OK - so I got myself a 2010 Silverado with GM's Oil Life Monitor. I have always changed the oil at the dealership according to the OLM with conventional 5W-30 oil.

So this summer my wife got a 2015 Equinox that specifies Dexos oil. Well not the type to spend a whole lot of time thinking about service intervals, I got to wondering about this Dexos specification. Well it turns out that GM went to this due to Variable Valve Timing, and the engine oil actually does the work in moving the cam to different positions.

Well, I got to thinking that MY truck has VVT, and from 2011 and up Siverados were spec'd for Dexos oil for this reason.

Sadly my truck was left out.

So my question is this: do vehicles that have the Dexos specification have a different OLM algorithm than the algorithm for convention oil trucks?

and if they do, can I re-flash my OLM so that it reflects the fact that I am using a upgraded oil?

 

I would just ask the dealer about this. If it can be done, I'd ask them to do it free, after all you have two GM vehicles, and appear to be a regular customer.

 

I use max life its Valvoline version of gm dexos in both my 2008 Silverado and my 2011 Malibu one got 93 k other got 100k no troubles at all

 

don't not extend the oil change interval just because your using full synthetic oil. the extended mileage that the olm encourage is bad imo. I don't go over 6000kilometers on regular oil. I see people come in at 10000 its black like tar.

there is no reprogramming other than the stock programming for your year and model that a dealership can do. they won't put programming from another year into your ecm.

 

I've always believed that time is just as important as mileage when deciding when to change oil. My other belief is that oil is a heckuva lot cheaper than engine work.

My 06 BMW had an oil life management feature, but it was still necessary to change the oil at least once per year irrespective of mileage or type of driving.

 

Well to put some sort of line under all this - here is what I've decided to do.

As in my original post - I'm not the type to keep looking at the odometer. The OLM is great for a guys like me - I'll just keep changing the oil when it tells me to - even with the synthetics.

I'm going to stay with synthetics because:

• I now realize that I should be running something up to the Dexos spec.
• Winters get cold here where in live in Canada with a least one -40°C night, and sometimes a week of severe weather.
• Summers are often hot - with at least 2 weeks of +30°C
• I live in the GTA which means a lot of stop and go driving.
• I often trailer my boat and transport heavy loads long distances (it is a pickup truck)
• I'd like to get another 5 years out of the truck. With the odometer now sitting at 198,000km, that means I'm looking at a possible 400,000km before trade.

Still don't know if there is any difference in the OLM algorithm between a Dexos engine and a non Dexos engine, but I found out today that GM changed the part number for the oil filter for my truck - which always means there was an engineering change - and most likely to deal with the Dexos spec change.

 

more power to you. not for me. I don't expect to change your view. IMO, 10 000m intervals are a risk.

gm updated the olm programming on the 3.6L engines that were stretching timing chains.

oil consumption and afm lifter failures were plentiful on the 08- 09 pickups.

only so much crud can be carried in oil suspension, filters are do not filter 100%.


so you have afm lifters and vvt camshaft actuators that are oil pressure dependant. ever see the size of the actuators filter screens? Doesn't take much to crud them up.
When I look at the service history and oil in the engines that come in for this repair...guess when they change their oil?

I don't care what oil analysis says...there were never these problems when following the 5000km interval. Manufacturers want to promote service free vehicles.

5000+ for an engine $50 for an oil change. All you save in one year on oil changes is $100.

driving in the gta, you should be following the severe maintenance schedule.


if your dealership recommends an fuel system/ air induction intake cleaning service on your di equinox; do it.

 

I just want to add another thought: I'm on this forum because my truck is more than an appliance to me, it's a hobby. I bet this applies to lots of the other members as well.

I enjoy working on the truck, including changing the oil and filter, doing chassis greasing, and all the other jobs involved in maintaining it. It's the hobby. As part of it, I keep a file of all the work I've done, the receipts for parts, and any service receipts. i've found that this sure pays off when it's time to move on and sell the vehicle. Maybe it doesn't cost more at all.

Having said all that, I recognize that for some, time is more limited than it is for me, so it might not be as easy for others.

 

Well it might be hard for some of you to believe - but up to a year ago I was using the cheapest gas (Ultramar) and conventional oil.

Then my wife got this SUV with that dang Dexos on the oil filler cap...

Now I'm running Top Tier gas (Petro-Canada) and full synthetic oil (Castro Edge)

Whether this makes my truck run any better or longer remains to be seen, but it has been quite the learning experience...

 

just fyi dexo isn't a full synthetic, and I think it was already mentioned but there has been bulletins issued for the 3.6s and 2.4s to reprogram the ecm and shorten the OLM for timing chain issues. I've seen the monitors go as far as 12k and I've heard about engines failing because the monitors had issues and didn't show 0% until 34k. Computers are great...when they work right. I personally will never go over 5k and that's the highest interval we recommend at the shop no matter what oil or filter you use