bhay1977

Hi guys, I'm a bit frustrated and am looking for some veteran Z06 gearhead wizards to give me some advice.

I think I posted pics of my body panel mis-alignment in a diff thread but I'm getting too old to remember little things, like whether i did. lol

Anyway, went to dealer at 2000 miles. Showed the manager the body panels, he says

"welp we can fix it, but its gonna take 3 days, I'm gonna send it to a real tip top body shop we work with."

Great, I say, how about an oil change today then.

Nope not necessary until 7500 miles.

7500 miles, I exclaim! But I believed them. I left.

At 4900 miles I get a low oil pressure service light, vehicle cutting power, and the oil life shows 26%. I go to a different dealership. At one point, I ask the service advisor if I have enough oil. He says "pssh, you kiddin? ohhhh yeah, YOU GOT OIL...that's for SURE!" They didn't do much except tell me to come back if it goes on again.

Two days later, I changed my own oil. I had about 3.5 quarts of black as midnight oil. Because I apparently lacked the lone socket needed for the oil pan bolt (5/8 I think?), I struggled to get one of the bolts off. I had to remove the oil cleaner thing, the um, rectangular box that obstructs the removal of the oil pan bolt....which caused engine coolant to splash all over my face and eyes. Thank the lord it didn't even hurt and was probably the most harmless fluid in the whole car.

I'm pretty frustrated to learn that a change is recommended at 500 miles. I feel a lot of these service advisors are NOT technically skilled. A dumbass would have pulled the dipstick and seen my low level of oil, but both me and the service advistor stood over it, oblivious. I can't project my anger at myself so I decided to project it at my service advisor.

So my question is should I punch myself in the face or him in the face or both?

Comments are welcome. What else do I need to change? Air filter?

MikeLsx

I think its more that dealership service centers are not informed. i dont know if GM does a bad job of getting info across or its just bad dealerships.

3X2

15mm box wrench removes both drain plugs. Hot sure why you needed to remove the heat exchanger. I hope you didn't add 10 qts oil if you only removed 3.5 qts.

Busa Dave

I think I would find a Dealer that knows what they are doing. There are 2 drain bolts on the Z06 for your information. The dip stick is easy to check -- best take the car to someone who knows what to do.

rbarta

Punch yourself in the face.

Sharkgray

I had mine changed today at 512 miles. I guess for 2016 there is only 2 free oil changes. I also told them I didn't want to be a statistic on the forum so could you please check the differential fluid. They did as well and the mechanic came out to talk to me. Said all is good and enjoy. Hopefully he is correct. Time will tell. Sorry to hear about your troubles OP. I was warned 10 times from the dealer when I bought it to remember the 500 mile / oil change.

ElCid79

Hey Shark, that is not correct. I am only mentioning this so you don't have to pay for something you have already paid for.... The 2016 gets 2 free oil changes. PLUS the 500 mile oil change. The 500 does not count towards the service program. It is an "Extra" change that is dictated by a service bulletin from GM.

Cheers.

Premiumspeed

This is how it works. Most mechanics and service techs know very little about current events with car service.


I've been pestering both of the local Chevy dealerships about some C6/7Z issues and they have no idea what I'm talking about.


It does shock me that no body even checked the dipstick.

ElCid79

Be sure to wait 5 minutes to check it! With motor off and warm.

Arctic Blastoff

Had the same issue with dealer in the DFW area,guy gets in the car looks at the miles an says "your good to go bossman" lol.I said no look at your GM Bulletin it states that at 500 its got to go due to an extra additive being in the break in oil,i also had to tell them how much oil an what kind
Finally told the guy i should apply as a GM rep and laughed and never took it there again.

thebishman

bhay1977:

Did you not read the manual when you bought the car? It is a massively complex and expensive piece of kit that yes, the average SA or 'tech' has no clue how to maintain. You made the investment, and hence its on you to make sure it's maintained properly. Do NOT trust the typical droid at the dealership to know anything about the car.

