Micra Oil Change (easy DIY / How to / oil filter part numbers)

[aftica]

Good news for DIY's, an oil change is real easy on the Micra.

At stock height, a regular floor jack slides under the central cross member easily. If the car is lowered you might need to roll up on a couple pieces of 2x6.

The 14mm drain plug is easy to reach and drains completely without making a mess. (oil doesn't run all over the pan when flow slows down)

You will need the smallest oil filter wrench of the three sizes commonly available. The Crap Tire filter is MPH 6607. It's just a tiny hair shorter than the Nissan filter.

If you crack the filter slowly and let it drain, no oil will touch the engine, but it is an easy wipe if you unscrew it too quick and get oil on things.

Careful pulling the dip stick or you get a drop or two flicking randomly. The alternator is right there, so that is likely where the drips will end up LOL.

I couldn't for the life of me get a good reading on the dip stick, so I ended up just pouring in the recommended 3.5L and calling it good.

The Micra has the room to accommodate a longer filter, if anyone knows what it is, please advise. Forgot to ask at parts counter.

EDIT:
The stock size filter in Fram, with X reference chart part #6607
The longer size filter in Fram, with X reference chart part#7317

EDIT: Add pic of longer filter. Also, with the lower springs in I now have to roll up on pieces of 2x6 (two high) in order to get jack under cross member. This also allows enough height to change without jacking up.

[hyedegha]

Did you do your oil change already? if so how many km on your car? what grade of oil did you use (what is it called for, I have not read the manual yet :+)

Thank you.

[hyedegha]

Aftica also trying to get my hands on repair manual for this vehicle. if anyone has any leads please let me know ..thank you.
One thing I noticed on my basic radio (cd and mp3 player with aux in) you can see bluetooth logo and the telephone ...so do they use the same deck for bluetooth handsfree ? does that mean I just need to find the module that would fit? also if that is the case maybe back of the deck has usb input for extension cable? just putting the info out there (hint wink wink)??

[MetroMPG]

aftica - thanks for the oil change notes.

Are you following the recommended oil change interval, or doing an early change for peace of mind?

[aftica]

Did you do your oil change already? if so how many km on your car? what grade of oil did you use (what is it called for, I have not read the manual yet :+)

Thank you.

aftica - thanks for the oil change notes.

Are you following the recommended oil change interval, or doing an early change for peace of mind?

Hey guys, the car has ~2400KM and i'm using the recommended 5W30. I just use cheap CT oil and change frequently. Usually, I would drive the first 1000K a little harder and then change oil, but I got distracted/lazy and just drove the car normally. The oil was still very light amber on the stick, but dark in the drain pan.

[Charb]

My Micra just passed the 5000km, so I called the dealer this week to take an appointment for the oil change and they told me that frequency for the oil change is at 8000km!!??? I found it hard to believe and I insisted but again he told me that with this new generation of motor you don't have to do it at each 4000-5000km. I dont like the idea so im thinking of doing it myself but will that affect the warranty???

[AlphaMicra]

There are a lot of similarities between my new Micra and my old one when it comes to oil changes.

First, a jack isn't required if the car hasn't been lowered. I can easily slide a large oil drain pan under the drain plug and oil filter without needing to raise the car. I can easily reach both the drain bolt and the oil filter without raising the car. The bottom of the oil pan is sloped where the bolt enters to facilitate draining without needing to raise the front of the car.

Second, my old Micra required 2.8L of oil, and the new one requires 3.5L of oil. Both are odd numbers, and both make using the convenience 4L and 4.4L bottles of oil impractical. With the old Micra, I'd simply use three 1L bottles of oil; the extra 0.2L didn't seem to hurt anything. It looks like I'll be using 1L bottles again, but this time I'll need to split a bottle between oil changes.

I've passed 2,800km, but I think it's too soon to change the oil. It's my understanding that it's important to follow the manufacturer's recommendation on this, due to the fact that some use a special oil for the factory fill, and changing it too soon may negate some of the benefits of keeping it in for the prescribed period of time. It's possible this isn't the case with the Micra; in any case, my salesman says 5,000km, the Midway Nissan recommended car maintenance schedule says 6,000km, and the official 2015 service and maintenance guide for Canadian Micras says to do the first oil change at 8,000km or 6 months, whichever comes first. From that, I deduce that the dealership can make more money by convincing me to get my oil changed at 5,000-6,000km, but that 8,000km or 6 months is probably the absolute longest I should leave the factory fill in there. I think going by how the engine oil looks should determine whether it's going to happen at 6,000km, 7,000km, or 8,000km.

[aftica]

Like Alpha mentioned, you could change the oil without jacking up the car, but for me, I find it good to have a better look around at oil change time.
I've always been a big believer in frequent oil changes, my last daily driver had oil changes at 3-5K and never burned a drop of oil... still runs perfect and smooth as silk with just over 400K. That was a clunky, low reving 2.2L motor... our somewhat higher strung, free reving 1.6L will appreciate frequent oil changes even more.

The dealer recommends less frequent oil changes because that is what the customer wants to hear (low maintenance!) and you can usually get away with it for 1 or 200K at which point most people have long since dumped the car anyway. If you plan on lots of KM's change the oil often. IMO

[AlphaMicra]

Some related links:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/top-...motor-oil.html
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop...-your-oil.html
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle6629423/

[aftica]

Thanks for those links Alpha. Edmunds loves to be contrarian and wants to bust myths...but most of that stuff is actually ok, only because most people don't bother to run their cars past 100 or 150 or 200k and that's no myth! lol!