Hey, all,

Enjoying a new 2017 Citadel (thought I'd miss the hemi - had one on my 2012 Crew - but am making due with the v6 coupled with the 8 speed transmission - dare say I really like it!).

Anyway, a few questions for everyone...

1) there's a picture on the "capless" fuel tank door that shows some sort of funnel on the vehicle...presumably if in an emergency one needs to fuel from a gas can...but I can't find the funnel...does anyone know where it is SUPPOSED to be?...is it in with the Jack? I didn't see when I initially checked to see if there was a jack in the vehicle.

2) do dealers over-inflate tires for a reason? Tires are set to ~39 PSI cold all around...door panel says cold 33 PSI fronts and cold 36PSI rears for the 20" tires on the vehicle. I always go by the door panel. Any comments are appreciated.

3) on the topic of first service/oil change tire rotation - the maintenance schedule in the manual starts at 20K miles...and says oil changes should not go longer than 10K miles between. My dealer says 10K miles...even for the rotation. I'd feel more comfortable changing the oil /rotating at the 4-5K mark alternating tire rotations every other. Any thoughts if this frequency is necessary for "normal" driving conditions?

My Best!

Craig

 

On another brand of vehicle with the capless fuel fill system the funnel was in with the spare tire in the trunk. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in with the jack and tools. Have you checked the owner's manual to see where it says it should be?

Even these days (after the whole Ford Explorer tire media blitz) it seems there are still more people that go off the tire sidewall inflation numbers than the door panel. It doesn't surprise me one bit that your tires are over inflated. It might even be something they do for cars that sit on the lot to avoid the chance of the TPMS warning coming on during a test drive. It's too bad the customer delivery checklist doesn't include properly inflating per the door sticker.

This certainly wouldn't be the first case of a buyer knowing more about what they are purchasing/have purchased than the dealer selling it. I'd go by what's in the maintenance schedule rather than what the dealer verbally said. And as far as doubling the frequency of oil changes, you're just wasting your money and killing more polar bears. You might change the oil early for the first oil change, but long term I'd stick with the recommended 10k interval. If you're really struggling to be comfortable with a 10k interval you could take an oil sample at 5k and send it in to Blackstone labs for a Used Oil Analysis. I've never done it, but from what I've heard from others who have, it's around $30 per sample and the report you get back is pretty thorough and would help you determine if a 5k interval is warranted. Dodge has a lot more to lose than you do by going unreasonably long between oil changes since they warranty that engine, so there's probably even margin in that 10k interval as long as you use oil of the same specification they list.

-Rod

 

Thanks for the input, Rod.

I did briefly look into the jack/spare tire storage...but I was looking for the jack...which I saw clearly...this was before I realized I'm supposed to have a funnel in there too. I'll look again when I get home.

The oil test is a good idea and I'll keep that in my back pocket... However, I'm thinking I do 5K for the first oil change/rotation...then 10K...and keep to every +10k thereafter...unless the change oil light tells me something earlier...or the forum overwhelmingly "screams" at me to heed more compelling input of a different nature.

 

It has been my experience over the years that car manufacturers under inflate the tires. I trust the tire maker engineers to specify the correct pressure range and go by the recommendations on the sidewall, not the vehicle.

On commercial motor vehicles for example the tires on the Volvo I drive (tire size 445/50R22.5) Volvo recommended 105psi but I kept mine at 120psi per Michelin specs. Identical Volvos with the wide base tires I have (inflated to 105psi) would always wear unevenly and needed to be replaced earlier than mine at 120psi.

I've also found if you ask 100 people about tire pressure you'll get 110 different answers.

As long as you're in the range of what the tire manufacturer recommends you'll be fine.

roog

 

you should inflate the tires 2psi higher than the placard recommendation. if you live in cold climates the temp change will cause the tpm warning light to come on, then go out later when the tires warm up.

If you run nitrogen the dealer probably set then all at 39 so they don't have to touch the pressures after tire rotation. no bay, other than the n2 machine has nitrogen supplied to it...so if the tech needs to change pressures....your getting shop air.

5000km oil and 10000 tire rotation is perfect. if you go 10000 oil change, your asking for it. I don't care what any oil testing lab says. Oil gets dirty at 10000k and it will remain in suspension and circulate. oil filters do not filter everything. vvt actuators have fine mesh screens...don't plug them up. GM learned their lesson with extended oil changes and have changed the olm algorithm. Manufacturers want to promote maintenance free vehicles. This is your engine, keep it clean and protect it or kill it by saving $40 for a oil change. You better believe the high oil change interval and oil consumption go hand in hand.

I did a cummins oil change today. the company goes 15000kilometer on full synthetic oil. the oil level when it came in was below the dipstick.

I have a 2000 pu with 366000 kilometers on the original engine.. 5-6k oil changes. It burns no oil.

 

Tire manufacturers assign sidewall tire pressures based on what the tire can withstand under load, not based on the handling characteristics of the vehicle they are installed on (since ideally their tires will be installed on several different models). The tire inflation numbers on the door placard are based on the weight bias of the vehicle and desired handling characteristics of the vehicle. If you just go off the sidewall number, you could end up with tires on one end or even both ends of the vehicle having a lot smaller contact patch than you want for safe handling on wet roads, etc.

-Rod