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Will changing my own oil void the warranty?

Trickster

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Stick with recommended oil, Mopar filters, receipts, and service intervals. You won’t have a problem.
End of story.
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jimbom

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You said that doing NO oil changes does not void warranty. That's exactly what that statement says -
Wrong. You're having a little trouble with the logic presented. Sure wish they taught basic logic in our public education system. It's a commodity in very short supply these days, just like everything else. Sorry, I didn't have time to read the rest of your novel.
 

NachoRuby

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I always changed my own oil in our 2018 Jeep compass. I kept receipts, but didn't need them to have the engine replaced under warranty. It never even came up. They didn't care what brand oil or filter was used either, as long as it was spec. I used wix oil filters and whatever 0w-20 I could find with the right certification (I think it was SN). When I run out of free oil changes, I'll change my own oil on the JT too.
 

jimbom

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I always changed my own oil in our Jeep compass. I kept receipts, but didn't need them to have the engine replaced under warranty. It never even came up. When I run out of free oil changes, I'll change my own oil on the JT too.
Exactly my experience with my Nissan truck. The subject of maintenance (which was all done by me) never came up and yet I got a brand new crate engine installed under warranty.
 

jimbom

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Yes. In fact, multiple times.

I'm sure it really depends on what the warranty issue that is being repaired is, and whether it could be reasonably caused by neglected oil changes, and I suppose what they find when they inspect your vehicle.

I had a Subaru that was using a significant amount of oil between changes, and they wanted documentation for everything, down to requesting receipts for every quart of oil I added between oil changes. In that case, the dealership was looking for any and every possible explanation other than the car using oil; to the point that they accused me of lying about having added oil (or the amount of oil I added), and when we did an "oil consumption test" they even implied I was somehow removing oil (or draining the oil and only putting part of it back in).
Wow. When Nissan ended up replacing my engine, they checked the dipstick, topped it off and had me drive it for a month. When I brought it back with no oil showing on the dipstick, they ordered a new engine on the spot. No maintenance records, no tear down, no boroscope. They were mighty apologetic as well. Truck had about 15,000 miles and yes, I had done 3 oil changes up to that point.
 

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DanW

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I've had bad experiences with dealerships in the past, and would rather not use them for my 3 free oil changes. Does this raise any issues with the warranty?
No. Just document the oil changes.
 

jimbom

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This is bad advice. Not doing required maintenance oil changes does in fact void your warranty if discovered.

There's nothing wrong with doing your own changes, but you still need to do them. You need to document them as well. As long as you keep receipts and records that you are properly maintaining your truck, there's no problem. If you don't, you could find yourself on the losing end of a claim. Obviously if you don't do oil changes at all you're going to have a losing claim.
Geez, I did not advise not doing oil changes. In fact I clearly stated that I've done oil changes on every vehicle I've owned for 45 years.
 
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Funny how my oil changes are in time with the JEEP maintenance report I get from JEEP. It reads every time you reset the OCI monitor. It reads tire pressure and other things I'm sure. Either way "they" have it on record. One thing I've done in the past is let them do a oil / oil filter change, drive it straight home drain it and put in my own oil. Best free engine flush ever.
 

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Exactly my experience with my Nissan truck. The subject of maintenance (which was all done by me) never came up and yet I got a brand new crate engine installed under warranty.
How long ago was that?
I find it strange that no records of maintenance were required.
Not saying it didn’t happen but that seems to be a pretty lax method of warranty replacement. Unless that engine was a known POS that they knew was prone to failure.
 

Trickster

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I've had bad experiences with dealerships in the past, and would rather not use them for my 3 free oil changes. Does this raise any issues with the warranty?
Care to elaborate on the “bad experiences”?
Not enough oil, too little, leaks, mess?
After a dealer services my vehicles, I do a walk around for damage, pop the hood, check the oil level, look for leaks top and bottom.
Takes 5 minutes, any issue is dealt with immediately.
I will take the 3 included services all day long, they are not free, you paid for them in the price of the vehicle.
 

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jimbom

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How long ago was that?
I find it strange that no records of maintenance were required.
Not saying it didn’t happen but that seems to be a pretty lax method of warranty replacement. Unless that engine was a known POS that they knew was prone to failure.
It was a 1994. You may well be right that it was a known issue. After replacement, the truck did well by me until I sold it 20 years later.
 

stampedingTurtles

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Wow. When Nissan ended up replacing my engine, they checked the dipstick, topped it off and had me drive it for a month. When I brought it back with no oil showing on the dipstick, they ordered a new engine on the spot. No maintenance records, no tear down, no boroscope. They were mighty apologetic as well. Truck had about 15,000 miles and yes, I had done 3 oil changes up to that point.
I'd like to note a key point here: Nissan didn't order a new engine on the spot, and for that matter Nissan didn't replace your engine; the dealership did those things, and then they got Nissan to cover the costs under warranty.

In my case, I had a brand-new Subaru Outback that was using oil from the start; multiple quarts between every oil change. The car had an oil level sensor and a light on the dash (and yes, oil LEVEL not oil PRESSURE), and I swear it seemed like that light came about the same time the low fuel light came on (and I did get in the habit of checking the oil and frequently adding oil EVERY time I put gas in the car!)

The dealer fought every step of the way; first they replaced that sensor (which was dumb because we could see from the dipstick that the sensor wasn't wrong about the oil level), they would overfill the oil (thinking perhaps an extra quart would keep the light from coming on before the next oil change?), then they told me that losing 1 quart every oil change was normal, next tried to tell me 2 quarts was normal, even a quart every thousand miles was normal. At numerous points, I caught the dealer in outright lies, and it wasn't until I contacted Subaru and got them involved that I was able to get anywhere.

And of course, that is the main point of my story: my dealership was the problem, not Subaru. Subaru had no problem replacing my engine once they actually had documentation of my problem.
 

Rahkmalla

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I have NEVER been asked to provide proof of oil changes done by me (which is every oil change in every one of my vehicles for the past 45 years, except for the very few free ones offered by the dealer.)

That includes a warranty engine replacement in a Nissan Hardbody a year after purchase.

So I would go so far as to say that doing NO oil changes at all does not void the warranty.
You've never been asked because there was no evidence of improper maintenance. Engines can fail for tons of reasons. Guarantee you an overheat caused by gelled oil they're going to want to see receipts. A cracked block or head with cleanish oil in the pan? There's no reason to ask for oil change receipts.
 
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Care to elaborate on the “bad experiences”?
Not enough oil, too little, leaks, mess?
After a dealer services my vehicles, I do a walk around for damage, pop the hood, check the oil level, look for leaks top and bottom.
Takes 5 minutes, any issue is dealt with immediately.
I will take the 3 included services all day long, they are not free, you paid for them in the price of the vehicle.
I've had oil overfilled, dirty hand prints on my new interior, a bad tire repair that had to be redone, and an argument about my A/C compressor not being covered by the warranty (not a Jeep).
 

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I did not use the free oil changes from Jeep, way too many horror stories of dealer service problems.
My first hand experience has been a general lack of care for my vehicle, the sills are often scuffed from dragging boots over them. Over torquing lug nuts is another thing that seems pretty consistent with dealer service, the air impact guns use way too much torque and also damage the stainless lug covers.
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