Oil Life Indicator

gm yeah · January 23, 2011

Not sure if this is the right location for this thread, but hopefully someone can shed some light on the technology as well as thoughts on the oil life indicator on my truck's display. I have a 2008 Sierra Z71 Ext cab and love it. It's an awesome truck. Couple of modifications if I was building it, but it's close to perfect for a 1/2 ton truck. Either way, I change my oil at 4000 miles and my oil life indicator tells me that I have 40% oil life left. I drive my vehicle fairly hard, but I do maintain it pretty well too. Couple questions on the this oil life %. (I even think the manual suggests changing the oil at around 6-7K miles...which works out if I were to run my vehicle to about 0% mark). Anyway.....How is it calculated? Is it based on time vehicle is running?....viscosity of oil?....temperature of oil? I know today's vehicles and oils are better than ever, but I hear of folks running their vehicles to the 0-5% mark on the oil life and I wonder. Thanks!

[email protected] · January 23, 2011

Oil monitor is useless, IMO. I don't go by it either. But it takes many things into consideration, miles, average rpms, coolant temps, but it does not have a sensor that can check viscosity that I know of.

DwayneJ · January 23, 2011

I do not have much experience with the trucks yet BUT I know on the mid 90s LT1 cars they had a "change oil" light, no % indicator or anything. The folks who actually did Used Oil Analysis found the factory light to be reasonably accurate. If GM was able to get this right way back in '94 I don't think it unreasonable to trust them on this now. Talking a decade and a half later and the upping of the drivetrain warranty from what 36K to 100k.

I will say if you use it in dirty conditions I would change it well ahead of the display suggestion though because it can not measure dirt.

Skip Talker · January 23, 2011

I was skeptical of it at first on my 04. I do a lot of Highway miles, over 1,000 a week. I was changing oil at 6~7 K and the percent of oil life was still around 50%. After the first year or so I just waited until the % got into single digits which some times was 12 k miles. I traded it in with 280 K on it and it never burned any oil. So I guess it is OK. I used Mobil 1 since first oil change, so I could go longer than the dino oil.

markw8 · January 23, 2011

I used it on my 2000 6.0 and I now use it on my 08 duramax. I don't see any reason not to follow it. The Corvette is the only one I ignore. It gets changed every 2 years with about 60% left.

Mark

txab · January 23, 2011

Not sure if this is the right location for this thread, but hopefully someone can shed some light on the technology as well as thoughts on the oil life indicator on my truck's display. I have a 2008 Sierra Z71 Ext cab and love it. It's an awesome truck. Couple of modifications if I was building it, but it's close to perfect for a 1/2 ton truck. Either way, I change my oil at 4000 miles and my oil life indicator tells me that I have 40% oil life left. I drive my vehicle fairly hard, but I do maintain it pretty well too. Couple questions on the this oil life %. (I even think the manual suggests changing the oil at around 6-7K miles...which works out if I were to run my vehicle to about 0% mark). Anyway.....How is it calculated? Is it based on time vehicle is running?....viscosity of oil?....temperature of oil? I know today's vehicles and oils are better than ever, but I hear of folks running their vehicles to the 0-5% mark on the oil life and I wonder. Thanks!

Do a little reading:

http://www.google.com/search?q=olm+oil+lif...images&tbs=

Make up your mind for yourself. You'll get differing opinions from everyone on here with no real consensus. Use it, don't use it. You'll be fine with your 4k change if that's what makes you feel comfortable

And now like many other subjects on here.......