Ok, I have reviewed a few oil change threads and cannot figure out which direction to take.

First, WHEN.....I'm about to hit the 1000 mile mark (1600 kms) and wonder if I should proceed soon with my first oil change to filter out all the crap from break in.

Second, WHAT do I go with... full synthetic or just go with the standard grade of oil for the first change and on my 2nd start on full synthetic.

Third, I'm doing this at Nissan so what do they offer in terms of choices in oils etc...and do you guys recommend what they offer.

I can use some advice here...thanks

1600km is a bit early for the first oil change. I did mine at 4500km. You certainly won't do any harm by changing it early.

Another member did an oil analysis of the factory oil fill and it appears to be a high quality synthetic... possibly Silkolene. Even if it wasn't, I would have no qualms recommending synthetic for your first oil change.

Nissan dealers typically uses Mobil1 if you request a synthetic oil. You 'may' be able to supply your own, check with the dealer. Mobil1 is OK. Oil is like selecting a good wine... everyone has their opinion and tastes. My personal favorite is Castrol Syntec, others like Pennzoil Platinum get good reviews however. The choice is yours!

Thanks Phil..

You've once again been extremely helpful.

This is where I'm just not sure if I should go in now or not...maybe I'll wait till 2000 km and go with a synthetic oil.

I assume once I go synthethic its for the life of the car...right?

Lesser intervals too.

If you lived in Montreal I'd buy you a beer.

Couz wrote:I assume once I go synthethic its for the life of the car...right?

Not necessarily. You can readily switch between dino and synthetic oils at any time without any issues.

Couz wrote:Lesser intervals too.

Well, you have to be careful of that one. OCI's (oil change intervals) are going to depend on many factors. IMHO you should be doing oil analysis to determine how far you can extended you OCI's. There are many places that can do the oil analysis for you, ie. Blackstone Labs. This is how you would do this:

1) Select your brand of oil, then perform the oil change.

2) Drive, then change the oil at the factory recommended interval of 3750mi (6000km). This will ensure you flush all of the previous brand of oil.

3) Drive the distance you would for your extended interval. I personally do 6000mi (10,000km), you could do more but for warranty reasons I would not extend beyond Nissan's Schedule 2 Maintenence interval of 7500mi (12,000km)

4) Perform an oil change and collect an oil sample as per the testing lab's instructions. Usually you need to collect the oil as it's draining from the engine. Send it out for analysis.

Get your analysis results to determine if your oil was still in good shape. They should tell you lots about the oil including how much useful life was left.

A car driven short distances (less than 15-20min or infrequently) will not tolerate long oil change intervals. You risk shortening the life of the motor. In that case a quality conventional oil changed regularly is probably a better and cheaper alternative.

A car driven long distances (1hr+) would probably do well with 10,000+ km OCI's. Only an oil analysis will tell you for sure.

Couz, if you are not in a rush, I will change my oil in 2 weeks (first weekend of May) and, like the others, make it analyzed. Therefore, results should be posted in about a month or so.

I am at about 28.000kms and that will be my third oil change (5.400kms, 17.300kms, and this one at about 29.300kms).

I have done exactly 28.000kms in a year of ownership so I go the schedule 2 route.Depending of your car usage, you may need to stick to the shorter interval for warranty reason (6.000kms or 3 months). If you have to do that, stick to conventional oil, synthetic oil will show its difference mostly after 5 months and a lot of kms in the sump.

Another thing: some people doing oil analysis noted that Nissan engines and Mobil1 oil seems not to be a good match together (even if Mobil1 is a great oil). Compatibility problem with the metallurgy of the Nissan engines they guess.

Pescakl, sounds like you are doing 12,000km OCI's.

I have to agree on Mobil1 and Nissan engines. There have been reports of increased valve train noise, etc. Nissan's like slightly heavier grades of oil. The QR25DE especially since it is such a long stroke motor and has a notoriously noisy valve train when cold.

I cannot stress enough the importance of oil analysis when trying to do extended OCI's. Some types of driving will break down even the best synthetics.

Well, I am not stingy, in terms of OCI's that is.

I always do them ahead of time just to always have good oil running through my engine....I mean I remember I once changed my oil and a month later was having my winters put on and the guy asked me if I wanted an oil change and I just did it because I had the car on the lift.

If I'm not stingy in that department and even with Synthetic do them at every 3000km's I guess I may not really need to do an oil analysis.

I'm assuming nothing wrong with doing oil changes so frequently right?

3000km OCI's are a waste of money and oil. There is very little if any benefit changing oil so frequently. At 3000km the oil has barely been used.

The Nissan recommended 6000km OCI should be fine for just about any application. Unless you do repeated short distance driving (less than 10min trips), then you need to do it more frequently.

But there is no harm right to the car? Other than the waste of money and oil.

No, there is no harm to the car.

How would the dealership react if I brought my own oil rather than Mobil that they use....say I wanted Castrol.

Do they frown upon that?

Is it something you don't do?

I would say most of them do not care much about that, especially if they don't sell this type of oil.

They will charge you for the service only, and that is the most important thing for them, I think.

You could just learn to change your own oil. I've been doing my own oil changes since I learned to drive. IMHO, it's the easiest thing to do on a car besides changing tires.

The Rogue has a very easy to access oil filter, and you don't need jack stands or ramps due to the high ground clearance.

Read more here: Oil Changes

Note: The above post shows removal of the splash shield to access the filter. This is not required as you can simply bend it to gain access.

I agree. Just do it yourself. Its VERY easy.

Unscrew, drain, rescrew. (oil pan bolt)Unscrew, drain, rescrew. (oil filter)

Oddly enough I'm not willing to rotate my tires myself though

ahhbeebee wrote:I agree. Just do it yourself. Its VERY easy.

Unscrew, drain, rescrew. (oil pan bolt)Unscrew, drain, rescrew. (oil filter)

Don't forget to put oil in the sump after that

I used to do oil changes myself but it got messy and I hated transporting the old oil to the oil depot at Canadian Tire.

I also ruined my driveway so I'm off that.

I'm approaching 2000kms so I think I'll go in soon to get fresh oil and I'm pretty sure I'll ask for full synthetic.

What about oil filters?

Couz wrote:What about oil filters?

Please read the oil change thread I linked to above. At the bottom of the first page, there are part no's for the filters I recommend using.

There are 2 sizes, unless you are going for long OCI's stay with the 'smaller' filter that comes with the Rogue from the factory.