Therein lies the issue. 5 years warranty and say 5 oil changes just to keep the warranty terms. Is it worth my time to risk a fight? I probably will win but I hate to have the run around and play "Go ask your mother. Go ask your father.".

Thanks. That is a very good thing to know.

 

I get that for sure

I have a more philosophical argument with these so-called line in the sand maintenance schedules. Porsche and GM have very different requirements with what is essentially the same oil. And I doubt many would argue that the flat 6 has less tolerances than the v8 and therefore its ok to go for longer intervals

It just doesnt make sense. A modern synthetic, under normal high performance operation, does not breakdown to the extent that it NEEDS to be changed after 1 year if its got 1k miles on it

 

Actually, they can and do say anything they want.
The OLI will tell you to change oil after one year, and you didn't follow their plan. If you reset it without a change, you'll need to fake proof that the change was done.
A similar topic came up back in the C6 days when people would get a tune on the ECM. If GM found out about it (usually when you go for some expensive warranty repair), they immediately and permanently blocked your powertrain warranty. Even if the tune had nothing to do with your problem, they didn't care. Tune = no warranty.
Sure you can fight them in court. They don't want your case to set a precedent, so they'll drag out all their experts to show why the warranty deniable was reasonable.

In the end, you'll spend more money on lawyers than the cost of a new engine, and probably lose.

It's like the cracked wheel problem on the GS/Z06. GM will fight tooth and nail to avoid paying for something that exposes them to further expense. Even though the cracked wheels seem to us like an obvious defect, GM has been successful in 99% of the court cases.

In OP's case, I'd get the change done ASAP. Have them take two samples from the old oil, send one to a reputable lab for analysis now and save the other one in case GM ever wanted to do their own analysis.
With the low miles and relatively short time past the one year limit, probably GM will not get tough with him if he has a problem in the future, especially since it looks like an honest oversight. If they bring up the year limit some day, be nice and contrite and offer to share the oil analysis results.

In big warranty claims, GM makes the decision and not the owner or the dealer. But a dealer that likes you can advocate for you and sometimes sway the decision. Our local dealer went to bat for me on a warranty issue and GM covered it, even though they didn't have to.

 

"It makes sense, it doesn't. We don't give a crap about what you say. We say it doesn't and we don't pay the warranty. You don't like it, go fawk yourself." That is what they are saying to me. To which, my answer is simple. I won't buy a new car or one with a warranty. Like I said, I bought my last new car in 91. I didn't know a thing about cars so it made sense. Today, with the resources I have, I can afford to not buy a new car and lets face it, the biggest draw is the warranty. How long you think the oil can last in that particular vehicle doesn't matter to me. It is what the lab says. Like you, I agree that it may not be right. As long as I have to play your game, I'd do what you say. When I don't, I will test and that will guide me. Ford said I have to change my 7.3 Powerstroke oil every 3000 miles. My lab test says 6000 miles with T6 Rotella. I don't care about your warranty so I do what works for me.

 

So you are saying they can and do deny warranty claims if you exactly follow their 1 yr oil change requirement? Doesnt make a lot of sense

And if you get a tune thats a lot different than changing your oil at 18 months vs 12. I would expect my warranty to be immediately denied if I got a tune and why my 911 was already out when i did get one

Of course GM (or Porsche, see IMS and bore scoring issues) will do whatever they can to avoid paying out but does anyone have an actual example of a warranty being denied in a situation like this??

 

Here is my thought. If they deny it and you want to fight it, you may have to hire someone to help you do it. Is it worth it?

 

Given the cost of a C7 vs the cost of an oil change, why is there any question about following GM’s recommendations?

 

But even if you win, did you really win after all that waiting and back and forth?

 

I'm saying that if you don't follow their 1 year requirement, then they might deny warranty coverage.

I recall stories of guys getting warranty denied for a non-original PCM program, and GM said they absolutely didn't care what what was in the program. The mere fact that GM could tell that a non-stock program had been there some time in the past, was an automatic denial. I agree that most tunes deserve a warranty denial, but some of the stuff was really innocuous; made no difference.

The real point is that we don't want to give GM any grounds for warranty denial, no matter how tenuous.

 

There is no way to verify that this tune does and the other does not. Besides, why would you want to pay out if you can weasel out of it?

Exactly. Call it paranoid but it's so cheap to be safe and not have to squabble with them.

 

I agree. My GS hits 5-YO in less than a month, so since warranty is no longer a concern I'm considering a 2-year oil change interval hereafter. Last year I put 800 miles on the clock, never do short trips, and make sure oil temp is ≥175° before parking after a drive. Based on that I would think the TBN (Total Base Number) shown in a lab test would be well within acceptable limits, and I think this is the most important test item for cars compiling low mileage between changes. Knowing for sure would be a matter of having a test done after two years and see how it looks, so I may do that.

I've been faithfully following the manual for these first five years, including the use of PF64 filters, which althought these aren't the world's best will cover me on any filter related questions. Use Brand X, no matter how good it is, jeopardizes your position in any warranty question that might involve the filter.

Has anyone done a lab test at Blackstone or elsewhere when using Mobil1 5w30? Actually, any Dexos-rated oil would be close enough. Seeing the test results would help us to make a judgement on how far we can safely go.

 

Not yet but I'd like to see the 0W-40 ESP vs the 5W-30 to see if it is just an emissions thing or whether there is really a benefit to ME using that oil

 

I usually send a sample to Blackstone after each change, but I'm changing 2-3 times per year so that doesn't help answer your question.
One of our Canadian members went about 2 years between some changes, and the results weren't worrisome. But that was in a more ordinary car, not a Corvette.

 

Change it. What’s $30.00 for oil when you own a $60,000 vehicle!

 

You're missing the point.

That argument, also used by another poster above, applies to any car. Most pickups these days cost more than a C7

 

No, he was spot on. Why spend $60k+ on any vehicle and then pinch pennies by not doing scheduled maintenance as recommended by the manufacturer?

 

You're also missing my point but obviously I am doing a poor job of communicating it so I won't repeat it again

 

As most others have said, get it changed before you start driving it again.

 

Change every 3000 miles...cheap insurance!

Also good for peace of mind...

(disclaimer)

 

Miss Cleo said 2750 miles.