Where to take for service?

[mirage86]

I bought a new 2018 mirage back in April, 2018. My last oil change was at the dealership back in october 2018 (done around 5000 miles, synthetic). It's almost 7 months and I'm nearing the 9000 mile mark so I need to take it for service (it's was due April, 2019).

The dealership where I bought it from no longer sells or services (recall work) Mitsubishi. The other dealership near me is horrendous (wont even pickup phone to schedule appointment).

I also got a recall letter about the SRS-ECU thing.

Should I just take it to a local independent mechanic and have them do the oil change? What brand/grade of oil do I need? The mechanic seems to be Mitsubishi certified (rare to find these shops). Then later, I can take to another dealership a little further away for recall work.

Is there anything additional I should do? I already did tire rotation at 5000 miles.

[Mark]

I bought a new 2018 mirage back in April, 2018. My last oil change was at the dealership back in october 2018 (done around 5000 miles, synthetic). It's almost 7 months and I'm nearing the 9000 mile mark so I need to take it for service (it's was due April, 2019).

The dealership where I bought it from no longer sells or services (recall work) Mitsubishi. The other dealership near me is horrendous (wont even pickup phone to schedule appointment).

I also got a recall letter about the SRS-ECU thing.

Should I just take it to a local independent mechanic and have them do the oil change? What brand/grade of oil do I need? The mechanic seems to be Mitsubishi certified (rare to find these shops). Then later, I can take to another dealership a little further away for recall work.

Is there anything additional I should do? I already did tire rotation at 5000 miles.

This is coming from someone that always does all of his own oil changes. I seldom use a dealership for anything, unless it is recall/warranty work. Changing your own oil is not for everyone. It's not extremely difficult to do, but some people don't want to deal with it. It does involve needing a oil drain pan & taking the old oil somewhere to dispose of. I can see where some just don't want to deal with that, especially if you live where it wouldn't be convenient to do.

If you have any friends that know of a good local mechanic, I would start there. If you made an appointment with the mechanic, I make sure s/he are using a 0W-20 full synthetic oil and a quality oil filter. If you are doing 5,000 mile interval oil changes, you car needs should be well taken care of. It's what I have decided to do with my Mirage.

I would avoid quick lube places, unless another forum member knows of a good one to suggest. My fear is quick lube places use cheap oil & filters. If your car used conventional oils/cheap oil filters that were changed every 3,000 miles, I would be ok with a quick lube place. I wouldn't recommend that for your Mirage.

Rather than a quick lube place, I would consider a Walmart Auto service center. I never use Walmart for this, but it may be a good option for you to consider. Walmart would most likely allow you to buy their Mobil 1 M1-110A Extended Performance oil filter (or Fram XG7317 Ultra Synthetic oil filter) & their 0W-20 full synthetic oil off the shelf. If you are doing 5,000 mile oil changes, any full synthetic oil brand is going to be fine. You may want to use Mobil 1 to keep things simple. There are different types of Mobil 1 0W-20. The Advanced Fuel Economy one is probably a good choice for you. The Mirage only takes 3 quarts of oil, & these are 5 quart jugs. I would ask for your remaining 2 quarts. Buying a second jug the next time you do an oil change, would leave enough left over to do a third oil change. If you are buying their products, I have to believe Walmart would accommodate you. Someone else may already do things this way & can confirm that.

These are just suggestions. If you have a friend that knows of a trusted mechanic & that mechanic assures the use of a quality filter and oil, that may be your best bet. You could even ask him/her the name of the filter and oil they would use, & then come back to this thread to get opinions from people like us. We are full of them!!!!!

[stevedmc]

I bought a new 2018 mirage back in April, 2018. My last oil change was at the dealership back in october 2018 (done around 5000 miles, synthetic). It's almost 7 months and I'm nearing the 9000 mile mark so I need to take it for service (it's was due April, 2019).

The dealership where I bought it from no longer sells or services (recall work) Mitsubishi. The other dealership near me is horrendous (wont even pickup phone to schedule appointment).

I also got a recall letter about the SRS-ECU thing.

Should I just take it to a local independent mechanic and have them do the oil change? What brand/grade of oil do I need? The mechanic seems to be Mitsubishi certified (rare to find these shops). Then later, I can take to another dealership a little further away for recall work.

Is there anything additional I should do? I already did tire rotation at 5000 miles.

You should buy some tools and do it yourself. Faster and cheaper than paying someone to do basic maintenance.

The only reason I bring my car to a dealership for oil changes is because I get them done for free.

[Fummins]

The engine oil drain plug takes a 17mm socket.









Attachment 14832

[Mark]

You should buy some tools and do it yourself. Faster and cheaper than paying someone to do basic maintenance.

The only reason I bring my car to a dealership for oil changes is because I get them done for free.

If you are interested in Steve's suggestion, these are the items you would need. From your initial post, I assume you haven't done this before.

