Recommended Maintenance
 

Hey folks,

I'm new here so I apologize if this has been discussed before. Has anyone noticed that the recommended maintenance intervals don't agree between the car's "Warranty and Maintenance Booklet" and the Subaru website?

The Warranty and Maintenance Booklet shows the following intervals:
7500, 15000, 22500, 30000, 37500, 45000, etc.

But mysubaru.com (where you go to schedule services) shows the following:
3750, 7500, 11250, 15000, 18750, 22500

And on top of that, my dealer told me to make sure to get an oil change at 3,000 miles, which isn't listed on either of those lists.

Why is this so complicated? Why doesn't anything agree?

Another thing that bothers me is that if you want to schedule service on the subaru website, you just schedule it based on the miles on the list above... and it doesn't actually tell you what they're going to do to the car. So frustrating!

Will the dealer go ahead and give me a free oil change at 3,000 miles because that's what they told me? Or will they go by the "Warranty and Maintenance" booklet? Or will they go by the website? Surely this shouldn't be so difficult!

The dealer wants you to do your oil change at 3000 because they make more money that way. There are also a bunch of "scheduled maintenance's" that are a bunch of bull. For our Lancer they wanted to do a 15,000 mile service, it was like $250.

I asked them if this was required to keep the warranty and they said no. It was just something the "recommend". Check your manual and that is what is required to maintain your warranty.

The 3,000 mile oil change is a thing of the past, cars are now designed to go much longer due to better tech in engines and oils.

Always ask if the service is required by the manufacturer to maintain the warranty or if it is something they just recommend.

^+1.
And never ask for the dealer's 3,000, 7,500. etc. mile service. Tell them what you want done (only the items in the maintenance booklet) or they'll charge you for a bunch of add-on's that are not needed.

-Dennis

Even though the manual recommends 7500 maintenance intervals, I was planning to shorten them to 5000 just to be on the safe side. Are you guys saying this is a waste?

Quite possibly, yes. But a used oil analysis will tell you if the interval is safe or too long.

Some folks use Blackstone, but you get more bang for the buck with Oil Analyzer's Inc.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php
http://oaitesting.com/prices_automotive_fleet.htm

-Dennis

Thanks guys - good info. But no oil change at 3000 miles? I keep hearing that you should do that since metal shavings get in there... is that not true? Are you guys really waiting 7500 miles til the first oil change?

On a related topic - I've never had a car that I've taken to the dealer to get an oil change. Always done it myself. But how can you say no to free oil changes for 2 years? I can't lie, though - I'm quite nervous about someone else working on my baby. If I decide to change my mind and do 'em myself, does that void the warranty? Is the warranty only valid if I come in and let them do it? Otherwise, how do I prove that they've actually been done if something goes wrong?

It's the job of the oil filter to catch the metals shavings. Some paranoid people do change the oil at 500 or 1,000 miles. You can do a used oil analysis at 500 miles, 1,000 miles, and 3,000 miles and there would be virtually no change in break-in wear metals.

The oil at the factory has higher levels of molybdenum, zinc, and phosphorus which is why I would leave it in a bit longer. I've seen uoa's on the factory fill at 5,000 miles and 7,500 miles from a WRX and it wasn't anything shocking. If you change your own oil and ever have a warranty claim, your dealer or Subaru of America would ask for copies of the receipts of your oil purchase. You should save those along with adding the info at mysubaru.com.

-Dennis

If you are worried about maintenance of a brand new car like this, follow these simple directions and you will be golden. Shortly after the break in period of 1k miles, change the oil. People will argue all day with you whether this is needed or not, but my oil had metal fragments in it from manufacturing and changing your oil after a break in CAN'T hurt your vehicle. The synthetic oil we use is good for 7500 miles and that is when your first free oil change comes up. Depending on your driving style you might want to change it out earlier or wait for it(after your break in change).

Personally I do my own oil changes because this car is easy to do and I trust myself more then the high school kids their hiring in my area.

Now you can wait and change your oil every 7500 miles and things may be great, but it is easy and cheap to change your own a little more frequently and it gives piece of mind. People say it is a waste of time and money, but for 30 bucks I will just change it and ignore all their comments. :) In the end , do what you feel is best for your car.

While the My.Subaru.com page does in fact show a 3750 mile service, the official oil spec sheet (from the same website) for all Subarus does NOT have this service interval listed.

