Pontiac G6 Care & Maintenance

wapwap

Bought my G6 GT (V6 3.5L) sedan back in late Dec, and as recommended from the dealer recently changed the oil myself at 1100 miles.
#1 My car mfg 10/06 date does not contain any protective covering, black cap, over the oil filter as I had read in a previous post (#2020 -1)or is this only on the 4 cycl engines, if so why?
#2 After completing the first oil change and resetting the Oil Life expectancy display, it has been not even a week 180 miles and the Oil life display is reading 96%. It had dropped to 98% after the first 60 miles. The round trip to work is just over 60 miles, with 80% highway miles. I've check the oil level and the level is ok, when I changed it took 4.5 qrts of 5w30 as recommended. When I purchased the vehicle the dealer stated to change the oil when the display indicates anywhere from 5K - 8K. I havent done the quick math yet, but Im guessing that wont add up. Does this seem reasonable, or others seen this? I seem to recall at the time I changed the oil the display was maybe 70% at 1100 miles.

I know this is still a new engine but just wondering...

#3 This is definately a nice upgrade vehicle from a 99 Stratus 4 cycl. Leather int and Panoramic roof is nice, just waiting for summer to use. I have the dark gray and was thinking of a few small upgrades, tinting the windows, other ideas?

62vetteefp

Bought my G6 GT (V6 3.5L) sedan back in late Dec, and as recommended from the dealer recently changed the oil myself at 1100 miles. Way too early to change the oil. Waste of money. Engine manufacturing process today does a much better job of getting the machining chips out.

#2 After completing the first oil change and resetting the Oil Life expectancy display, it has been not even a week 180 miles and the Oil life display is reading 96%. It had dropped to 98% after the first 60 miles. The round trip to work is just over 60 miles, with 80% highway miles. I've check the oil level and the level is ok, when I changed it took 4.5 qrts of 5w30 as recommended. When I purchased the vehicle the dealer stated to change the oil when the display indicates anywhere from 5K - 8K. I havent done the quick math yet, but Im guessing that wont add up. Does this seem reasonable, or others seen this? I seem to recall at the time I changed the oil the display was maybe 70% at 1100 miles.
First the change oil indicator has nothing to do with oil level. You could be down to 1 qt and it would still say 98% life left. It calculates life left by looking at your actual duty cycle and exterior temperatures. ie if you are always flooring it with a cold engine at -10 degrees the oil life will go down fast. BUT if your indicator says 96% and you have driven 180 miles that means you are going to get about 4500 miles on the oil. Seems low but not out of reasonableness. I guess I would let it go to the 0% and see how many miles you get.

loist

hi i am new to this board, but i hope someone can help us with this problem. my daughter has a 06 pontiac g6 and the transmission fluid light keep coming on. she took it to the local pontiac dealer and other mechanics and no one can find the valve to put it in. this is really surprising that the dealer can't find. can anybody help

nlang79

Easy solution, take your car to a more reputable dealership that SPECIALIZES in Pontiac. I have had problems here in Calgary and most places...well...they're idgits...
Have you checked the owner's manual? Start there. Aside from that the light should not be coming on. This would be a warranty issue. has the car been bagged? That could possible cause leaks but haven't heard anything like that on these cars. It seems with G6's, the small problems hammer these cars. What out for them.

loist

thanks nlang79 for the reply. the dealer in my area is suppose to be the best, but you are right they are idiots. we will keep trying.

concealed

I did an oil change for a friend, she has a 2007 g6 coupe. I put about 4.25 qt of 10w-30 synthetic oil in. Although it says to use 5w-30, it should be ok right? also, how much oil are you suppose to put in? 4.5 qt?

marse

My G6 is at 40,000 miles and there is a oil pan leak and a crankshaft seal leak. The dealership is giving me a very hard time with this. Has anyone else had this issue with their vehicle?

whm2

The Pontaic g6 automatic (GT) doesn't have a dip stick ! change dealerships

mrn320

I always change my 2005 G6 GT engine oil. With a Fram filter I use 4.5 qts and I always change filter on every oil change. I use Valvoline 5W30 because I prefer the lower viscosity in my climate range. I can't see any problems with 10W30 unless you have extreme cold temperature where flow would be an issue.
Mike

concealed

sleffert

I purchased my 2006 G6 in July 2007. I had my first oil change in late August before I left for a 2500 mile round trip. About three weeks ago and about 6000 miles later my oil indicator finally said it was time for an oil change. I took my car in for the oil change and now, two weeks later (about 300 miles) my oil life is down to 84%. Seems like a huge difference from my first oil change. However, I live in Idaho and the average temperature is 10-28 degrees right now so I am thinking that has something to do with it. I only drive my car around town but 16% oil life used in 300 miles seems a bit extreme to me??? At this rate I will have to get an oil change at 1800 miles. Any input??

TomHorn

My G6 is consumming 1 quart of oil every 2500 miles. I think this is excessive. The dealership says it is normal. Anyone know?

a022mil

How do you keep these door sills from denting--they are not covered by the 3yr-36000 warranty the dealership said in Toledo, Ohio. (Brown Pontiac) It costs $100 to get new ones put on!

happytoes

You can't really prevent that. I had the same with mine, and they scratch easily. The rubber material the door sill sits in shreds & wears after 8K miles of car use. Clearly, poor quality on both parts!

charlesbrons

You will get a lot more oil life when driving on long trips because the water in the oil that is created from combustion is completely evaporated from a hot engine. On short trips of 3 miles or less the water in the oil does not have time enough to evaporate. This water can cause sludge and acid build up in the oil. Thus you have shorter oil life.

charlesbrons

You are supposed to put in 4.5 quarts of oil. But it depends on how much oil you let drain out of the oil pan. If you let the oil drain out for 10 minutes or less, you would not need 4.5 quarts of oil, since some oil remains in the engine and oil pan. I let my oil drain out for 2 hours and I can almost put in 5 quarts of oil. Thats almost 1/2 more quart of oil. Thus alot more dirty oil is drained out. Metal particles, 50 times smaller than human hair pass through the oil filter. These metal particles will cause engine damage if you do not change your oil. This is why full synthetic oil will not last 25,000 miles, like they use to claim, but they don't claim anymore. So don't think that full synthetic oil will last longer than regular oil because no oil can stop the accumulation of metal particle build up. You should only use 5W30 oil because 10W30 has been known to cause problems with piston rings in General Motors cars.

hkrinkle

The reason your oil life indicator went to 0% differently is because your oil life changes with the way that you drive. When you drive for 2500 miles your oil will last longer because your engine is not working very hard as compared to 2500 miles of city driving. Also, the length of time that you drive the 2500 miles is different. Oil will get bad as time goes on.

Hank