when this activates? is it odometer miles, or some algorithm that measures contamination, or what? Just had the light come on, it's about 800 miles until I want to change oil. I don't think I'm doing any damage by waiting, but makes me curious what process turns the indicator on. the oil looks normal enough, brownish but not dark brown, certainly not almost clear like when it went in about 5K miles ago.
"Time to change Oil" indicator- what determines when it lights?
HPinOhio
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when this activates? is it odometer miles, or some algorithm that measures contamination, or what? Just had the light come on, it's about 800 miles until I want to change oil. I don't think I'm doing any damage by waiting, but makes me curious what process turns the indicator on. the oil looks normal enough, brownish but not dark brown, certainly not almost clear like when it went in about 5K miles ago.
There's no sensor sampling the oil for you. The computer is calculating the "oil life" based on data....: temperature, how you drive, etc. I would guess it's using the mileage also as a parameter.
I don't think 800 more miles will hurt the engine but 5k on an oil change seem relatively low for the warning... did you reset the oil monitor last time you changed the oil ?
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I believe the 14 has a recommended 7500 mile interval, maybe with all the cold weather this weather and as previously mentioned, your driving style, it was time for some new oil
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The Oil life lite is completely useless on the Focus IMO. I've seen the light come on less the 5 or 6 times in the 2 years I've owned my Focus. I just follow the 5k mile intervals on oil changes and tire rotations.
As per my manual of my 2013, same as the 2014, the recommended interval for my car and 90% of the population of Focus is 16 000 KM which is 10 000 miles. You read that right, 10 000 miles.
PS: I still change my oil every 10k KM.
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Recommendation is actually quite simple.
When the OLM recommends, OR 10k miles/1 year - whichever comes FIRST.
10k/1 yr is mainly a backup recommendation, to cover OLM false resets/issues & cars not used much.
Many DO end up going as far as 10k without the OLM suggesting a change, others go relatively short mileage due to exclusively short trips. One of the factors for a short recommended change is the number of trips taken where the car does NOT fully warm up. That takes longer than just the time to bring the water temp gauge up to normal.
People are very used to scheduling by mileage, and often desire to do it early just to have a schedule to follow.
HP in Ohio - we can't guess if your light is correct or not, no info. given on typical driving or time since last change. It may be way early because not reset last time, or quite accurate due to the actual use of the car. At 5k if you drive locally quite a bit it may be accurate.
When the OLM recommends, OR 10k miles/1 year - whichever comes FIRST.
10k/1 yr is mainly a backup recommendation, to cover OLM false resets/issues & cars not used much.
Many DO end up going as far as 10k without the OLM suggesting a change, others go relatively short mileage due to exclusively short trips. One of the factors for a short recommended change is the number of trips taken where the car does NOT fully warm up. That takes longer than just the time to bring the water temp gauge up to normal.
People are very used to scheduling by mileage, and often desire to do it early just to have a schedule to follow.
HP in Ohio - we can't guess if your light is correct or not, no info. given on typical driving or time since last change. It may be way early because not reset last time, or quite accurate due to the actual use of the car. At 5k if you drive locally quite a bit it may be accurate.
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And therein less the problem with the MK3 OLM. It's a guessing game.
Did the previous owner/tech reset it when they changed the oil?
Did someone reset it witout changing the oil? (No IDS required)
Is the OLM functioning properly?
Write down your mileage and keep records.
Ford still publishes their general oil change recomendations. If anyone thinks the OLM negates these recommendations, go right ahead but I believe these are good guidelines:
Typical driving habits
In general, Ford Motor Company recommends the following oil change schedule:
2008 and newer model-year vehicles: every 7,500 miles or every six months, whichever comes first
Less typical driving habits
Change your oil and filter more often if you have any of the following driving habits:
Towing or carrying heavy loads
Idling extensively or driving at low speeds for long distances
Driving in dusty conditions
Driving off-road frequently
Using E85 fuel more than 50% of the time
When you drive regularly on rugged terrain or in unfavorable conditions, Ford Motor Company recommends an alternate oil change schedule:
2008 and newer model-year vehicles: every 5,000 miles or every six months, whichever comes first
https://owner.ford.com/how-tos/vehicle-features/engine/know-when-to-change-your-engine-oil.html
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On occasion I've found myself in a discussion about oil change cycles with some of the ford technicians i'm around on a day-to-day basis, and commonly they seem to feel that 3,500 miles is best for a 2012+ Focus.
