Maintaince question on 2013 3500

[CThomsen]

Bought new truck in late Sept. Have 7300 miles now. Truck came with "warranty forever" which I was skeptical of but I decided to check it out. All maintaince must be done at selling dealer or pre approved. Called in to get 7500 mile service pre approved (fuel filter/tire rotation) and was told that I had to change oil at least every 7500 miles or it would void warranty-not factory warranty-just warranty forever. Called service dept. at selling dealer and he confirmed this and recommended changing oil between 5K and 7500 miles instead of what's recommended by cummins. Does anyone think oil should be changed this frequently on a new truck or should I follow schedule recommended by cummins/ram? I figured this warranty forever would be garbage and now I know it is. Unless someone thinks differently I guess I get to do my own maintaince on this truck too. Thanks for your opinions. Chris

 

[AH64ID]

I personally subscribe to the dump it in the first 500 miles and every 2500-3000 miles until 8-10K miles oil change interval. Within reason I don't think you can change the oil on a new motor too often, and the initial fill probably feels like it has sand in it at 7500 miles.

 

[mweiman]

Did the warranty come with some paperwork, what is written in the contract about oil change interval?

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Check out if it is a real warranty or just a sales gimmick to get you to perform expensive maintenance at the dealership at double the required intervals. With today's manufacturing procedures, Cummins and Chrysler are both happy with leaving the factory synthetic oil in there under the maintenance schedule of the owner's manual, or the evic readout on the instrument cluster, indicates the need to change it.

I remember changing the oil on my 1997 and 2004 right away, within 100 miles, but the original synthetic oil is still in my 2013 at 4000 miles. I already have purchased enough oil and filters for at least 6 changes, so I am not just being stingy. The factory fill is Valvoline 5-40 synthetic.

 

[AH64ID]

I am surprised they are putting full synthetic in from the factory. Are they doing a better break-in at the factory (how many engine hours when you picked it up), and dumping the oil to get the assembly lube and crap out? I would think it would take longer for proper fit and finish with synthetic from day one.

 

[CThomsen]

Its written in that it has to be changed at 6mo. or 7500 miles. I argued that it has synthetic in it from the factory and cummins/ram recommend 6mo or 15000 miles. I'll give up the "forever warranty" and just do my own maintaince. I still have factory warranty anyway. EVIC says 56% oil life left at 7300 miles.

 

[Kirwin]

Check your owners maual. If you tow, I believe it's required at 6 months or 15K miles. So most of us have to change it every 6 months to stay within that requirement. Not too many people pull >15K miles in a 6 month period. Fuel filter says the same IIRC, 12 months or 15K miles. Ken Irwin

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Chris Bachmann at the Cummins plant said they use syn since they don't know which engine might end up in a truck for sale in Canada in the winter, etc.

 

[jus2shy]

Just confirming, Fuel filters are yearly or 15k miles. Oil is at 6 months or 15k miles. Whichever comes first in both cases. Also, I thought that Chrysler excluded diesels on their forever warranty? Or is this just a dealer specific thing? I know when I asked for an extended warranty, my dealer initially tried to get me into a 3rd party warranty provider. I then requested that it has to be a warranty through Chrysler. The guy writing up the papers seemed a little dumbfounded, but in the end it was actually cheaper to get the Mopar extended warranty.

 

[CThomsen]

It is a third party company called warranty forever.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

On my 2013 I changed the oil filter at 4000 miles. Cut the filter apart so I could see any debris in the media. There was MAYBE 3-4 VERY small specs of metal. Was not much at all compared to the engines that I build in my shop. The first oil change was at 9500 miles, I cut this filter also, even under the magnifying glass I could not find any foreign material. I would assume that your lifetime warrenty is not really a great bargan by the time you figure in the excessive oil changes at the dealers mercy.

 

[Road Dog]

I remember changing the oil on my 1997 and 2004 right away, within 100 miles, but the original synthetic oil is still in my 2013 at 4000 miles. I already have purchased enough oil and filters for at least 6 changes, so I am not just being stingy. The factory fill is Valvoline 5-40 synthetic.

The subject of first oil change came up on Car Talk a while back. Car makers like BMW and Porsche use synthetic oil and add a friction increasing modifier to the factory fill to help the rings seat. An early first oil change is a big no no and will void the warranty. I don't know if Chrysler does the same thing.

 

[Kirwin]

I checked the service manual and it states "Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 15,000 miles (24000 km) or 6 months, or 500 hours, whichever comes first." There is no discussion of reducing the oil change miliage interval for towing for oil changes or fuel filter replacements. Just about every other fluid goes to 30,000 mile change intervals if you tow "often". Doesn't make sense to me though that I have to change differential oil, transfer case oil, transmission fluid, etc every 30K if I tow, but if not, there is no prescribed fliud change interval. Ken Irwin

QUOTE=Kirwin;2374181]Check your owners maual. If you tow, I believe it's required at 6 months or 15K miles. So most of us have to change it every 6 months to stay within that requirement. Not too many people pull >15K miles in a 6 month period. Fuel filter says the same IIRC, 12 months or 15K miles. Ken Irwin[/QUOTE]