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David: This is
 your Marketplace.
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David: When should
 you get your oil changed?
Six months,
or 8,000 kilometres.
David: We put that to the test.
Man: This is the used oil,
 this is the new oil.
David: You might be surprised
 what we find.
People have to recognize
this is a sales job
every time you go in
to get your car fixed.
David: You can't afford
 to miss your Marketplace.
[♪♪]
David: We're hanging
 out at the pumps.
How often do you
get your oil changed?
Every six months.
David: To gauge what
 drivers know about when
 to get an oil change.
David: Can I ask you a really
 quick question for CBC?
Sure.
David: Your oil
change sticker up there.
Yes.
David: How often do
you get the oil done?
Whenever it tells me.
Whatever that kilometres
on there, that's when
I take it in.
David: And do you know how
often that is, every--?
About every six months.
David: How often do
you change your oil?
Once every three months.
Every 5,000 kilometres.
Why?
'Cause that's what
they recommend to do.
David: Who does?
-The-- the dealership.
David: But with oil changes
 costing as much as a hundred
 bucks a pop, is that
 the right advice?
Can you read something for me?
Sure.
David: What's that
line there say?
Change the
engine oil every year.
Davis: Change the
engine oil every year.
Yeah.
David: How often
are you doing it?
I do it every
three months or so.
David: Check out most owner's
 manuals and you'll see more and
 more auto makers now say
 you can go longer before
 replacing your oil.
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Siri From Phone: The
 destination is on your left.
David: We want to
 see what dealerships,
 which are owned independently
 from the manufacturer,
 will recommend to us.
 So we choose six vehicles with
 the same instructions in their
 owner's manual.
 That is, replace the oil when
 the indicator light comes on.
 Not to exceed 12 months
 or 16,000 kilometres,
 whichever comes first.
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David: Then we pay
 a visit to one of each
 corresponding dealerships.
David: The service advisor at
 this Honda dealership gives the
 same recommendation
 as the owner's manual.
David: Similar
 advice at this Acura garage.
David: But at
 this Fiat facility.
David: How about
 this Dodge dealership?
David: And at
 this Ford dealer.
David: Remember, the manual
 says as long as the indicator
 doesn't come on,
 it can go twice that.
David: So who's telling
 the truth and who's taking
 us for a ride?
 Mark Wynnton is a licensed
 mechanic and former instructor
 in south-western Ontario.
Oil changes, what if the
dealership says get it done
every six months but your
owner's manual there says
only every year.
The people who built the car
and engineered it and assembled
it, all their
knowledge is in that book,
and that is king.
It overrides anything
a dealer can tell you.
In most cases today, cars have
an oil change monitoring system
where the car alerts the driver
to the oil change requirement
when that might be.
That's what you follow.
Nothing else.
Otherwise, you're changing
your oil too soon,
you're polluting
the environment,
you're wasting your money.
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David: So far,
 three of the five
 dealerships we visit do not
 even mention following that
 oil change monitoring system.
 So we head out for
 one last test drive
 with our 6th vehicle,
 this 2013 Jeep Wrangler.
 It belongs to Eric.
 He works for us.
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David: Just like our other
 five test vehicles,
 Eric's owner's manual says to
 change the oil when that change
 oil message appears.
 But no later than 12
 months or 16,000 kilometres,
 whichever comes first.
 It's been eight months and
 about a thousand kilometres
 since the oil's been changed.
 And there's no
 oil change message.
 So what will they recommend
 we do at this Jeep dealership?
I was looking at the owner's
manual and it was saying that
you can go up to 12
months or like 16,000 so --
 But why is it --
 like why would --
David: A marketing ploy?
 Time to call in science.
 Fluid Life in
 Brantford, Ontario.
 It's one of the largest
 providers of oil analysis in
 North America.
 Manager Mark Sherman
 first pumps out
 a sample to be tested.
 He also takes a
 sample of brand-new,
 unused oil.
Mark: A little basis
 of comparison.
David: Certainly looks darker
 but does it need to be changed?
I'm using sample
stickers, Mark.
David: The samples are
 then shaken, weighed,
 and placed in this
 ICP spectrometer.
Mark: What we're doing here
 is we're taking the sample,
 inserting it into
 the instrument
 and it burns it
 at temperatures
 that are actually hotter
 than the sun.
We're really looking at whether
or not the oil looks like it is
in a typical state for your
engine or whether it looks like
it's in an unacceptable state.
David: The results should
 tell us whether the oil in the
 Jeep is still good.
Give me the upshot.
What have you found?
Overall, these engine
oil results look really
good actually.
There was a slight
amount of oil degradation,
but contamination level was
nice and the wear metals
were quite low.
David: Do you have a sense
of how much longer it could stay
in that vehicle before it
needs to be changed?
Well, it's always difficult
to say that with a definitive
answer but I can probably tell
you that this engine oil is
good for probably another 3,000,
4,000 kilometres.
David: Is there any
need to change it right now?
I would not change
this oil right now.
No, it looks good.
David: So why might some
 dealerships push more frequent
 oil changes than needed?
 Lucas Leung,
 he's got a possible answer.
 He's a former service
 advisor who's worked
 at six different dealerships.
Because they're
coming in more often,
every time they walk in,
it's an opportunity for us
to find things on the
vehicle that may be wrong.
David: So if you can upsell
the customer to have them doing
an oil change more often than
maybe they need to do it,
that's your opportunity
to sell them other stuff.
Correct.
So every time they come more
often, it is a possibility that
I can recommend more.
David: We contact the
 four dealerships whose service
 advisors told us to change
 the oil more often than the
 indicator says.
 Dodge and Fiat say they stand
 by the advice given by their
 service advisors.
 Jeep's got nothing to add.
 But the Ford
 dealership confirms
 drivers should consult their
 owner's manual to determine
 their oil change interval.
So let's take a look at this.
 Back at the gas station, we ask
 people to take a look at their
 owner's manual.
What's that say there?
However your engine oil and
filter must be changed at least
once a year.
It says every year, yeah.
David: Yeah, it means maybe
you're doing the oil four times
more often than
you're supposed to.
Now I will go back to
Honda and tell them that.
David: So, you're going right
to the dealership?
Absolutely.
David: Why would a dealership
want you to come in to get
something done more often?
For the money.
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There's 50 million cars in
Canada and they all take four,
five litres so that's a lot of
hazardous waste and it's a
waste of money.
I mean, people have to
recognize this is a sales job.
Every time you go in
to get your car fixed,
there is no two ways about that.
 And I don't know how to put
 that any clearer than that.
[ ♪♪ ]
[ ♪♪ ]
David: Ever wonder what
happens when your email lands
in our in-box?
Oh, hi, I'm calling
from Marketplace.
She thinks it's an
accident waiting to happen.
Asha: When you hit send,
it sends us into action.
David: You count on
us and we count on you.
And together, create change.
So help us decide
what to investigate next.
Asha: Because this is
your Marketplace.
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