I hope for your sake that not having the oil changed at 500 miles as it states in the manual hasn't screwed your car, because don't think for one minute that the dealerships you went to will accept the responsibility for you not getting the oil changed when necessary.

Bish

Enzom

Kerbeck told me that I have to change the oil after 500 miles and that the oil change is free. I was told that there is an additive in the oil from the factory.

rockit1

ELCID, please post bulletin, my dealer says 2 is 2

Busa Dave

There is no additive in the oil. Let's not get that started.

Arctic Blastoff

http://corvettec7fiasco.blogspot.com...otors.html?m=1

9th paragraph.Ok i was partially wrong theres always a anti foaming agent added but during break in the silicone sealants will dissolve into the oil when ran hard.The tech was the one that stated it was only in the break in oil,go figure.Op present this to the dealer an tell them they need to read their bulletins instead of learning to become a rocket scientist im the back or whatever it is they do back there.

AORoads

Sorry, but it's more your fault for being uninformed. There've been probably an easy dozen+ threads on here since and before you joined about oil changes, who pays, etc. Your manual tells you something, too. Good thing you didn't ruin the car. Yet. You might also put in a place like a town/city where you live so that maybe one of the posters could recommend a knowledgeable and aware dealer/service advisor who will tell you the truth. And know what to tell you. And know what to do.

It is truly unfortunate that after 60+ years of Corvettes and their unique requirements, there are still quite a few dealers and their service departments that know little, or not enough about their cars. But still, "caveat emptor" prevails--let the buyer beware. And you are the buyer.

Good luck in the future.

ElCid79

Yup, same is true for the 16... Except it increases it to 3 instead of 5..

Ahmed_otb

I think the car already punched him in the face with the oil and coolant thing all over his face


if I were you its either a top end dealer that knows what to do and take good care of the car or do it your self

bhay1977

Ha! Okay fellas, i suppose the onus is on a corvette owner to scour forums for answers to potential problems that don't exist in his conscious mind. How dare I assume a professional chevy mechanic has expertise as a professional chevy mechanic. The gall!

Change oil at 500 miles? Pretty sure no manual says that. Also pretty sure, 1 out of 10 techs know that. Pretty sure no sports car in north america asks for a change at 500. So, it's only natural to expect corvette owners to scour forums for problems they don't know exist on their $100,000 sports car.

Lets see, when I go to the dentist and he says you have a cavity, what do I do? I know, scour the forums! ****, I should have known better to think a professional was a professional. What is WRONG with me!!? To think a doctor knows anatomy. Shame on me for assuming so!

To say "hey you joined the forums 6 months ago you surely saw the billion posts about problem X" is like saying "hey you hang out with the murderer so therefore you are the murderer." Causal disconnect, chief. Don't go putting the *** in assumption now. I saw nada over the time i joined this forum because I've been in my busy season with work; also, I'd much rather learn via experience on the road than reading about it.

So since so many of you said "read the manual," I should assume that the manual for sure mentions the 500 mile oil change? Can someone point me to the page that says change the oil at 500 miles?

ElCid79

I actually agree with bhay here. Don't blame the victim. With that said, take this as a learning opportunity. Do a little more research about this car. Your car is probably fine, so I wouldn't stress it. What year is your car?

The 500m oil change guidance was added to the operating manual during the 2015 production cycle. When exactly I am not sure. (Second half I believe but I could be wrong.) I am 100% certain that it IS listed in the 2016 manual, as I have personally read it.

With that said, it is NOT listed under the maintenance schedule as a 500 mile scheduled maintenance. It is written somewhere in a paragraph, and is easy to miss. I read nearly all of my manual, which is the ONLY reason I knew that was in there. I had read about the 500m oil change on the forum. Being that this is a somewhat important step, I feel that GM should have put a little piece of paper in the glove box that says something in legalize to the effect of. "This high performance engine requires a 500m oil change." To make it unmissable by the consumer, or the dealerships.

At the same time, to expect every service tech at a dealership to know all TSBs, and all mx schedules, for all cars off the top of their head is kind of a long shot.