Maintenance questions

[ysying]

Hi guys,

I am wondering:
1) How often do you have to do an oil change?
My dealer told me I should do an oil change every 3750 miles, but I thought nowadays, the engine should last longer between oil changes?
2) Do you do your oil change at the dealer, or your trusted shop?
Since there are covers under the car, and I doubt the regular shops has any experience with Kiz.
3) How often do you do an alignment?
I called the dealer for my 7500 miles oil change (I did my first @ 3000 miles), and they told me, "We suggest you do an alignment, especially the roads in New England". I was shocked to hear that. In my mind, my Kiz was literally a new car for me.

Your thoughts? and thanks for replying.

[TObject]

1)

You have to change the oil when it gets bad. When is that exactly is not easy to answer. You could send your oil for analysis; those with large diesel trucks that require a lot of oil do that.

Some cars have electronic systems that keep track of how hard the engine is working, and estimate how soon the oil needs to be changed based on that. Our Kizashis simply go by the recommended intervals: 7500 miles for regular duty, and 3000 under severe driving conditions.

Check out the Bob is the Oil Guy forums: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php
They have plenty of reading and opinions about motor oil.

2)

I change oil myself.

3)

If your car rides fine, the fuel economy is normal, and your tires are wearing ok, then what's the point of the alignment? I'll maybe get the alignment when I buy a new set of tires.

[~tc~]

Book says 7500 miles. If Suzuki ends up having to replace an engine under the warranty, that's their problem. That said, I will be going with synthetic with that change interval ...

I agree with the above, but would add with imported cars, it's probably not a bad idea to have the alignment checked in case anything got bent or tweaked during shipment. Ocean freight can be incredibly rough on the items being shipped. Note: ALWAYS ask for the before/after printout from the alignment machine. Make sure they entered the proper model, and all the readings are "in the green". In my experience, places will often not even attempt to adjust the caster.

[PlatinumGTS]

I decided to have my alignment checked at just under 1000 miles on the car. I went to a place that only does alignments and nothing else and they are known for problem solving. I'm glad I did since it required a four wheel alignment with a number of adjustments. Wish I would have taken it there right after I purchased it.

They told me that many new cars are out of alignment right from the factory, never mind what could happen during shipping. You need to use someone with good alignment experience and that is not necessarily the dealer.

[WESHOOT2]

I've had my oil/filter done at 3700 and 9000; I'm now past 13K.
No alignment; the car tracks superbly from city cruise speeds up past 110MPH (where I spend way too much time).
I'll start doing my oil on 'the fives', with its next planned at 15K.
I'll rotate the tires then.

[~tc~]

I decided to have my alignment checked at just under 1000 miles on the car. I went to a place that only does alignments and nothing else and they are known for problem solving. I'm glad I did since it required a four wheel alignment with a number of adjustments. Wish I would have taken it there right after I purchased it.

They told me that many new cars are out of alignment right from the factory, never mind what could happen during shipping. You need to use someone with good alignment experience and that is not necessarily the dealer.

Great post.

I can't begin to explain all the trouble I've had with alignments through the past ... when you use a 4WD like I do, it's not necessarily uncommon to be doing an alignment weekly. Eventually, I learned to do it myself as true alignment shops are getting hard to find.

[Ronzuki]

Is that runner still sporting IFS? I bet you're getting pretty good at alignments

looks like ya needed to get the hi-lift out in that pic!

[newworld2004]

I was wondering, if I want to see what is my Kizashi Built year is/ I heard most CVT issue goes back to 2009 Models manufactured . I called my dealer with VIN # all they said was Pully Recall, not CVT reflash.

thx

[Ronzuki]

drives side door frame has a metal plate secured to it with build date information on it. Least that's where it is on the N. American models.

[~tc~]

Is that runner still sporting IFS? I bet you're getting pretty good at alignments

looks like ya needed to get the hi-lift out in that pic!

Yes, when it was stock height, it held up pretty well, once I put the balljoint spacers in though, it was pretty much every time, even on easy trails.

Consider though that were talking locked front with dual cases (36,000 lb-ft of torque to the wheels!) and it wasn't exactly designed for that kind of abuse. Even stock SFA would probably have issues.

... and yes, I never quite figured that obstacle out ... still my favorite trail anywhere - it's French Creek on the Holy Cross trail in colorado.

tons more 'wheeling pix at
http://www.cottora.shutterfly.com
http://www.4wheelingoh.shutterfly.com