WTF happened at the oil change?!

[Zenmervolt]

Dexcool sucks. It has been documented as causing some rather serious internal corrosion. I don't know a single mechanic that uses it.

Provided you follow the normal coolant schedule (and that your coolant is safe for aluminum engines and radiators, which almost all coolants are) which is to flush the system every two years, you will experience zero problems because of what the mechanic has done.

Anyone running 150,000 miles on the same coolant is a complete idiot unless they are putting at least 50,000 miles on their car each year. Coolant, like brake fluid, degrades mainly based on age, not on mileage. You need to flush and fill your brake fluid every two years as well.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Nik
Mixing dextron and the "normal" antifreeze is a BAD THING even if they flush the system! You can't EVER mix the two. You'll literally end up with JELLO in your cooling system. :Q

"Dextron" = Mis-spelling of "Dexron".

"Dexron" = Automatic Transmission Fluid.

"Dexcool" = Sh!tty, corrosion-causing junk that GM attempts to pass off as a coolant.

Provided the system is flushed properly, there is ZERO risk resulting from switching as long as the new coolant is spec-ed as safe for aluminum.

ZV

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: vizkiz
Porsche oil changes are $280. 10qts of 0W40 Mobil 1 @ $8/qt, $15 filter, 1 hour labor at $105/hour, and a couple other things are also done/checked.

Originally posted by: dethman
actually oil cange on my car costs $150-175 at the dealer becuase of the 10w60 synthetic and stupid overpaid bmw service techs.

Whose the stupid one? The BMW tech making $50/hour or the BMW customer who pays $100/hour for labor?

Christ, for 8$/quart I would buy AMSOil 0W-40, not Mobil 1.

 

[AaronB]

Did you every post what yoear your car was and how many miles were on it?

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: dethman

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: Minjin
You'll be fine, don't worry about it. Alot of shops switch from Dexcool to green because of possible issues with Dexcool. Ignore the doom sayers above.

Mark

Did you read the whole thread? No oil change costs nearly $90.

actually oil cange on my car costs $150-175 at the dealer becuase of the 10w60 synthetic and stupid overpaid bmw service techs.

Do it yourself?

 

[SuperSix]

As said above, mixing the two is bad - but they shouldn't have changed it unless the car has a lot of miles, or if it was truly "worn out".

*I* would go back, adress your concerns with them, and demand they flush it again, (to make SURE they get out as much of the Dex as possible) and use the "green" stuff. Make sure he uses the hygrometer (sp?) (Mentos-thing) to show you they have the correct mixture of water/antifreeze.

Dex is a self-sealing coolant, and if a sufficient amout of it remains in the system (did they turn on the heat while flushing it? that gets the remaining Dex out of the heater core) it will interact with the green stuff, coagulate (for lack of a better term) and *may* clog some coolant passages.

 

[boggsie]

Originally posted by: Nik

Originally posted by: Zanix
First, they try selling me on some 4 minute filter process for the oil because my old oil looked too black. wtf. He wanted to charge me to do something that I thought I was already getting.

Then he tells me my PVC valve has a bad spring. Ok, fair enough. Replace that.

Then he gets some turkey baster with some mentos in it to tell me that my coolant has gone bad. ahhh...... well alright. Then it starts getting really "funny". He says that GM says that their coolant is better than what it really is. Ok, I'll accept that. I guess. Then he switches me from the orange dextron to the green... regular.

While the ol' boy is flushing the radiator, I catch him peeling a label off the front of the car, right under where the hood catches. He rubs the curled corner back. Then I pay and everything, get home, pop the hood. The label he was ripping off says use only Dex-tron coolant, bla bla, doesn't need maintance for 150k miles. I'm confused now.

So how about it OT, have I been screwed?

I've got to go back in a couple days so they can make sure that the levels are right, etc... I'm thinking that I'll go there and have them put the Dextron back, get pissed, and tell them so.

Mixing dextron and the "normal" antifreeze is a BAD THING even if they flush the system! You can't EVER mix the two. You'll literally end up with JELLO in your cooling system. :Q

Unfortunately, this is absolutely TRUE.

You need a serious, serious flush that is guaranteed to get any and all old coolant out of the motor and radiator, before you switch from one to the other. Some maintain that because gaskets will absorb some of the coolant, that a flush process does not exist which can completely clean out any remnants of the old coolant.

The consequence of mixing the two coolants is that ultimately a jello(ish) substance will begin to adhere to the inner surfaces of your radiator and seriously inhibit the ability of the radiator to cool the motor.

 

[aphex]

At my Mazda dealer i get an Oil Change and a tire rotation for $32.... Takes em 40 mins

 

[spacejamz]

they should have topped off your headlight fluid at that price...

 

[Ulfwald]

Dang, they bent you over and didn't even give you a reach around

 

[WildHorse]

 

[Reckoner]

I'm surprised the receipt doesn't have anything itemized on it. That's usually a bad sign as well. The local place around here charges 29.95 for adding coolant to the radiator. So that + the oil change, plus the valve they replaced + labor could come somewhere close to that figure you paid.

 

[Zanix]

Originally posted by: AaronB
Did you every post what yoear your car was and how many miles were on it?

1997, ~115k...

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Zanix

Originally posted by: mzkhadir
what did you pay for the oil change ?

$87.72

wait, you paid $87.82 for a frickin oil change????? i hope that included the extar stuff they did.

an oil change shouldn't cost more than $30 or so. do it yourself and it costs about $15 (for oil and oil filter)

 

[Kelemvor]

Don't ever have anything done at those Quick Lube places other than the oil change. Everything else you don't need and they are raping you.

 

[Zanix]

Originally posted by: mugs
OP, how did this work out for you?

Actually, pretty well.

