[North of You]

I have a 2019 1LE with less than 3,000 km. Just got a phone call from the dealership about changing the fluids on the car. Considering how low my milage is, is there a benefit to changing the fluids as they have timed out, or should I just wait?

[Gunkk]

Depends on what you're doing with the car.

My advice is to follow the manuals:
* For regular use, the owner's manual.
* For track use, the track prep manual.

[Vigilante375]

Main things to look at are:

How many miles have you driven since the last oil change
Has it been 1 year since your last oil change
Have you been doing any racing with your vehicle

I'm going out on a limb and say you don't drive the car much (being in Canada) and you don't do much racing? The car does have a oil life meter and goes off how you drive and time. Give it a look.

When was the last time you changed your oil (time wise)? If it's been more than a year then you should do so. It's because with the oil sitting there, it breaks down and the additives in there to help the engine parts stay lubricated and protect them isn't as good as it was 1 year ago or 2 years ago, etc.

I'm sure they'll be some that say it's a bunch of BS but oil is the lifeline to engines, mostly, so if it's not working as intended then your engine is going to suffer.

Your call as it's your car.

[RamAir02]

Diff fluid is important. There will be metal shavings in the fluid before initial change.

[DangerZL1]

What does the oil life percentage show? If it's been that long, I'm surprised it's not 0.

I'd definitely change the diff fluid as suggested above.

[kropscamaro16]

oil change diff fluid change maybe brake fluid if its been sitting for awhile

[LT4Greg]

I don’t drive my ZL1 much anymore and I haven’t changed the oil in almost 2 years and don’t have that many miles on it but planning to change it again in October or November. The oil looks fine to me as I am running Lucas Synthetic 5w30. I have oil I bought last year in October that is still sitting waiting to be changed.

[Doughboy7474]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Diff fluid is important. There will be metal shavings in the fluid before initial change.

The manual says to change diff fluid after 45,000 miles. Where is everyone seeing it needs to be changed so frequently?

[2SS Capt]

Originally Posted by Doughboy7474

The manual says to change diff fluid after 45,000 miles. Where is everyone seeing it needs to be changed so frequently?

Fluids... Cheap...

Components... Not...

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by Doughboy7474

The manual says to change diff fluid after 45,000 miles. Where is everyone seeing it needs to be changed so frequently?

Sticky

[Mark R]

Here is my service schedule. The car has many BMR suspension components, so the alignment parts list is shorter than stock.

Some will think this is excessive. However, this car is a keeper. I average less than 3000 miles a year, and I spent $20K in upgrades on the car, so I want it to be in perfect condition.

ZL-1 SERVICE SCHEDULE

OIL CHANGE – EVERY 2000 – 2500 MILES
TRANSMISSION – EVERY 6,000- 10,000 MILES
DIFFERENTIAL – EVERY OTHER OIL CHANGE
BRAKE FLUID – DOT 4 – EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS
AIR FILTER – EVERY YEAR
COOLANT – EVERY FEW YEARS
SUPERCHARGER COOLANT CIRCUIT – EVERY FEW YEARS
ALIGNMENT – AT DEALER - EVERY 5000 MILES OR AS NEEDED. REPLACE 4 STRUT BOLTS AND NUTS, AND 2 REAR LOWER CONTROL ARM BOLTS AND NUTS AT EVERY ALIGNMENT (BOLTS ARE SINGLE USE ONLY)
Part Numbers:
Front Shock Bolts: 11547494 – 4 NEEDED + NUTS
Rear Camber Bolt: 11547215 – 2 NEEDED + NUTS
BALANCE TIRES – EVERY ALIGNMENT OR AS NEEDED.
CABIN FILTER – EVERY FEW YEARS OR AS NEEDED

[wakespeak]

Oil gets diluted with fuel and water (from humidity). It accumulates dirt, metal, ie corrosion, rust, combustion by-products, from engine internals smaller than what gets filtered. Stretching out the low cost of fluid changes seems a bit silly if you think about the total cost of the car. Change at a mininum of once a year if you don't track the car and are low use.

Transmission and diff last over years if not tracked because there is no combustion process involved. Track use elevates the temperature much higher than street use which can break down the oil. Also there is more wear debris in these unfiltered components.