Intelligent Oil Life Monitor

[ricomtl]

I got my first oil change 2 weeks ago at 10,500km... the light never came on. The dealer said I should've had it changed at 8,000km as per the windshield sticker reminder I had. I told t hem that the user guide/Ford Canada recommends that it gets changed at every 16,000km or every year. According to him, we shouldn't trust the user manual and always have it changed at every 8,000km and not to wait for the light to come on. He also said - don't trust that monitoring gadget...

Love that "un-trustworthy" feeling when I leave the dealer. Man, some folks at their service dept. should really go on positive reinforcement training. ;-)

[cbdallas]

No, he needs a regional manager to crawl his ass about telling people to disregard their owner's manuals.

Cars are the 2nd largest investment we make in a lifetime (if you buy a house) so it's worth it to be a little pro-active & ask questions. If you don't see a reminder by the time you've driven 10,000 miles...stop by & talk to the service department about it. Your software probably needs an update. I wouldn't push conventional oil (especially factory fill) beyond that. While it's unlikely that it will cause an engine failure, it can accelerate wear.

I changed my oil at 1000 miles and re-set the monitor. I put in Pennzoil Ultra, so I'm not even going to think about it until 11,000 miles. If I don't see a light by then, it's going to the dealer for resolution.

It may be challenging for me to reach 11,000 miles within a year (bought the car in June, it now has 1790 miles on it) but the monitor should remind me at 12 months, or 11,000 miles. It's there for our convenience, and it should be made to work properly.

[TboneZX3]

Originally Posted by mysticbluebmw

All the huge mileage gaps between oil changes now a days is not because of new fangled tech or magical fairy dust....it's marketing hype.

Have you seen used oil analysis reports on current oil technology and compared those from older technology? If you had, you likely wouldn't be making that comment. Short, 3000-mile change intervals advised by oil companies years ago were more "marketing hype" than what is occurring today--for the purpose of selling more oil.

[Hypnotoad]

Originally Posted by TboneZX3

Have you seen used oil analysis reports on current oil technology and compared those from older technology? If you had, you likely wouldn't be making that comment. Short, 3000-mile change intervals advised by oil companies years ago were more "marketing hype" than what is occurring today--for the purpose of selling more oil.

After the Consumer Reports famous oil test on 75 NYC Taxis, I'm surpised people are still pushing that 3000 mile nonsense. CR recommended 7500 miles, and that was over a decade ago.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzep121w/r...stop/id44.html

[NCFocus12]

Modern oils, especially synthetics du jour, do a much better job of keeping the motor clean and staying "intact" for longer intervals in as a general rule, particularly in gas engines. Of course, YMMV.

Any gas car from the last 20 years can easily see 200k and most likely 400k+on 7500 mile intervals. I do my older cars at 5, and anything from the "20 weight" recommendation age I do at 7500.

The amount of bandwidth taken up by oil discussions, in light of the fact that anything other than a Ferrari Enzo or a Peterbilt can live a long, happy life with a 5,000/7,500 oil change interval, could power a small country.

Change your oil at 5k if you do a lot of city driving, 7500 if you've got at least half highway. And if you hardly drive at all, change it every 12 months if you haven't hit those mileages.

[kam327]

FWIW my oil change alert showed up yesterday at 10,250 miles. Right on schedule. I hadn't told the car I'd already changed the oil twice.

[e30og]

never got an indicator light to change oil after I put 34k miles on it. I did have the dealer do the first change at 7500 (I decided that), and I am assuming they reset it because I changed the oil myself, in that interval up to 34k, and never saw the light. 7500-34k, almost 30k miles and no oil light?! I dont trust it at all.

And yes I drove it hard as shizzle. It is important to note that I put that mileage after a year and a half, so its possible maybe it was waiting it out a year? no idea

[walter williams]

My "change oil" notice showed up last week. I have approximately 5000 miles since last oil change three months ago. I had the oil changed last time before the "change oil" notice came on. Did the dealer not reset the "change oil" notice or did he change it to come on in three months (if that is possible)? Or is it possible I actually need an oil change after 5000 miles of 70% highway driving?

[suss6052]

Originally Posted by walter williams

My "change oil" notice showed up last week. I have approximately 5000 miles since last oil change three months ago. I had the oil changed last time before the "change oil" notice came on. Did the dealer not reset the "change oil" notice or did he change it to come on in three months (if that is possible)? Or is it possible I actually need an oil change after 5000 miles of 70% highway driving?

Most likely it was not reset after the previous oil change so the iolm thinks its been 10k+ miles, however no one here knows if it was reset except the dealer at this point if you hadn't reset it as soon as you left the oil change place yourself.

[flingwing1969]

Originally Posted by walter williams

My "change oil" notice showed up last week. I have approximately 5000 miles since last oil change three months ago. I had the oil changed last time before the "change oil" notice came on. Did the dealer not reset the "change oil" notice or did he change it to come on in three months (if that is possible)? Or is it possible I actually need an oil change after 5000 miles of 70% highway driving?

Mine has never come on but I've also never exceeded 10k between changes, usually around 8k. The manual does say to not worry about the mileage between oil changes, to rely upon the monitor. In case the monitor fails to come on, the manual does warn us: "Do not exceed one year or 10,000 miles (16,000 km) between service intervals".