DIY maintenance on my EX35

[miii]

Hello everyone - I recently bought my EX with premium, navigation and wood option.

I had several BMW for last seven years or so. It was tough decision to choose between new E90 and EX35. There are highs and lows to both cars. In the end I bought EX35 because of the value with all it's options.

I noticed that my car was arrived at the dealership in March 2008 and I bought it around November. In our owner manuals oil changes are recommended at 3750 miles or 6 months. Considering the fact I asked dealership to change the oil - which they eventually did at 900 miles.

My car has now 2700 miles and I want to replace oil at 4000 miles using synthetic oil. Have any of you switched to synthetic, if so what grade did you use and any differences you felt?

I had great experience with Mobil 1 and royal purple in my BMW.

I would rather spend $75 dollars for a quality oil and change it myself instead of going to the dealership and waiting forever.

[302@12psi]

I'm not sure what kind of response you are going to get here. I have the dealership do mine due to my living arrangement.

With that being said I'd venture over to the G35 part and inquire over there. I know that several people have had issues with M1 in Subaru's EJ205 and EJ25's but that's a completely different situation obviously.

The VQ should have a pretty good reputation with liking or disliking a particular oil at this point.

I'd consult the owners manual for the weight and make sure you are buying the properly certified oil. If you are doing it all yourself obviously make sure to keep receipts and put what date/milage the oil changes were completed at on the receipts. I'd personally head over to Infiniti and try to buy a bulk pack of 12 filters and washers if you are going to do it yourself throughout owning the vehicle.

The receipts are a big part because if you have any motor issues odds are they are going to request the oil change documentation. In this even tought economical climate I'm sure "good faith" repairs are going to be sliced down a good bit.

Good luck with your hunt.

[AWGD8]

I`ll stay away from using synthetic that early. You need to have at least 7k miles to be sure everything (cylinder, rings etc. ) is properly seated.wait for the 2nd or 3rd oil change before you go full synthetic. This oil is very slippery, and you don`t want that in a not perfectly sealed piston to cylinder contact.

[dividedhighw]

Welcome to NICO, miii!!

I agree with AWGD8 that you might want to hold off until the 3rd oil change.

Cheers,David

[jmess]

My dealer charges $35 for an oil change. If you aren't going to drive the thing until the wheels fall off there isn't much point in paying more for oil. Just follow the factory 7500 interval and who cares if the motor tanks at 150K. The dealer could careless what oil you use when you trade it in.

Modern engines are ran in as part of the factory build process enough to seat the rings. My Vette shipped from the factory with Mobil One synthetic oil. The mfgs don't trust owners to get it right so they do the break-in for you on an engine stand.

Do a cylinder leak down test on a new engine with low miles then repeat the test at 5000-10000 miles and compare. My best leak down numbers for the race engines I built were after the first couple of hours of track time and I was using standard 40 over VW rings.

[miii]

Thanks guys! great suggestions - So how many of you use the rear seat with a kid. My wife drives the car primarily with our 3 yr old. When we test drove before buying it, the space seems tight but manageable. After using it for couple of months now the space is kinda getting tight - baby is growing fast

The car is so much fun to drive overall that I can ignore minor issues.

Happy Motoring everyone!