Recent content by AndyH

How long does it take you to hit 7500 miles? Short trips or a lot of highway miles? I ask because oil should be changed by mileage, time, or engine run hours whichever comes first, and highway driving is easier on engine oils than lots of short/local trips in very hot or very cold places. I...

Sorry for the delay, STS134. I've been on the road the past 6 months. Happy to be home, but have some catching-up to do! Oil quality depends on the application and the performance specs the oil's formulated to meet. Engine oil is formulated to meet performance specifications, and the way it...

Something worth noting as we debate across the pond is that the quality of US engine oil is almost the worst in the world. The 3000 mile oil change idea is still king, and most oils are made just good enough to satisfy that. The folks at AMSOIL have been making long drain oils since 1972, and...

Is this old enough to be considered a thread necro? ;) For the 2018 US version of the car: Starting from off, press the information button until the service interval screen appears. Then press and hold the information button until the wrench/spanner flashes. Press and release the...

I'm using an Open Source EVSE that I assembled. The completed units ready to plug-in will save you about CAD100. If electrical assembly is fun for you, a complete kit will cost about CAD600. I had a 240V outlet installed to connect to - it cost USD50...

I have a 2018 and use Android auto. I'm not worried about the data sent for using the maps since it's mixed with so many others' data. The number one snoop is the cell phone. That's the device to toss if one desires privacy.

I've driven hills and highway but haven't played in the mountains yet. For your drive, keep some charge in the battery using either hold or charge. The reason that the 'car review' people sometimes report on power is that they let the battery run down. The two motors are 60 KW each, but the...

Cool - thanks! A couple of other things came to mind while I was out washing my car. It's been about 7 or so years since I did oil stuff, so verify this with Blackstone. In the past, Blackstone's analysts tracked the range for a specific piece of equipment. Since this is your first analysis...

Thanks for posting the report! What oil is in the engine? I assume it's the initial/factory fill? I'll be pulling a sample on mine next month to confirm my annual oil change plan (I use AMSOIL). The fuel dilution number might shift if one runs the engine enough to get the oil up to...

Mitsubishi North America is sending recall notices for all 2017-2018 Outlander, 2018 Outlander PHEV, 2018 Eclipse Cross, and 2018 Outlander Sport. My local dealer has the new software and the service folks say that as long as their computers can talk to the Mitsubishi 'mother ship' that the...

Good on your dealer. Unfortunately, dealers in the US tend to be more like Andy's dealers in Oz. ;) Maintenance isn't about predicting breakdowns - it's about preventing them. I do agree that modern cars rely on more electronics. For many drivers, the plan should probably be to find a dealer...

Another day of running the car hard with E60 and finally got a P0171 error - the oxygen sensor detected more oxygen than expected. That makes sense since ethanol is a very oxygen rich fuel. I'll back off to E40 for a bit then go from there.

I didn't say that one didn't need a computer. ;) In VW-land we have VagCom. I had 2 Passat TDIs and didn't have to take either car into a dealer. I did injector swaps, replaced a fuel pump, adjusted fuel injection tuning... So far with the Outlander, I'm finding my ScanGauge is doing all I...

No, to maintain the warranty the logs don't need to be sent anywhere. I'm in the US - different countries have different laws. In Europe and Japan, manufacturers can mandate specific things be performed with specific fluids, for example, and the owner must do those things with those products...

Welcome aboard! Those of us driving in hot cities in stop and start conditions (the car or the engine) need to use the severe service interval. To add insult to injury, only a couple of our oil options are capable of being run for 12 months - Europe's got a lot more options for long-drain oil...