Last night, I started our long-term 2008 Pontiac G8 GT, and the car flashed the above message (at 22,788 miles). Finally. It has been 11,540 miles since our first oil change seven months ago.
I like the warning system in this car. In addition to the 30-second flashing warning at startup, there's another reminder right after you shut the engine off. So even if you've managed to forget your car needs an oil change in the course of a commute, you get that extra nudge to call up the dealer as soon as you stop.
We'll be making a service appointment for the G8, but for good measure, I checked the oil after returning home from dinner last night (and, yes, letting the car sit in my carport on a level surface for 25 minutes). The oil level registered right at the low mark on the acceptable range, and because the G8 and I have this whole car-human telepathy thing going, we both knew a half quart of 5W30 was in order.
If you're keeping track, we've added two-and-a-half quarts of oil to our 2008 Pontiac G8 GT over the last 11,540 miles.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 22,842 miles
mazdaspeed_jon says:
12:55 PM, 06/ 5/09
I still say that 2.5 quarts of oil used up (burned?) in just 11.5k miles on a car this new is pretty bad. The thing isn't even a year old and it is already consuming oil like a 20 year old clunker.
hola_dan says:
01:02 PM, 06/ 5/09
cool picture.
joefrompa says:
01:22 PM, 06/ 5/09
My 2006 Civic SI consumed one quart every 1500-2000 miles from brand new through 26,000 miles, then it started to slow.
At 66k miles now, it consumes one quart every 5-6k miles.
No problems with the car, and continues to get 28-30 mpg like clockwork.
The G8'll be just fine :)
the_big_al says:
01:30 PM, 06/ 5/09
2.5 qt's doesn't seem to be too bad in 11K miles. My car burns it at about that same rate. I change my oil about every 10K (just did it today actually). My car has 40K on it and if I remember correctly, I added about 2 quarts or so over the last year.
sodaguy says:
03:35 PM, 06/ 5/09
I think the dealer underfilled the crankcase, which would explain why it was 1 qt low shortly after the oil change. Therefore, total oil consumption would only be 1.5 quarts, which isn't bad at all consider how Edmunds editors drive this car.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/12/2008-pontiac-g8-gt-feels-best-at-92-mph.html
kingfish4 says:
06:17 AM, 06/ 6/09
I just did my first oil change in my 09 G8 GT @ 10K miles even though, according to the OnStar report, it would have gone to about 14K miles. In 10K miles mine consumed no oil what so ever. Three days later I received my monthly OnStar report and based on my driving patterns, it is estimated that the next oil change will be due at 25.6K miles.
A few things that I don't care for, as far as the service reminder goes, is that it does not display percentage of oil life left, like my Trailblazer does, and calling OnStar does not help any. Also when you reset the monitor, the computer does not acknowledge that it has been reset.
I did replace the factory fill with synthetic oil, just to err on the side of caution, but with an 8.8 quart oil capacity, the oil will not degrade as quickly as something with a smaller crankcase capacity.
To mazdaspeed, you think that 1.25 quarts per 5K miles is like a 20 year old clunker, just check out the consumtion on ANY Mazda rotary, they burn through the stuff like a two stroke.
rayainsw says:
04:28 PM, 06/ 6/09
If you hold down the enter key while cranking, you'll enter engineering mode where you can see % of oil life remaining - and a few other things...
- Ray
2009 G8 GT @ 8,000 miles & 1 oil change & no oil used....
rod21 says:
06:15 AM, 06/ 7/09
My G8 GT turned 13000 yesterday. I have changed the oil twice. I am old school, I believe in mileage and time oil changes. I change oil every 5000. lack of oil change killed my last car and I am not going to have that happen again. $62 worth of Mobil 1, and AC filter is cheap insurance for me. I am a automotive Tech so do my own.
g8gtnorth says:
10:21 AM, 06/ 7/09
My G8's oil was changed twice over 31k km's. Similar intervals as Edmunds own.
No lost oil in that time.
redwoodaggie says:
12:00 PM, 06/ 8/09
I'm at just a hair under 5K on my G8 GT and the oil still reads full.
fuhteng says:
12:03 PM, 06/11/09
Thank you ray, I had no idea! That was cool to see. 55% left... after 5000 miles. WOW!
kingfish4 says:
05:44 AM, 06/12/09
Thanks Ray, I always wanted to know when the vehicle was running in the 4 cylinder mode too!