605 HP oil change now 6 months

[tom chelbana]

At our PDI on our 18 LA we were told that Cummins now requires oil to be changed every 6 months on their 18 X15 605. This sounded a big change from previous engines so I called and after giving our serial number the Cummins rep. said yes the 18 X15 now requires oil changes every 6 months or 20K miles. Going to be going through a lot of oil in 18 with that information. It could also be on the 500 and the 450 engines for 18.

[JC2]

Originally Posted by tom chelbana

At our PDI on our 18 LA we were told that Cummins now requires oil to be changed every 6 months on their 18 X15 605. This sounded a big change from previous engines so I called and after giving our serial number the Cummins rep. said yes the 18 X15 now requires oil changes every 6 months or 20K miles. Going to be going through a lot of oil in 18 with that information. It could also be on the 500 and the 450 engines for 18.

And the reason they gave for this wanting this was .....?????

[Mekanic]

I'd be very tempted to ask just as to what makes this engine so different that it would need such a different change schedule.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by tom chelbana

At our PDI on our 18 LA we were told that Cummins now requires oil to be changed every 6 months on their 18 X15 605. This sounded a big change from previous engines so I called and after giving our serial number the Cummins rep. said yes the 18 X15 now requires oil changes every 6 months or 20K miles. Going to be going through a lot of oil in 18 with that information. It could also be on the 500 and the 450 engines for 18.

Not the first time Tom. Cummins maintenance schedule for the 2013 ISX called out 6 months. If you look back at the 2010 specs the interval was 12 months.

[BBelanger]

I did my 6,000 mile checkup at a Spartan/Cummins shop in El Paso. They told me no oil change until 15,000 miles on my engine.
BTW, excellent service. Just so happens I had the FL chassis last year and was in El Paso again at 6,000 miles. The FL facility was night/day compared to the Spartan place. The service was just as good I would say but the Spartan facility was very upscale, definitely geared more toward motorhomes, and treated you quite differently. Excellent customer lounge with TV internet etc. When lunch time came around, they brought us pizza from the local place, company policy.

[RVPioneer]

A couple of choices here:
Follow the manufacturers recommendation
Don't follow the manufacturers recommendation.

[Ricci]

Hi - The Cummins web page for RV engines gives this information. The page for truck engines shows the 6 month interval. Did notice that the fuel filter is moved to 6 months.
Tom
X15 For Motorhomes (2017)

Maintenance

Maintenance Item Miles/Kilometers Hours Months
Oil and Filter 15,000 MI 24,000 KM 500 12
Fuel Filter 15,000 MI 24,000 KM 500 6
Overhead Adjustment 150,000 MI 240,000 KM 5,000 48

[Ken Gluckman]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Hi - The Cummins web page for RV engines gives this information. The page for truck engines shows the 6 month interval. Did notice that the fuel filter is moved to 6 months.
Tom
X15 For Motorhomes (2017)

Maintenance

Maintenance Item Miles/Kilometers Hours Months
Oil and Filter 15,000 MI 24,000 KM 500 12
Fuel Filter 15,000 MI 24,000 KM 500 6
Overhead Adjustment 150,000 MI 240,000 KM 5,000 48

Where did you find that? Everything I can find on the Cummins site says 6 months, even for RVs.

For example, this page (while not for the X15 specifically) says 6 months:

Top 5 Tips to Prepare Your RV for Travel Season

I'd love to see Cummins info that says I only have to change the oil once a year. I'm glad you located it. Please provide a link.

[DSL417]

Sounds like a CYA for their engine warrantee...or...a way to enhance sales and profit at the Cummins service centers. For the ISX, your talking $1200+ a year for oil changes for an ISX engine...really. Speedco likely to pick up some business.

It would be nice if they spent as much effort getting the word out on TSBs for Cummins and Onan that they seem to have no way or desire to keep us informed.

[Ricci]

Hi Ken - The URL is https://cumminsengines.com/cummins-e...for-motorhomes Just pick your engine from the list. I really think whoever answered Tom's question was looking at the truck recommendations. I am confused by the 6 month change out time for fuel filters on the X but still 12 months for the L. Fuel usage per hour isn't that much higher for the X so is it a typo or is there something about the X fuel delivery system?
BTW - The EPA 13 ISX did require oil changes at 6 months.

Tom

[C.Martin]

Ouch!

I wonder if you can sell partially used oil?

Does Cummins give you an option of having it Lab tested to extend the 6 month service interval.

That seems a bit onerous.

[JMonroe]

I've posted on this subject before. Same recommendation for the 2017.

April through October is where we'll put the lion's share of miles on our coach, this last year about 10k miles. November to April, maybe 1k miles. I have a problem throwing away 14 gallons of perfectly good oil with only 1k miles of use. I spoke to folks at Cummins shop that does our annual service and they agreed, claimed they had no knowledge of the 6 month schedule. Of course I am careful not to let the engine idle anymore than absolutely necessary and I don't start it unless we're going someplace. There is no way you'll get everything up to full operating temps long enough to purge contaminants by starting and running in place for 30 to 60 minutes, you have to get it out on the road.

I've chosen to stick to my annual service schedule, done each October, at the end of our active season, and leave it at that. In the unlikely event of an engine failure it's highly unlikely they'd be able to show my "lax" maintenance schedule as a cause.

Yup, livin' on the edge.

[MD-Keith]

Sounds like major league over-kill. I had a boat with twin 750 Volvo diesels. Boat engines work 50x harder than RV or truck engines, though obviously with fewer running hours. Pretty much like driving a truck up Pikes Peak at 25mph in first gear.

My Volvo mechanics changed the oil once a year for a decade. Never even considered anything else and never had the slightest hint of a problem. I'm sticking with 12 months or 12k miles.

[Ken Gluckman]

Originally Posted by Ricci

Hi Ken - The URL is https://cumminsengines.com/cummins-e...for-motorhomes Just pick your engine from the list. I really think whoever answered Tom's question was looking at the truck recommendations. I am confused by the 6 month change out time for fuel filters on the X but still 12 months for the L. Fuel usage per hour isn't that much higher for the X so is it a typo or is there something about the X fuel delivery system?
BTW - The EPA 13 ISX did require oil changes at 6 months.

Tom

Thanks for the great info. Using the URL as a starting point, I located a pdf from Cummins with the same information. I downloaded it and will keep it in case they later decide to change the web page info. You can find it at:

https://cumminsengines.com/brochure-...rochureid=1436