Oil life monitor - - - trust it?
February 4th, 2009, 9:47 AM
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Oil life monitor - - - trust it?
Hi. Forum newbie here. As most people probably are, my family is currently looking for some ways to curb spending until the economy recovers a bit. I have religiously changed the oil in all my vehicles every 3,000 miles ever since I started driving back in the 80's. My 2007 Silverado just crossed the 3,000 mile mark since the last oil change, but the oil life monitor in the DIC still shows 60% oil life.
Do you guys (and gals) trust those monitors? Or do you stick with the tried and true 3,000 mile plan? FYI, my driving is probably 70% at speed on interstate, 30% stop & go in town. I'm in Memphis, TN, so there aren't really harsh environmental conditions to deal with either.
Just curious. I've always wanted to believe the onboard monitors, but I've never known exactly how they work. Thoughts?
Do you guys (and gals) trust those monitors? Or do you stick with the tried and true 3,000 mile plan? FYI, my driving is probably 70% at speed on interstate, 30% stop & go in town. I'm in Memphis, TN, so there aren't really harsh environmental conditions to deal with either.
Just curious. I've always wanted to believe the onboard monitors, but I've never known exactly how they work. Thoughts?
Last edited by Vol4Ever; February 4th, 2009 at 9:49 AM. Reason: typo correction
February 4th, 2009, 1:57 PM
#2
My vote would be 3k oil changes. Personally, I'm more worried about flushing dirt and impurities, than with the "life" of the oil.
If you don't run high revs, and your oil doesn't get that dirty at 3k, maybe a slight increase in the change interval would be in order, say to 4.5k or even 5k. This would still be a planned interval. I would have an issue with trusting a monitoring system to make this decision for me. For one, what if a sensor fails to give you a reading properly? For another, the oil is doing damage every mile after the monitors tell you to change it. Can you drop everything and change it right away every time?
IMO, find other ways to save money. If you scrap your aluminum cans yourself, that's about what it takes to buy an oil change.
If you don't run high revs, and your oil doesn't get that dirty at 3k, maybe a slight increase in the change interval would be in order, say to 4.5k or even 5k. This would still be a planned interval. I would have an issue with trusting a monitoring system to make this decision for me. For one, what if a sensor fails to give you a reading properly? For another, the oil is doing damage every mile after the monitors tell you to change it. Can you drop everything and change it right away every time?
IMO, find other ways to save money. If you scrap your aluminum cans yourself, that's about what it takes to buy an oil change.
February 4th, 2009, 8:38 PM
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Are you running synthetic or regular oil?
GM didn't come up with the oil life system if they didn't think it had value.
The consensus I have gotten from reading various articles is that if you use synthetic follow the OLMS if you use regular oil change it at 50% life.
I use Mobil 1 and have been getting about 7500K out oil changes using the OLMS (Oil Life Monitoring System)
Changing your oil based on its performance is the best way, if the oil is still clear at 3k the you still have life left in it, if its opaque its getting close to needing to be changed. If its black you've waited too long.
GM didn't come up with the oil life system if they didn't think it had value.
The consensus I have gotten from reading various articles is that if you use synthetic follow the OLMS if you use regular oil change it at 50% life.
I use Mobil 1 and have been getting about 7500K out oil changes using the OLMS (Oil Life Monitoring System)
Changing your oil based on its performance is the best way, if the oil is still clear at 3k the you still have life left in it, if its opaque its getting close to needing to be changed. If its black you've waited too long.
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Inari (August 17th, 2022)
February 5th, 2009, 12:26 PM
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I stick to mileage changes not the monitor in my truck. But if you change your oil every 3K you are wasting your money big time. Regular will get you 7K easy and synthetic will go 10-15K even if you live in harsh conditions. If you dont believe me check your manual or call Royal Purple or Amsoil. Better yet check your dipstick at 3K and Ill guarantee you your oil is still brown.
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Inari (August 17th, 2022)
February 6th, 2009, 4:11 PM
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2 trucks ago, I inherited a company truck that had been driven by an abuser. Oil changes on conventional oil were, whenever she remembered. I was told that she once took it over 10,000 miles. The truck never used any oil even to 100,000 miles when I got rid of it.
