Oil Life monitor

[Whale]

Any thoughts on trusting the oil life monitor? The monitor reads 55% but coming up on 3K miles, conventional oil, 09 LTZ 2.4 cyl almost 90K miles.

Thanks

[Drunken Elvis]

There are already threads here that deal with oil changes and the OLM. People's opinions vary greatly on the subject as you will find if you read them. Most people change their oil before the OLM tells them to. See the "oil change poll". http://www.chevymalibuforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=10429

[Malo83]

I don't use it, 5K oil changes with synthetic

[cp-the-nerd]

You shouldn't be changing your oil every 3,000 miles unless you drive a 20 year old vehicle. Going 5k-6k miles is fine, just check the dipstick every few thousand to make sure you're good to go.

[velocity5]

Lots of opinions on this subject. I go by my OLM. I switched to Royal Purple and use K&N filters after the break in. I have not had to add any oil between changes. RP says you can go 10,000 with a premium filter but not to do it if you are under warranty. A co worker of mine is going 10k on his hemi Ram and his Ford Fusion with no top offs.

[DrivenDaily]

Early in the life of any engine those looooong OCIs (oil change intervals) will probably not cause any issues because the engine is new. But once metal has been worn away there are no snake oils or magical mystery compounds that'll put it back.

The price of a synthetic oil change at my dealer is around $70, including filter. If I change my oil every 5000 miles for 200,000 miles I will have changed it 40 times for a total price of $2800.

If I extend it to 7500 miles I will change it about 27 times for about $1890, saving $910.

Extending it to 10,000 miles I will change it 20 times for $1400, saving $1400 or $490.

If you want to save $1400 then by all means use 10,000-mile OCIs. But how much will the engine or car replacement cost if it fails at 100,000? Will it fail when you are ready to fix it or junk it, or will it fail at an inopportune time?

I let the OLM alert me but I don't go to 0% (except once while on vacation and driving 2000 miles in one week) and change it around 5000 miles using full synthetic.

Lots of opinions, not a lot of information running around. If you go to BobIsTheOilGuy.com you can read up on just what happens to oil in the car and all it has to do besides just lubricate. Knowledge is power, so read on and choose well.

[Steve_AZ]

I run synthetic and change around 6k miles - the OLM is usually just under 50% at that point. The only way I would run the OLM to zero (around 10k+ miles) would be if I was driving nearly 100% highway miles and I'd probably change the filter at 50% on the OLM. Just my opinion...

[Malo83]

Originally Posted by DrivenDaily

Early in the life of any engine those looooong OCIs (oil change intervals) will probably not cause any issues because the engine is new. But once metal has been worn away there are no snake oils or magical mystery compounds that'll put it back.

The price of a synthetic oil change at my dealer is around $70, including filter. If I change my oil every 5000 miles for 200,000 miles I will have changed it 40 times for a total price of $2800.

If I extend it to 7500 miles I will change it about 27 times for about $1890, saving $910.

Extending it to 10,000 miles I will change it 20 times for $1400, saving $1400 or $490.

If you want to save $1400 then by all means use 10,000-mile OCIs. But how much will the engine or car replacement cost if it fails at 100,000? Will it fail when you are ready to fix it or junk it, or will it fail at an inopportune time?

I let the OLM alert me but I don't go to 0% (except once while on vacation and driving 2000 miles in one week) and change it around 5000 miles using full synthetic.

Lots of opinions, not a lot of information running around. If you go to BobIsTheOilGuy.com you can read up on just what happens to oil in the car and all it has to do besides just lubricate. Knowledge is power, so read on and choose well.

BITOG is nothing but opinions, seems like everybody is an oil expert

[DrivenDaily]

Originally Posted by Malo83

BITOG is nothing but opinions, seems like everybody is an oil expert

They offer way more information than any other site I've ever been to. And they don't sell anything, either. Whether they're experts or not isn't important to me, it's whether or not the information is believable and is not prejudicial.

We're full of opinions here, too, but nobody seems to mention that. I just feel that BITOG is a much better resource than any of us on here.

[velocity5]

The only way to really know how your oil change preference is working would be to send in a sample of your used oil to a lab. I got a free sample kit from Blackstone Labs. I may send in a sample on my next change.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/