory service if you like though. Only worth it if the manufacturer put a stupidly long oil service in like VAG cars.

Gavin83

As others have said while the car is under warranty I'd get it done properly.

If you do it yourself (in the future) I can't express enough the importance of axle stands. You'll need to be under the car to do an oil change and the cost of the stands (you can get a set for about £20) is worth it as it could potentially save your life.

Besides that you generally just need a socket for the sump plug but if your serious about this just get a socket set, the Halfords professional range are pretty good and easy to find.

REDDDRAGGON

londonTiger wrote: »

LOL you paid £14,000+ for the car, now you want to save £20-£30 on bi-annual oil change? LOL

A warranty is probably worth £2000-£3000 so if you do your own service you lose that. You can do oil changes inbetween factory service if you like though. Only worth it if the manufacturer put a stupidly long oil service in like VAG cars.

The money saving is not the main reason. I was thinking more the fact that I like to do things myself as I'm a tinkerer, and I'm not reliant on a garage - I'm not all that close to a Nissan dealer.

I've just read the manual, it doesn't mention any mileage interval that it recommends oil change, just that it might need topping up now and again. I was expecting a 6 month/6,000 mile interval, which would be mid annual service.

So I guess I'll just keep checking it as I've been doing and top it up now and again. I worried I was missing something, as my mate is seems to be changing the oil on his bike every 5 mins!