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Late oil change and warranty + UOA

4.4K views 20 replies 8 participants last post by  Jessie  
#1 ·
Hi everyone.
My car's first oil change was at 13k at a Nissan dealership (don't ask why). Going forward oil will be changed every 5k at Infiniti only.
The car is running perfect and went through "multi point inspection" in Infiniti dealership about a month ago (at ~15k) when they did my heat exchanger. As you can see in the service report attached below, everything passed.

I was about to pay off the car (currently on lease) but wanted to make sure I'm good with warranty.
Tried to get information from my local dealership and got a very vague answer: "change it every 5k with us and you should be fine with warranty".
I plan to move out to another state in the next year, so I will have to deal with another "random" dealership down the road.

Question is:
Lets say my engine blows up at 30k, do you guys think it's possible my powertrain warranty can be voided due to the late first oil change at 13k?
Reminding that oil will be changed every 5k from now on and the vehicle passed Infiniti's "multi point inspection" at 15k.



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#2 ·
Not an expert and definitely not a legal advise, but I don't think your powertrain would be voided as long as you keep up with the OCI accordingly with the same infiniti dealer. If your engine blows at 30k, they'll be the one who you'll work with to file a warranty claim to Nissan and I don't think the first oil change would be relevant at that mileage. But if your engine blows at 16k, that might be a little different story.

Now, tell us why it took you ages to do the first oil change ;)
 
#4 ·
What was the state of the oil at 13K miles? Did the Nissan dealer have any comments regarding the oil? I would think that as long as you continue getting your oil changes at regular intervals you should be fine but I would bet that if you do have a failure and that failure is oil related, Infiniti will question that first oil change. I would strongly recommend getting an oil analysis done after every oil change from now on just to cover your ass.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Thanks for the replies.

Do you think it’s a good idea to pay off the car in this condition or should I skip and return when lease ends?
In general I would like to keep the car and did some mods planning to keep it, but also want a peace of mind.

Is UOA of current oil (been running for 3k) is a good idea?

Edit:
Nissan dealer had no comments regarding the oil.
 
#6 ·
UOA is always a good idea. Whether you do it now or at the next oil change is up to you. It is also up to you if you pay off the car and keep it or return it at lease end. If it were me I'd get some UOA done to see if the engine is wearing normally. Based on that, I'd make my decision. You could also get rid of the car and get top dollar for it currently although you'll pay more for your next vehicle as well. If you do decide to get rid of the car you will have to remove the heat exchanger so unless you do it yourself, you'll have to pay someone to do it. Something to consider.
 
#9 ·
Who is to say you didn't change the oil yourself at 6.5k and then it went to Nissan at 13k for the 2nd oil change? I don't think warranty work requires proof of oil changes unless there is some condition present that suggests oil wasn't changed timely (like major sludge found in the engine). Keep up with the changes now and you should be fine.
When is the lease term over and how many miles do you expect to have on it at that point?
 
#11 ·
Lease ends in about 1.5 year, car will probably be at 30-35k.
Basically, if I buy the car today versus end of the lease I save $1k.

With how the market is going today it will probably be a no brainer to buy at the end (or now). Even if I do not plan to keep it, I should buy and sell. It was leased based on 34k initial value.
 
#10 ·
I wouldn't worry about selling a good car because of something like this. Just do your next oil change a little early, and then maintain a 5k maximum oil change period. If they didn't point out anything about the oil and the car's running okay, and you keep your schedule from here on out, they'll work with you on warranty for any engine issues. I think the only time they would bother to deny warranty is if your engine experiences issues because of the current oil being the culprit.
 
#13 ·
I think what comes into play i how the car was driven in that first 13k miles. Do you live in an area with very wide temperature swings in both directions? Did you do a lot of short trips or mostly cruising at highway speeds? Did you ever check the oil and keep it topped up, or was it 2 quarts low when it was changed at 13k? Did you drive it like you stole it (or rented it) or like your grandmother would drive it?

The oil doesn't really lose its ability to lubricate, the additive package gets used up and it loses its ability to keep the engine clean inside and maintain the flow properties it started with.
 
#14 ·
Live in SoCal, usually 80-90 during the day and 60-70 during night.
I live in suburban area, so I would say driving on a highway 90% of total drive time.
Oil was never checked in the first 13k.
Car was driven like a grandma (wife) most of the time but sometimes I WOT it for fun, nothing “race” like.
 
#21 ·
I used your UOA record from this thread:
VR30 Silver in UOA - Bearing material?
This was a good source of information for how UOA numbers should change with time.

I came up with this conclusion/calculation - I compared my 16k miles report to your total sum of 1,012 to 13,520 miles.
Your 1,012 to 13,520 total was a theoretical reference point of my previous oil change (which was changed 13k for the first time):

IridiumRS400 1,012 - 13,520 totalJessie 16,000
IRON9734
COPPER11826
SILICON28055

Based on that it seems like those elements are in good decline. I assume that within 10k miles and 2-3 oil changes they should get to normal levels.
This comparison is not 100% apples to apples (not the same car/driver/oil situation/mod/fuel), but it gives me a peace of mind that I didn't mess up anything.