No more Perodua Service Centre

4^th September 2010

Now I have stop servicing my car with Perodua Service Centre. :) So now the time has come for me to try other motor oil for my beloved Perodua Viva. Yeahoo!!!

I start by using engine oil from Eneos® with the weight of 5w30. And also change the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) from Redline® D4. I also change the oil sump nut to a magnetic oil sump nut from Work Engineering®.

I serviced my Perodua Viva at Eneos One Utama because I wanted to try the free nitrogen gas for tires with their service package. Furthermore I was busy that weekend to go to my regular workshop plus there was no car and no waiting time for me at Eneos during that time.

It cost me MYR 132 for Eneos 5w30 engine oil with oil filter, free nitrogen for four tires, check up and labor charge. While a bottle (1 litre package) of Redline® ATF D4 cost me MYR 55 and Perodua Viva uses 2 litres which cost MYR 110. There was also additional labor charge for changing ATF which cost MYR 20. Total damage was MYR 262 that time. Quite costly huh for a non professional workmanship…the foreman overfill my engine oil and ATF! If only I have the tools to change the ATF by myself. I will try to DIY something soon… ;) Whereas I bought the magnetic oil sump nut from After Twelve in Sunway for some time now. Cost me about MYR 38.

Well as far as I know Perodua Viva engine works best with engine motor oils with weight 5w30 and the ATF uses Dexron III. I have survey around and ask in car club forums for recommendations and opinions. Almost all inform to use back OEM specification stated in the manual. This is to help maintain and further enhance my Perodua Viva fuel efficiency and trouble free engine and transmission break down. Furthermore front numbers in engine oil weight (eg: 5w30) is how the engine behave during cold starts and cold weather. While the back number (eg: 5w30) is how the oil behave during high temperature. The correct selection for engine oil weight will ensure that the components inside the engine will get the protection during cold start to high rev.

The Eneos engine oil is semi synthetic motor oil. So I can change the oil every 8,000 km. it would be just ideal with affordable price. Please be inform that this engine oil is in a pack of 4 litres and Perodua Viva uses less than 3 litres. ;) The OEM engine oil for Perodua Viva can actually last up to 10,000 km. However I felt that it unable to maintain my Perodua Viva’s fuel efficiency and the engine sound harsh when the car clocked more than 4,000 km. Please be inform that the OEM Perodua engine oil is also a semi synthetic oil.

Whereas the Redline ATF that I use is a fully synthetic fluid. Although it is a fully synthetic oils, I intend to change it every 20,000 km as per advise by the Service Centre staff to help protect my automatic transmission. I asked the service advisor at Perodua Service Centre about ATF filter. She advised me to change the ATF every 20,000 km and does not need to change the ATF filter. Well this is the info I get and want to share with Perodua Viva owners. Changing an ATF filter is not a simple task. While changing the ATF filter, it will also require replacing the ATF fluid which uses about 4 litres for Perodua Viva. The labor cost to do this is estimated around MYR 120 not including the ATF and ATF filter. Perodua Viva is said to use Perodua Kancil's (its predecessor) ATF filter which cost around MYR 20 to 30 at spare part shop. Thus changing ATF filter will cost approximately MYR 370! Sigh…

Now let me share my general knowledge on engine oil.

Engine oils can be classified to 3 segments that are mineral base, synthetic base (semi synthetic) or fully synthetic. Each has its own characteristics and ingredients for engine protection. Choose your oil wisely and change it according to manufacturer recommendation. Mineral engine oil will last up to 5,000km before need changing. While a semi synthetic engine oil will last up to 8,000km and fully synthetic engine oil will last up to 10,000km. Even if the fully synthetic oil is said can be extended more than 10,000km I will advise to change it every 12,000 km max. This is because the oil filter is also a part need to be considered to extend the use of fully synthetic oil. Other than that weather will also contribute to the engine oil characteristic during extended usage.

Other than those 3 segments, each engine oil also has rating and certification by a few institutions such as SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), ACEA (Association of European Car Manufacturers) and API (American Petroleum Institute). So make sure you choose engine oil that complies with any of these rating stated in your manual.

More info:
http://www.api.org/aboutapi/

Well, the first thing I notice was, the foreman where I service my car overfilled my engine oil and ATF by a huge margin. WTH! Maybe because my Perodua Viva only use less than 3 litres of engine oil and less than 2 litres of ATF. So he might not yet know how to do estimation while servicing my Perodua Viva.

Well, next time I just got to do it myself. Sigh…

Only me knows my Perodua Viva the best…I think I have to do basic maintenance myself to get things right.

On the other hand, I can feel my Perodua Viva to be smoother and less engine vibration. Perodua Viva is a 3 cylinder engine and it can be quite noisy and harsh during hard and long driving. Now the engine does not sound harsh and quieter. I still have not yet get the chance to analyse fuel consumption but I do not think I will be able to get any fuel savings with my heavy right foot. ;) By the way, the smoother engine is more than a good bargain to me.

As a matter of fact, the gear now changes smoothly and quickly. Thanks to this ATF from Redline®, now I feel confident that it will protect the gears during high revving and spirited driving.