You can run modern conventional oil much longer than 3000 miles That number was a ploy to get you in for an oil change more often. Unless you are always driving on gravel or dirt roads, or your drives are short enough not to warm up the engine (shorter than say, 10 minutes), you can run to 5000 miles.
My wife's van barely makes 8000 miles a year. I change it twice a year, once at Thanksgiving, and once right after winter, about April. At 85000, the van uses no oil and runs fine. Why less than 5000 miles? Most of what we need is within 5 miles of home, so the van does not warm up each time it is taken out.
If you aren't sure, send in your oil for analysis to Blackstone laboratories. They will tell you if it needs changed or not.
You can run modern conventional oil much longer than 3000 miles That number was a ploy to get you in for an oil change more often. Unless you are always driving on gravel or dirt roads, or your drives are short enough not to warm up the engine (shorter than say, 10 minutes), you can run to 5000 miles.
My wife's van barely makes 8000 miles a year. I change it twice a year, once at Thanksgiving, and once right after winter, about April. At 85000, the van uses no oil and runs fine. Why less than 5000 miles? Most of what we need is within 5 miles of home, so the van does not warm up each time it is taken out.
If you aren't sure, send in your oil for analysis to Blackstone laboratories. They will tell you if it needs changed or not.
February 6th, 2009, 9:13 PM
#6
it's all good, but let's put some science into it, instead opinions.
(btw, my son's 1994 Corolla manual said change oil ONCE A YEAR. period. that's 94, mind you)
anyways, go here:
http://www.zag.si/~jank/public/bmw/oil_bible.pdf
and read it. ain't gonna cost you a penny. takes some half an hour. Then, make your educated decision. Has to be YOUR decision, not granpa's or some forum guy. got to be comfortable with it.
on my end - 15 000 miles changes on Amsoil, 10 000 on Royal Purple. I always flush with flush oil. my wife's lexus does not even darken Amsoil after 12 000 miles. Just mid caramel color.
(btw, my son's 1994 Corolla manual said change oil ONCE A YEAR. period. that's 94, mind you)
anyways, go here:
http://www.zag.si/~jank/public/bmw/oil_bible.pdf
and read it. ain't gonna cost you a penny. takes some half an hour. Then, make your educated decision. Has to be YOUR decision, not granpa's or some forum guy. got to be comfortable with it.
on my end - 15 000 miles changes on Amsoil, 10 000 on Royal Purple. I always flush with flush oil. my wife's lexus does not even darken Amsoil after 12 000 miles. Just mid caramel color.
February 7th, 2009, 5:28 PM
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A good point to remember is if your vehicle is under warranty follow the recommended schedule regardless of what you read here or on the web.
GM's warranty does cover the OLSM so changing at 12k miles is fine IF you get that from the oil life system, but if the system recommends you change it then you should as it is based on your driving habits.
Once you are out of warrant like the above poster stated go with what you feel is best for your situation, I do agree that 12k is not unreasonable for synthetic oils, nor is 5-6k for regular oil but keep in mind the driving environment and habits.
GM's warranty does cover the OLSM so changing at 12k miles is fine IF you get that from the oil life system, but if the system recommends you change it then you should as it is based on your driving habits.
Once you are out of warrant like the above poster stated go with what you feel is best for your situation, I do agree that 12k is not unreasonable for synthetic oils, nor is 5-6k for regular oil but keep in mind the driving environment and habits.
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Inari (August 17th, 2022)
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February 11th, 2009, 11:29 AM
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The system does monitor parameters such as the number of cold starts, average engine temp, mileage driven, oil sump level, rpms, etc. It does not actually test the quality of the oil. I think Mercedes has a system that does do this. Having said that, sure you can trust it, but its not 100% accurate. I tend to change mine every 3-5,000 miles as I am off-road quite a bit. If you are driving in dusty/dirty conditions, change it more regularly. If you are just cruising the city/highways, follow the life monitor. Also, just check your oil once in a while and go by the color. If its dark/dirty, change it. If its still brown (caramel) its still good.
February 11th, 2009, 11:38 AM
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I think GM has spent some time on this OLM system to know that it must work. Both of my chevys have a 100,000 mile warr on the drivetrain. I will trust the OLM and oils have come along way over the years. I do not keep anything over a 100,000 miles anyway.