I've been doing oil changes in my cars for more than 20 year. I think that there are benefits to doing them yourself as you know what's going into the vehicle and that everything is tight when you finish the job. (my friend went to a lube place and they didn't tighten her drain plug properly - needless to say she needed a tow and some motor work) Of course, going to a reputable oil service center has it's advantages in terms of speed, convenience, and in some cases a relatively low cost.
I changed my Acadia's oil for the first time and here's what I found. First, finding an oil filter was difficult (I'm sure it would have been easy if I purchased one from GM). I checked Fram's website and was pleasently surprised that they had a listing for the new Acadia, which was PH10060. However, that filter isn't stocked at Walmart. I checked Advanced Auto and couldn't find it on their shelves either. When I provided the Fram #, the employee recalled seeing a new shipment in the back and sure enough, it was the filter I needed.
As for the oil change itself, it was anything but fun. It was somewhat hard to reach, but managable. The problem was that it was locked on the vehicle. I had to try 3 different oil wrenches to get it off. The limited space didn't allow much room for movement so you're looking at maybe inch at a time turns. The standard tight-fitting wrench (that fits on the end of a rachet wrench) that works on my Fram filters was just a hair to big to fit the AC Delco Filter. I have a wrap-around oil filter wrench that looks somewhat like a lobster claw in terms of the inner prongs that lock onto the filter. I've had the wrench for years and I completely demolished the wrench. I snapped a retainer pin off and bent the wrench real bad. I finally got it off by placing a drill bit between the filter and the wrench to provide added tension. I probably spent 45 minutes trying to get the filter off. I'm not sure if the factory over-tightened the filter or if they didn't run a bead of oil around the gaskey prior to installation.
My recommendation is to have your GM dealer do your first oil change. That was you can be sure that they have the right filter in stock. Thereafter, consider doing it yourself or taking it to your favorite lube place. It definitely wasn't worth doing the first one yourself. Just ask my wife who kept calling me in for dinner.
I changed my Acadia's oil for the first time and here's what I found. First, finding an oil filter was difficult (I'm sure it would have been easy if I purchased one from GM). I checked Fram's website and was pleasently surprised that they had a listing for the new Acadia, which was PH10060. However, that filter isn't stocked at Walmart. I checked Advanced Auto and couldn't find it on their shelves either. When I provided the Fram #, the employee recalled seeing a new shipment in the back and sure enough, it was the filter I needed.
As for the oil change itself, it was anything but fun. It was somewhat hard to reach, but managable. The problem was that it was locked on the vehicle. I had to try 3 different oil wrenches to get it off. The limited space didn't allow much room for movement so you're looking at maybe inch at a time turns. The standard tight-fitting wrench (that fits on the end of a rachet wrench) that works on my Fram filters was just a hair to big to fit the AC Delco Filter. I have a wrap-around oil filter wrench that looks somewhat like a lobster claw in terms of the inner prongs that lock onto the filter. I've had the wrench for years and I completely demolished the wrench. I snapped a retainer pin off and bent the wrench real bad. I finally got it off by placing a drill bit between the filter and the wrench to provide added tension. I probably spent 45 minutes trying to get the filter off. I'm not sure if the factory over-tightened the filter or if they didn't run a bead of oil around the gaskey prior to installation.
My recommendation is to have your GM dealer do your first oil change. That was you can be sure that they have the right filter in stock. Thereafter, consider doing it yourself or taking it to your favorite lube place. It definitely wasn't worth doing the first one yourself. Just ask my wife who kept calling me in for dinner.