* New oil filter & oil.
* Oil pan to drain old oil. A plastic kitty litter box even works for this.
* 17mm socket and ratchet. This fits the factory drain plug.
* Replacement washer for oil drain plug. These can be found at places like AutoZone. Have them help you!
* I would have an oil filter socket on hand. When you buy a new oil filter, use that to pick out the right one.
* I use two cheap plastic funnels. One is used for the new oil going in the car. I use the other one to drain old oil back into an empty oil jug. I keep my oil funnels in old plastic ice cream containers. It keeps them clean & contains any mess they may create. I lay rags in the bottom of those containers.
* I don't fit under a Mirage very well. That involves lifting the car. A few inches does it for me. The cheapest route would be using your Mirage car jack and then set the front wheels back down on something study (like a 4X4 block of wood). I recently created my own simple car ramp made from scraps of 2" x 6" boards, & that works, too.
* Obviously, rags and other small items should be on hand.

Just saying buy your own tools and do it yourself isn't really that helpful for someone who hasn't done this before. Many youtube.com clips show how to carry this all out.

[Eggman]

All good advice.

One question though, mirage86 - is there any reason why you couldn't change your oil yourself? Because if you can, there's lots of resources here to help you get through it. But, I understand there may be circumstances that make it difficult, such as location/facilities, health-related concerns, etc.

[RyanGreener]

Do dealers make a big stink if you do your own work? I suspect some people go to them so they can have maintenance registered on a CarFax or something so warranty claims won't be denied and all.

[Fummins]

Gotta keep receipts at a minimum. I had to provide service records when we had a warranty claim for a cvt. Took them a while to finally get approval. But the Mitsubishi dealer had it finished within a month. When we had a 14' Spark on it's 3rd cvt under warranty the gm dealer had the car for 3 months cause the cvt's for them were on back order.

[stevedmc]

I once withnessed a guy change his oil over a storm drain in an Oreilly's parking lot. He simply stopped his vehicle over a storm drain, let the oil out, replaced the filter and put oil in it. The whole process probably took him five minutes.

While I am certainly no tree hugger, I DO NOT ADVOCATE DUMPING OIL DOWN A STORM DRAIN. I change my oil at home, drain it into a pan, and when I am done, the old oil gets poured into an empty oil container. I eventually drop off my old oil at Walmart for recycling.

That being said, changing oil is easy. All of us were new to this stuff at one point in time. Over the years I've bought more tools to do bigger jobs. Changing oil when you are new to this is a very rewarding experience and way to learn some basic skills you can use for the rest of your life. When you change your own oil, the process is faster, cheaper, and you know it was done right.

For what its worth, I have never changed a drain plug washer. I simply reuse them unless a freebie included with an oil filter purchase. Its never been a problem for me.

This video shows raising the car. Honestly, I've never changed the oil on my Mirage as I get free oil changes. I change the oil on my other vehicles.

You may not need to raise the vehicle. See what others here say. On my vehicles that I do raise, I use ramps instead of a jack and jack stands. It saves a little time doing this.

The boo boo in the video is crying about wearing gloves. You don't need gloves, but it is a nice way to keep your hands clean.

[Mark]

I once withnessed a guy change his oil over a storm drain in an Oreilly's parking lot. He simply stopped his vehicle over a storm drain, let the oil out, replaced the filter and put oil in it. The whole process probably took him five minutes.

While I am certainly no tree hugger, I DO NOT ADVOCATE DUMPING OIL DOWN A STORM DRAIN. I change my oil at home, drain it into a pan, and when I am done, the old oil gets poured into an empty oil container. I eventually drop off my old oil at Walmart for recycling.

That being said, changing oil is easy. All of us were new to this stuff at one point in time. Over the years I've bought more tools to do bigger jobs. Changing oil when you are new to this is a very rewarding experience and way to learn some basic skills you can use for the rest of your life. When you change your own oil, the process is faster, cheaper, and you know it was done right.

For what its worth, I have never changed a drain plug washer. I simply reuse them unless a freebie included with an oil filter purchase. Its never been a problem for me.

This video shows raising the car. Honestly, I've never changed the oil on my Mirage as I get free oil changes. I change the oil on my other vehicles.

You may not need to raise the vehicle. See what others here say. On my vehicles that I do raise, I use ramps instead of a jack and jack stands. It saves a little time doing this.

The boo boo in the video is crying about wearing gloves. You don't need gloves, but it is a nice way to keep your hands clean.

I reused a drain oil plug washer on a Honda for years without issue. Should you have a leak it become a mess to fix it, unless you decide to live with the leak. I can't say I have ever had one leak.

I bought a Fumoto oil drain valve ($30-35 item) for my Mirage. It eliminates the need for new washers & saves time. I lift the car (3-4" is plenty) to reach the drain valve easier. Whether you use ramps or a jack is up to you. You don't really need to have jack stands, because you can set the wheels back down on something sturdy to do this job. I change the oil filter from the top standing up. An oil socket wrench helps with that. It hard to get a good hold on the filter with your hands in there. With the proper wrench it's simple!

You have to decide what is right for you?

There's nothing wrong with buying your oil/filter @ Walmart & having them do the service. I would just double check for oil leaks and that it is filled to the right amount before leaving their lot. If not done right, have them correct it.