My first DIY oil change on the Xa
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 14
From: Hartford County, CT
My first DIY oil change on the Xa
I did my first oil change on the Xa this Saturday. I am going to save the freebies for the winter. If the ground clearnance was another 2 or so inches I would not need to use low profile car ramps. Once up on the ramp this was as easy as doing an oil change on my Saturn VUE (with the Ecotec 4).
I wish Toyota would make it an even 4 quarts for the oil. I am using factory oil filters & Castro GTX. Since this Xa will most likely have between 6,000 and 9,000 for annual mileage, which about 90% of the miles are highway, I will be doing the oil change every 3 months. I am a big one for oil changes every 3 months or 3,000 miles.
My 2003 VUE, with 105,000 on it gets the oil change every 3000 miles. I rack the miles up fast during ski season.
I wish Toyota would make it an even 4 quarts for the oil. I am using factory oil filters & Castro GTX. Since this Xa will most likely have between 6,000 and 9,000 for annual mileage, which about 90% of the miles are highway, I will be doing the oil change every 3 months. I am a big one for oil changes every 3 months or 3,000 miles.
My 2003 VUE, with 105,000 on it gets the oil change every 3000 miles. I rack the miles up fast during ski season.
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SL Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Wow, you have a Vue over 100k? Guess it's because it's the 4 cylinder (and FWD?). Mine was a 2004 AWD with the Honda 3.5 v6. I only had it 17k miles before I couldn't take the rattles anymore. Reliability wasn't so good either- had three wheel bearing failures and two rear differential replacements. Replaced under warranty, but annoying to keep taking it in. Too bad since it was good in the snow, really quick, and great for highway cruising.
Oil changes in the xA and xB are easy since the filter is right in front. I was going to save my free oil changes too (dealer threw in 2 more for a total of 5). I'll probably skip them now since I've switched to synthetic. Wish I could just have them give me 5 oil filters instead!
As for it taking less than 4 quarts, I would not worry about overfilling by that 0.1 of a quart if you don't want to keep mostly empty oil bottles sitting around.
Oil changes in the xA and xB are easy since the filter is right in front. I was going to save my free oil changes too (dealer threw in 2 more for a total of 5). I'll probably skip them now since I've switched to synthetic. Wish I could just have them give me 5 oil filters instead!
As for it taking less than 4 quarts, I would not worry about overfilling by that 0.1 of a quart if you don't want to keep mostly empty oil bottles sitting around.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 14
From: Hartford County, CT
Stew32..Yes I have the reliable Saturn VUE, the one with the GM Ecotec 4 cyl. and a 5 speed manual and FWD. I knew of the CVT failures & RDM issues on the VUE. I also knew of the 3.0 V6 (the SAAB / Opel / Cadillac Catera) engine issues in the 2002 models, so I avoided that powerplant also.
Rattles on the VUE? Well, lets just say if you thought things were noisy at 17k, you ought to hear things at 105k.
Rattles on the VUE? Well, lets just say if you thought things were noisy at 17k, you ought to hear things at 105k.
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