The ol' girl will blow heat in about a mile now, and the temp gauge never gets higher than the 1/3rd tick- even after extened highway driving.

The guy did have me crank the heat when he was changing the fluids, so maybe they wern't as crooked as I first thought. There has been a very noticable difference in it's behavior (as noted above) so I have the feeling that he wasn't BSing me too much and I was actually in need of the flush.

The idemized reciept has me concerned though, as someone pointed out.

So far so good though. I've got another 2 months to see if anything goes kittywhumpus.

 

[flyfish]

DEXCOOL IS THE DEVIL!!!
Text

 

[Vegito]

Originally posted by: Zanix
The guy did have me crank the heat when he was changing the fluids, so maybe they wern't as crooked as I first thought. There has been a very noticable difference in it's behavior (as noted above) so I have the feeling that he wasn't BSing me too much and I was actually in need of the flush.

The idemized reciept has me concerned though, as someone pointed out.

So far so good though. I've got another 2 months to see if anything goes kittywhumpus.

So basically half the people here gave you bad advise telling you to go back to dexcool which would have ruin your car...

bet you half the people on the thread dont even own cars.

 

[Zanix]

Originally posted by: flyfish
DEXCOOL IS THE DEVIL!!!
Text

*May 2001 at 79,591miles, our temp gauge began spiking, coolant leaks began, no heat, then overheating. (June 2000 at 65,644miles slight coolant sludging was found under cap). After bringing the vehicle into our certified Chevrolet Dealer they found the Dex-Cool coolant, which is supposedly good for 5 yrs/100,000 miles, turned a sandy, orange-colored (rusty) mud. The engine coolant passages were acid flushed, radiator, hoses, serpentine belt, water pump, thermostat, and heater core were replaced then refilled with the traditional green coolant by the dealer.

:shocked::shocked:

This story makes me feel fortunate.

 

[Saulbadguy]

$87 for a flush n fill and an oil change isn't that bad.

 

[dandruff]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: vizkiz
Porsche oil changes are $280. 10qts of 0W40 Mobil 1 @ $8/qt, $15 filter, 1 hour labor at $105/hour, and a couple other things are also done/checked.

Originally posted by: dethman
actually oil cange on my car costs $150-175 at the dealer becuase of the 10w60 synthetic and stupid overpaid bmw service techs.

Whose the stupid one? The BMW tech making $50/hour or the BMW customer who pays $100/hour for labor?

Christ, for 8$/quart I would buy AMSOil 0W-40, not Mobil 1.

$150 for oil change is high .. $80-90 is normal .. i bet for $150 he is changing the pollen filter for the cabin air (the charcoal activated is $25 itself) ... the cost of synth oil is $35 ... oil filter is $7 ... maybe fuel filter too ($25) ... plus stamping the books and resetting the lights ... plus topping all the fluids and greasing/ lubing everything ... so labor is only about $60-70 ... i do it myself and save that much ... use the BMWCCA discount to save another 10% .. most bmws the filter is on the top ... cannot get easier than that ..use mityvac ... easiest thing to do ...

 

[flyfish]

Originally posted by: Zanix

Originally posted by: flyfish
DEXCOOL IS THE DEVIL!!!
Text

*May 2001 at 79,591miles, our temp gauge began spiking, coolant leaks began, no heat, then overheating. (June 2000 at 65,644miles slight coolant sludging was found under cap). After bringing the vehicle into our certified Chevrolet Dealer they found the Dex-Cool coolant, which is supposedly good for 5 yrs/100,000 miles, turned a sandy, orange-colored (rusty) mud. The engine coolant passages were acid flushed, radiator, hoses, serpentine belt, water pump, thermostat, and heater core were replaced then refilled with the traditional green coolant by the dealer.

:shocked::shocked:

This story makes me feel fortunate.

click video link


more

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Baked
You went to jiffy lube?

I do my oil change at the local auto body shop. Only go to dealer for scheduled maintenance. I'd never go to franchise oil change places. They don't know what the fvck they're doing and fvck up your car good.

as soon as he said yes to the first add on charge, the guy knew he has a sucker and kept pouring it on.

 

[Zanix]

Originally posted by: rudder

Originally posted by: Baked
You went to jiffy lube?

I do my oil change at the local auto body shop. Only go to dealer for scheduled maintenance. I'd never go to franchise oil change places. They don't know what the fvck they're doing and fvck up your car good.

as soon as he said yes to the first add on charge, the guy knew he has a sucker and kept pouring it on.

I appreciate you implying I'm a sucker, but I wonder why then people say the price was about right. :frown:

 

[boggsie]

Originally posted by: Zanix

Originally posted by: rudder

Originally posted by: Baked
You went to jiffy lube?

I do my oil change at the local auto body shop. Only go to dealer for scheduled maintenance. I'd never go to franchise oil change places. They don't know what the fvck they're doing and fvck up your car good.

as soon as he said yes to the first add on charge, the guy knew he has a sucker and kept pouring it on.

I appreciate you implying I'm a sucker, but I wonder why then people say the price was about right. :frown:

Perhaps sucker from the standpoint that they managed to convince you to sign up for a bunch of add-on's.

~90 for an oil change on a standard vehicle is a rip off

~90 for the service that you eventually received, which was much greather than a standard oil change, is about right.

<edit> However, implying that you are a sucker is not entirely fair. If you don't have much knowledge or capability with regards to routine car maintenance, you have to rely on what the 'experts' say.

I can't remember how many times I have had to sign a waiver to get the repair shop to release my car to me, because I have suspension problems (work shocks or springs) or brake problems (dangerously low pad wear) that make the car unsafe to drive. I go home and inspect and conclude that I have a few months left, before I need these services. I have the knowledge, experience and tools to make this determination. Not everybody does.