30$???? I spent 60$ alone just for the oil.. And another 15 for the filter.. And that was after I took it to the dealership and have those dumbasses change it and stick a STP oil filter on.. That's the only reason I had it changed again.. If that shit place went to autozone to get my filter, I wondered if they even stuck in synthetic oil.. Called scion.. Had another year added to my free oil changes.. That was not a local dealer by the way.. One in El Paso..

I bought my filter for like 8 bucks from the subbie dealership and the oil I get on discount because my family owns an auto part store lol. Even for 50 bucks or 60 bucks it is worth it to me. I would recommend buying your own stuff and doing it yourself, will always be satisfied with the results. Make sure if you buy the filter from the dealership you get the black one (Japanese) and not the blue one (N.A.) because the blue one is a knock off.

Subbie dealer was the only one to have the filter in stock.. Didn't know about the colors tho thanks.. Still changed me 15$ :thumbdown:

Also being a ASE tech and all.. Working at a couple dealerships, I've seen the hassles of getting warranty work done with receipts.. As long as its under warranty I'll just suck it up and have the dealership do my maintenance.. I've seen people wait for over a month to get work approved because they did their own work.. And by law it has to still be covered.. I also seen work get pushed back and crap.. I'll just have to use the peace of mind that if something goes wrong I can point it at the dealership to get it fixed... Also doesn't hurt if you can become friends with a tech at your local dealership.. I don't know any Toyota techs.. But I know my Suzuki tech at my bike dealership personally and know that my bike gets serviced right every time

Yeah the dealership near me is junk. I will however go to them for major repairs and anything warranty related. Changing your own oil doesn't void your warranty unless you put gasoline in instead of oil. Anything major, by all means go to your dealer until out of warranty. Toyota is good about not ****ing around with people about little things like oil changes and warranty problems.

What do you think Subaru would say if I walked in and said: "ok, you guys said I'd get free oil changes for 2 years. How 'bout you just give me the oil and filters for free and I take them home and do the work myself?"

I doubt they'd go for it, even though it would technically be saving them money and time. But since when do big companies listen to logic?

That would make sense! But yeah the oil change on this car is one of the easiest on any car on the market. Proper engineering at work! :thumbup:

for scion since maintenance is covered for 2yrs/24K miles, can I bring it in at 3000 for the first oil change or will they make me wait for the regularly scheduled 7K one? I heard its better to change the oil early for the first oil change to get out some gunk.

The dealership near me would not do the free oil change until the scheduled 7500 miles. Maybe if you are lucky they will work with you. I am not kidding guys, do the first one yourself and have them do the free one at 7500, this car is SUPER easy to change. I have changed oil in dozens of cars and this is number 1 for ease. Personally, as I said before, I will be changing mine out myself for the life of the car, I have the ramps for it and it's too easy.

Anything major with the car will be a dealership repair. :burnrubber:

Synopsis (or "what I learned from reading this thread"):

First free oil change is the regularly scheduled one at 7500. Anything before that they'll charge ya for. Getting the oil changed early seems to be one of those "it depends on who you ask" type of questions. Lots of folks here seem to have different opinions.

After all this reading I'm still not sure what I'm gonna do. Luckily I'm only at 1000 miles so still have some time to decide :) One thing's for sure - I do know that I'm gonna get one of those Fumoto valves, though!

My dealer would have no problem doing the first free maintenance early and in fact they just gave me the oil and filter for free instead so that I could just do it on my own. It was a Toyota dealer but they still had the black Subaru filter.

You'll hear conflicting opinions on this. Factory fill has really high moly content, so you may not want to get rid of it.

Exactly why I am waiting to change mine.

My dealer actually originally scheduled mine for 5k miles. But I guess when they realized it wasn't due until 7500 miles, they sent me an email saying that it was rescheduled. I'll probably just do it myself though.

Everyone uses the fumoto valve and I like them, but I will say if there is a car that does not need one, it would be this car. If you have a set of low profile ramps, you are all set.

I always found it funny that new cars have "recommended maintenance". It's a damn new car! Change the oil and oil the hinges, everything else is zero maintenance until it breaks or makes funny noises..which should be YEARS away.

YES, unless you fall into severe duty driving.

and rotate the tires? At least according to the manual...

I would suppose so..here we swap winter/summer tires every 6 months so I never think of that.

PS: We also have required yearly safety inspections..a good mechanic would tell you if anything needs to be changed shortly.

what is this "winter" you speak of?

