I recently purchased a 2014 2500 silverado duramax diesel...... I called three dealerships.... Cerritos Penske, Premier Chev Buena Park and Simpson Chev Garden Grove (twice) and also inquired online working with people on the chat line.....I simply asked them what type of oil do I use.....I got the wrong answer from everyone..... It was only when I called Simpson Chev a second time, I did get the correct answer!!!!.......If I hadn't check I could have used the wrong oil voiding my warranty and possibly causing damage to my diesel.......fortunately I have a personal mechanic that gave me the correct answer and I eventually found the answer in the manual.......But why did I get the wrong answer from the service reps ......I asked and talked to the service departments......I also called the gm owner site and got the wrong answer. They all gave me the oil for the gas engine which is extremely thin compared to the diesel ........called the GM customer support team and they were useless..... Is this level of incompetency is what i have to deal now????? ernie

Your going to find the same thing with any shop you call. No matter if its Ford, Daimler or GM. Hundreds of different engines and they all can't keep up with them. Nor do they WANT to take the time to look up such frivolous information when its at the owners fingertips anyway. They feel, if the owner can't take the time to read the owners manual, why should they waste their time to look it up for you?

Yes, its sad. But it does happen.

With the amount of Recalls released lately and other customer vehicles in the shop. Its very hard to keep up to date with changes. We are only humans. Some dealers often find it hard to help out someone who bought a truck from their competition. My suggestion is if any questions arise, get with your sales person. That'* want they are there for. You the customer.

I would think the service people of the dealership i bought the truck from would know. They didn't..... That is their job and the info should be easy to access. They have a computer in front of them and I did inform them I bought the truck from their dealership.....the sales person didn't even know that there was a adapter sleeve for the hitch in the glove box......I had to find out the hard way.......thanks sales person......

There are some salesmen, that are just salesmen....they know how to smooze you into buying a car....our best salesman, was like that....did not know the options on the car, did not know how to operate the options on the car, did not know where parts of the car were in the car....but he could sell them...that'* all that mattered to the owner.....these guys have all kinds of time on their hands between customers, and have all kinds of videos that they can watch.....they don't......when this guy sold a car, there was no walk through with the customer on all the options of the vehicle, spelling out the warranty and what was covered and what wasn't......he handed you the keys and told you to tell your friends where to buy their next car.....His gift was he was a talker, and he would talk about the weather, your kids, how the stock market was doing, politicians, etc......you name a subject he could talk about it for hours and make you feel like your were old friends.....but he couldn't tell you where the battery was in your car....if it had one or two....if you had a full spare, compact, or no spare....and forget about, the workings of your radio and HVAC system....but the son of a gun could sell a car.....He was useless if you called him with a question about your vehicle....

I agree.....that is why i didn't bother to ask him what type of oil to use in my diesel truck.... but you would think the service people would know....or could look it up on their computer.....they are parked in front of one ........my family mechanic knew right away.....

My experiences have to come the conclusion that I trust no one- and always do my own research and then check two or three times.

The world has changed. Everyone is under pressure to make the quick buck. Although I am not a seasoned mechanic- I think many of the repairs I do are at a level as good and quite possibly better than a ASE master mechanic. The ASE master mechanic is often paid by the job, not by the hour. He may be under huge duress to take every shortcut. Me, I take my time, do all the little things along the way while doing a repair, and in the end I sense the work I completed is likely the better service.

As Mike stated, this is not a Chevy issue, the entire country has got away from expert service and support. To find a expert anymore, one needs to do their homework and then look in the mirror.

I just got a phone call from gmc...... they do believe it is their fault.....giving inaccurate information that could void a warranty is unacceptable to them..... they are contacting the dealerships involved....and they believe it is their problem and are planning to do something about this.....afterall I did spend $50,000 plus for this product......

Perhaps they all gave you acceptable answers. For example, Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil is not approved for use in my jeep, but any mechanic worth his salt will tell you it is not only an acceptable choice, it is probably the best choice. The only reason Mobil 1 is not approved is because they don't kick back payments to Chrysler. Also, I am supposed to use 5W20 weight oil while the previous model year that used the exact same engine used 5W30. Again, I would not fault a mechanic for giving me either response.

When you say they told you the wrong type of oil, please explain what you mean. Did they tell you dino when you should use synthetic, did they recommend an incorrect manufacturer of oil, or did they tell you the incorrect oil weight? What did the dealerships tell you to use, and what was the correct oil according to your family mechanic?

By the way, your owner'* manual states you are supposed to use 5W30, and only oil licensed to the dexos1 specification. ACDelco dexos1 Synthetic Blend is recommended. They recommend ACDelco oil so you buy it from them, and synthetic so you spend more money. Using another manufacturer or type will not void your warranty so long as it is 5W30 (0W30 in extreme cold) and meets Dexos 1 approvals.

diesels have cleaned up considerbly over the last few years but I would still use a diesel specific oil as the additive package is different from gas, ie I believe diesel specific oil has more detergent as opposed to friction modifiers fournd in oil meant for gasoline engines. your owners manual should give you a choice of SAE weights you can use based on temp and use, an old farm boys guess would be that 15-40W diesel specific oil would be the best bet for your Duramax while towing and I assume you will be towing a lot or why would you have paid a huge premium for that package.

2004 Bonne SLE
1971 Chevelle SS