Anybody using Meijers brand Dexos oil?

[Z71]

Dexos is just a GM oil specification. You pay to be on that list.

Many oil companies blend oils but do not market them under their own label. Their business is to sell the dexos1 licensed oil to others (Miejers, Walmart, Fleet Fram, O'Reilly's etc) wanting their own label or brand of their own. You could have one company such as Warren Distribution, Lubricant Technologies, Coastal etc bottling the same licensed dexos1 oil in several private label brands. That's how the private label business works. These reblenders are able to produce large batches which in turn reduces the cost. These companies like Miejers enter into agreements to keep the supplier as proprietary information. So in reality, there could be many oils on shelves with the same oil inside the bottle but different brands on the label.

In other words, commodity oil

Commodity Oil - Oil that is of equal value to a consumer no matter what company produces and markets it, and as such, is available at any discount with little differentiation among brands.

 

[JDgreen227]

ZZ1, excellent post...the Meijers brand Dexos I purchased is made by Warren Distribution.

 

[Copperhead]

Pretty sure you are right in that regard, Meijer's brand blended by Warren. They are blender for a LOT of proprietary label brands.

 

[Copperhead]

Man that is quite the list. I'll bite what is dexos? The base material is different? or the additive package?

It is a combination of the GM 6094M and GM 4718M specs. Most all oils meet one or both. dexos1 main claim to fame is that it mandates a NOACK, or burn off rate, of less than 11%. The API SN spec only requires a max of 13%, so the dexos1 is a tighter spec in that regard. To meet the dexos1 spec, an oil just about has to be at least a synthetic blend. There are very few conventional oils that could meet the NOACK restriction.

It is a good spec, but it is not required. My 2013 Silverado owners manual is quite clear... dexos or equivalent

If the oil claim it meets the dexos1 spec, it probably does, whether it has the official dexos1 splash on the bottle or not. But even within those that meet the spec, there are good, better, and best varieties.

It is great on one level to have so many choices, but it does require a little homework on the owners part to make sure they are getting the best bang for their buck.

 

[JDgreen227]

Copperhead, my GF's older car, a 2011 Malibu with the same 2.4 engine her new Equinox has (engine family wise) also said it required Dexos 1 oil per the manual, but when I joined a Malibu owner's forum and asked if it really needed that spec, several members told me that engine did not actually require Dexos 1, but the manual also said "Or equivalent" as does yours. Have to wonder what GM deems "As equivalent" if you don't use the Dexos oil?

 

[3930dave]

I don't own an affected GM product, but am interested in oil technology.....

JD - probably more than what you want to know can be found at Used Oil Analysis - Bob is the Oil Guy - Bob is the Oil Guy...... just don't drop by there if you have to be anywhere soon..... (lotsa good reading).

Tip - their search indexing still needs work - use google and type "dexos site:bobistheoilguy.com" in google's search box.

Using that search, I found this link to Lubrizol (major additive OE supplier) in a BITOG discussion - that tool will spit out #'s, but also allows you to quickly do a pie chart comparison between various oil standards.

dataStack

Rgds, D.

 

[Copperhead]

JD, by equivalent, I think they mean an oil that at least claims compliance with the dexos spec, even if they are not on the approved list. In commercial, heavy duty stuff, this is the game that is played. The OEM lays out the spec they say their components needs, and it is up to you to make sure you get something that is designed for that spec. Like Diesel oil CJ-4 or Detroit 93K218, or whatever. There are many very good oils that meet the dexos1 spec, but are not on the list. I prefer Schaeffer 9003D 5w30 dexos compliant for my 2013. It is not on the list, but it claims dexos1 compliance and is a great oil and I get it at lower cost because I buy a lot of Schaeffer products for business, so I have them lump in a case of oil for the pickup occasionally when I order. And since Schaeffer has been at the oils game longer than any other company in N. America (since 1839), and that they were given an award last year for one of the top 500 most technologically advanced companies in America, I think they might have put together a good enough oil for my pickup and my commercial stuff.

I realize that some would say that the oil maker could "claim" to meet dexos spec but they don't. That is very true, but thanks to market forces and the Federal Trade Commission, that is not as big a problem as it is made out to be. If a quality name brand oil claims to meet the spec, I would be willing to bet that it does.

 

[Texasmark]

This thread is 2 wks old but I thought I'd throw in my 2c worth. I got a 100k mile power train warranty with my 2011 Silverado. The engine oil has to meet the Dexos spec to maintain the warranty. Mobil 1 is Dexos certified. Mobil 1 is synthetic. I think it goes without saying that to maintain the power train warranty in GM vehicles you use synthetic lubricants in the engine, tranny, and diff. If it weren't for the lube, how is it power train warranties are now 100k instead of 36k? Other than tightening machining tolerances with things like CNC milling machines and using electric controls on shift points and all, the basic machinery is the same pretty much as it was with the shorter warranty.

My 2c,

Mark

 

[Copperhead]

Interesting. My 2013 Silverado manual says dexos or equivalent. True, the dexos spec needs to be adhered to for warranty issues, but there is no mandate that the oil you use is actually on any approved list. Hence the "equivalent" in my owners manual, and yours as well. I have heard that GM dropped the "equivalent" reading with the 2014 vehicles, but I can't confirm that. Any oil that meets the dexos spec is almost going to have to be at least a synthetic blend due to the NOACK burn off limits. Almost any full synthetic is going to have no problem meeting the standard. And since there are always sales on full synthetics going on at any given time, it is probably just as well that folks use full synthetics. The price spread isn't nearly what it was a few years ago. Pick one on the list if you ar motivated to do so, or get a top notch oil that isn't. You should be fine either way.

One oil that really gets high marks at oil specific forums like BITOG is the Pennzoil Ultra synthetic. And there was a study done a while back that tested the film strength under severe loading of various engine oils, and the PU came in at 1st place. I don't use it since I use the Schaeffer products, but if I was buying off the shelf, I would target the PU engine oil. Oh, and it is not on the dexos "approved" list. The Pennzoil Platinum is. But the Pennzoil Ultra has a lot of features that the Platinum does not. One could easily argue it is a better oil.

 

[3930dave]

I follow your point Copperhead, about good quality oils that don't have a particular "certification" in place at a given point in time. Sometimes that only reflects an administrative delay, or that an oil OEM doesn't want to pay a tribute to a car company.

I haven't tracked down the official dexos list, but noted that on the .ca site, Ultra is listed as dexos1 certified in a few viscosities.

Best Synthetic Motor Oil - Pennzoil

Rgds, D.