I've always personally treated my focus to a religious cycle of 3,000 mile oil changes, but that's just me.
Edit: 3,500 miles is based on maximum performance, not cost-effective longevity.
I've always personally treated my focus to a religious cycle of 3,000 mile oil changes, but that's just me.
Edit: 3,500 miles is based on maximum performance, not cost-effective longevity.
I have a local service station do my changes, it's cheaper than doing it myself. I don't know if they did the reset last oil change, or not.
I did the reset myself, this time, so it wouldn't trouble the wife-unit until it gets to 5K miles. thanks for all the input. car gets quite a bit of short-trip driving, but I'm inclined to think that the oil change guy simply forgot to re-zero it.
I've always used the OLM in both of my Focus's(and my Explorers and my F-150). with my driving habits it's always come on at 10k miles. If I drove it harder I'm quite confident it would come on earlier. My 2012 has around 120k miles and my 2016 is almost 27k. I figure if Ford, their engineers and their lawyers allow an OLM of 10k then it's probably good for several thousand more than that. It's whatever the owner is comfortable with, many have had analysis done and the data shows there's not much degradation.
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3500 miles?? Holy cow. I would inform them the 1960s are over. They were good times and some bad times, but time for them to let it go.
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I did 5k km on my '95 VR6, seemed about right given the colour of the oil.
Kinda sucks driving a diesel since the oil basically goes black soon after a change.
Coming up to 10k km, manual says 15k km.
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My intention was simply to share, nothing more. I certainly don't want to spark a debate, because oil is an age-old one that just never ends once started.
I edited my original comment stating that 3,500 was for maximum performance and not cost-effective longevity. You're describing a driving style that is clearly aiming toward the cost-effectiveness & longevity side of the spectrum. Nothing wrong with that. Neither of our preferences invalidates the other's.
Also, those tests are always up for interpretation, as it depends entirely upon the style of driving or wear being simulated during the tests.
Just as a point of reference, In pretty much every single style of Motorsport - Indy car racing, drag racing, formula one racing, rally cross racing etc...Oil is a single-race use.
Point is, it all depends on how you drive.
I was referring to owners sending their oil to be tested.
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Don't you love oil change threads?
They are like the Energizer Bunny... They just keep going and going and going..
Someone HAS to toss in the 'synthetic' lengthened oil change intervals..
Then filter brands, and someone surely has to suggest Aimsoil [hah] [bash]
Lucky for me I knew the oil change monitor is a POS, which I reset, but then totally ignore as the POS it is.
I change my oil when I want to, with the juice I like to use. According to my own lights.
[cheers]
They are like the Energizer Bunny... They just keep going and going and going..
Someone HAS to toss in the 'synthetic' lengthened oil change intervals..
Then filter brands, and someone surely has to suggest Aimsoil [hah] [bash]
Lucky for me I knew the oil change monitor is a POS, which I reset, but then totally ignore as the POS it is.
I change my oil when I want to, with the juice I like to use. According to my own lights.
[cheers]
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Oh hey, I'm fine with it. They want to change oil every 500 miles; it's fine with me as long as they aren't doing it in my driveway or garage.
And at one time, 3500 mile oil drain intervals were well within the norm. But as we've progressed through the decades and SAE service specifications (what are we up to now SN?), the engines don't need it as frequently, and the oil can handle longer intervals.
Just out of curiosity, what do most performance vehicles (Mustang Shelby variants, Corvette, Hellcat, etc.) recommend for intervals these days?
I think their intervals are roughly the same but their oil capacity is much larger. I believe the 5.0 in the Mustang takes 8.5 qts or so. The dry sump in the vette takes 10 qts.
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You're trying to argue that oil doesn't need to be changed as frequently as every 3,500 miles, which is fine, except no one ever said it needed to be.
Needing to change the oil is very different from changing oil at the first realistic wear point of the oil. I made it very clear that 3,500 miles was not a cost-effective oil change interval.
You're right that we've progressed to the point where oil can handle longer intervals, which is why 3,500 miles is now the earliest point at which any sign of realistic wear can be found.
It's not like I ever suggested that everyone should be doing 3,000 mile or 3,500 mile oil changes... It would be ludicrous to imagine a world where everyone threw away their bananas at the first sign of brown spots, wouldn't it?
But as for me, personally? I'll throw away my bananas whenever I damn well please.
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