Get on I-35 North and don't stop until you hit Wichita, KS. Then get out of car.

Right Now
Updated: Jan 3, 2013, 10:25am CST
28°F Mostly Cloudy
Feels like 18F.

-Dennis

Good luck trying to get warranty work.

-Dennis

Here's an interesting article about oil changes from Edmunds:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/top-...motor-oil.html

Basically says the early first oil change is a waste and to just follow the manufacturer's service schedule.

Explain why? Oil changed at the recommended interval is the only thing needed to keep your warrenty.:iono:

That's not true, check your warranty guide.

And people may claim that the dealer has to prove that a failure occured because you didn't have a particular maintenance item performed. But from what I have seen, people usually give up because it's too expensive to try to fight the dealer.

Don't forget that this is a first year car that has already had some issues.

-Dennis

So far Toyota has not been breaking balls over the little things and as long as you put in the correct oil listed in your manual they are hard pressed to negate your warranty based on this. In fact, I have never encountered anyone who has had their warranties voided for swapping fluids out with fluids that meet the requirements in the manual. There have been people with full engine rebuilds so far that have had Perrin pulleys and other engine mods and Toyota didn't even blink about it.

If a dealership wants to try and tell you that changing your own oil or fluids will void your warranty then find another dealership. If a dealer gives you any shit on warranty call Toyota directly and handle it that way. Keep copies of your receipts showing the correct oil being used and take photos of the work your doing if you feel compelled. In the end, don't worry about swapping fluids causing you to void your warranty unless you put in toothpaste instead of oil, that will cause you to have to repair your own car. But if you get the dreaded CEL and you have been doing your own oil changes correctly, don't sweat it for a second, Toyota won't even care, and if the dealer harasses you, call Toyota and report them.

We always suggest finding a trusted independent subaru shop to get your maintenance done at if you don't plan to do it yourself. A place you can build a relationship with and who will guide you in the correct maintenance needed and required for your car. We've been doing this for the past 10 years and never one single time has any of our clients had a warranty claim denied by the Subaru dealerships. We've provided their maintenance records when needed and we do some things more than what's "required" in the manual, however in our particular area, they are needed. We tailor it to our clients needs and it always meets or exceeds what is required. We use top shelf fluids for all changes and we usually replace when it says "check" and our prices are still significantly lower than that of the dealer who uses generic fluids in a lot of cases.

-Mike Paisan

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11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts.
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As much as I love getting down on my back and draining oil, this car will see Andrewtech for oil changes. Yeah, it might cost me a pretty penny for something that I could do in 15 minutes...but I have paperwork that protects me in the event of a warranty claim rather than my notebook and receipts for oil purchases.

Yup, we have built a large portion of our business on the combination of a ton of condo's here in NJ where owners can't do their own work, as well as by us doing it over and over we are able to get it done super fast and no-mess for our clients. It is a win-win situation for everyone.

-Mike Paisan

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11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts.
Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us.
Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs
"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"

Gone are the nights of dodging campus police whilst changing oil in the parking lots behind the dorm!

:lol:

I have garage space to do it...I just haven't owned a car with a warranty, evar. Dealer will accept service papers from a qualified shop while I get to spend less time at the stealership with a monkey driving (read: abusing) my car.

I think we need to differentiate between maintenance and oil changes. An oil change is maintenance but anything requiring more work and actually mechanical work NEEDS to be done by a toyota/subbie dealership to avoid warranty issues. Oil changes on the other hands done on your own will NOT void a warranty. Call Toyota if you don't believe me.

I've seen engines pop with non-specified oil be declined work. I've also seen people with recently changed in-spec oil and a popped engine get denied warranty work because they couldn't prove the oil was fresh. Those were Toyota engines too.

This is 100% incorrect.

Any REPAIR work which is covered under warranty anyway is covered by your subaru dealer.

However any maintenance like Brake Flushes, Bleeding, Plugs, etc. are not required to be done at the Subaru dealer.

-Mike Paisan

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11+ Years Maintaining, Modifying and Educating TriState Subaru Enthusiasts.
Call directly as We carry almost every manufacturer now, so before you buy parts call us.
Like us on Facebook! | E-mail: sales@azpinstalls.com | 725 Fairfield Ave | Kenilworth, NJ 07033 | 908.248.AZP1 (2971) | T-1 Certified Amsoil Direct Jobber |AIM: AZP Installs
"Race Tested, Enthusiast Approved!"