I was just reading a bit in the service manual of my TL magna under the warranty claus that if you drive your car in constant stop start conditions, if the car is constantly idleing, if 50% of your driving is in heaving traffic or if 50% of your driving is on dirt roads then the car is classed as being driven in sever conditions and as such the oil and oil filter has to be changed every 7500km's instead of 15000km's, and the automatic transmition fluid has to be changed every 22500km's instead of every 45000km's. I assume this is the same for the TJ magna and possibly all gen3 magnas as there is very little mechanical changes between them.

My question is if you just keep having it serviced every 1500km's and change the auto transmition fluid every 45000km's and ignore the severe driving thing, even if you do drive it like that, then will mitsubishi try and use that claus to avoid warranty claims on things like gearbox's and engines?

I use my car as a deliver car so it is constantly doing stop start drivnig and is constantly idleing.. and in general it gets driven pretty hard so i realise i should probably do these things anyway, but if idont have the money to do it or something is mitsubishi gonna try and dodge warranty claims if i have any..

I was just reading a bit in the service manual of my TL magna under the warranty claus that if you drive your car in constant stop start conditions, if the car is constantly idleing, if 50% of your driving is in heaving traffic or if 50% of your driving is on dirt roads then the car is classed as being driven in sever conditions and as such the oil and oil filter has to be changed every 7500km's instead of 15000km's, and the automatic transmition fluid has to be changed every 22500km's instead of every 45000km's. I assume this is the same for the TJ magna and possibly all gen3 magnas as there is very little mechanical changes between them.

My question is if you just keep having it serviced every 1500km's and change the auto transmition fluid every 45000km's and ignore the severe driving thing, even if you do drive it like that, then will mitsubishi try and use that claus to avoid warranty claims on things like gearbox's and engines?

I use my car as a deliver car so it is constantly doing stop start drivnig and is constantly idleing.. and in general it gets driven pretty hard so i realise i should probably do these things anyway, but if idont have the money to do it or something is mitsubishi gonna try and dodge warranty claims if i have any..

one of the most ridiculous things i ever heard, bloody mits tryin to steal even more money from you.

No idea if Mitsu will try and void the warranty on you. I would think it would be a hard case for them to argue though.

But i was warned by my mechanic never to go the full 15,000k's on one oil change. He said regardless of the driving to change the oil at least every 7,500k's.

He cited a few examples he had known of Magna's that had developed expensive oil related issues due to sludge build up despite having low k's on the odo (eg 80,000) - cause the 15,000k gap is too long.

Apart from that he said they were very reliable cars and had few problems.

It also seems to be a good idea to do the trans fluid more often, particularly if as you drive the car fairly hard.

yeah well i think i will probably do the oil change and transmition change more frequently anyway just because of the sorta work my magna does

Yeah, I've been thinking of doing a minor service in between the regular services, just to change the oil and oil filter. 15000kms works out to almost a year for me and I don't like the idea of the oil sitting in there too long since I'm used to having services done 3 times a year before the Magna. If your car is still quite new, you could consider switching to a synthetic which will last longer and keep the engine cleaner. Although I would recommend going for another oil change 5000kms after you first use synthetic, since it's quite detergent-ish and when you first put it in, all that sludge and bog will come loose and you don't want it floating around in there. After that, 15000kms should be alright. Just make sure to check your oil once in a while, which you should be doing anyway. If it's really dirty and seems worn out, get it changed.
As for the transmission, change it regularly too. It may cost you a bit more, but it'll cost a lot more if you need a new one.
Try not to skimp on regular maintenance or you'll be paying for it later. With lots of start-stop driving and thrashing in between, the engine and transmission are gonna be worn out a lot faster.

Yeah, I've been thinking of doing a minor service in between the regular services, just to change the oil and oil filter. 15000kms works out to almost a year for me and I don't like the idea of the oil sitting in there too long since I'm used to having services done 3 times a year before the Magna. If your car is still quite new, you could consider switching to a synthetic which will last longer and keep the engine cleaner. Although I would recommend going for another oil change 5000kms after you first use synthetic, since it's quite detergent-ish and when you first put it in, all that sludge and bog will come loose and you don't want it floating around in there. After that, 15000kms should be alright. Just make sure to check your oil once in a while, which you should be doing anyway. If it's really dirty and seems worn out, get it changed.
As for the transmission, change it regularly too. It may cost you a bit more, but it'll cost a lot more if you need a new one.
Try not to skimp on regular maintenance or you'll be paying for it later. With lots of start-stop driving and thrashing in between, the engine and transmission are gonna be worn out a lot faster.

i thought synthetic oil needed changing more frequently because it was a thinner oil, and therefore "wears" out quicker.. kinda like tyres, the more grippy and sticky the tyre is, the quicker it wears out, with oil, the more protective it is the quicker it wears out.. thats what i always thought anyway

Oil is the life blood of an engine, so I don't care wether it's right or wrong but I always do oil and filter at 7500.
Oh and once again right or wrong I always use genuine oil filters, ALWAYS. :nuts:
Watch the colour and smell of your auto fluid if it's suspect get a service REGARDLESS of KMs. I've yet to have an auto play up on me (TP TS TH), drive hard over service. :D

what are the causes if engine oil out of the dip stick are runnier than the oil you originally put in? could it mean too thin? or too hot?

I use Magnatec btw.

i thought synthetic oil needed changing more frequently because it was a thinner oil, and therefore "wears" out quicker.. kinda like tyres, the more grippy and sticky the tyre is, the quicker it wears out, with oil, the more protective it is the quicker it wears out.. thats what i always thought anyway

Synthetic is thinner and lasts longer than regular mineral oils which break down quicker and start depositing sludge and other bad stuff in your engine.

Check out the www.trustmymechanic.com/motor-oil-bible.pdf+engine+oil+bible&hl=en]Engine (http://www.google.com.au/search?q=cache:pnGXwIse7HcJ: if you're in for a good read o the subject.

Edit: vb3 problems ... here's the url to the pdf file:
[url]http://www.trustmymechanic.com/motor-oil-bible.pdf