Oil Change Light

[Taaaaaaahoe?]

First to this technology for me. However I am going on 5k Miles since my last change...still no light, Im not liking that!

Anyone else actually change when it says to? Seems too long for me..

 

Mike

[greyghost03]

I change mine every 3,000 to 3,500. I don't trust a computer to tell me when to change my oil! My light has never come on as I reset it at each oil change. I am still running Dino in my truck but considering going synthetic to prolong intervals between changes.

[Firetiger(MN)]

[greyghost03]

Easy now!

 

ME's

 

J/K

 

I saw ryanbab razz ya about it and I couldn't resist!

[lrymal]

Y'all might want to consider what The General sez in their TechLink articles:

 

http://[email protected]/gmtechlink/i...03e.html#story1

[bigtruck21]

If you are running synthetic, I'd say you are fine. I have over 5k and it says i have 25% life left based on my driving. I'd be more apt to trust a claim made by oil producers than gm's claim. Amsoil says you can go 12,500 on their oil and filter in 6 months and 25k for 1 year with 2 filters. They could get more sales if they told you only go say 5k. GM on the other hand could tell you to run any oil longer, which may be safe and conserving, but could also mean the engines die faster meaning you will need to buy another vehicle. Take gm's oil system with a note of caution.

[Shaners]

I change mine when the light comes on. It usually comes on between 2500-3500 miles. I have heard of people that drive alot of highway miles, not seeing their light until 5000-6000 miles.

 

I have read articles, that say that we change oil way to often in our vehicles. In fact, Mercedes has been recommending 10K mile oil changes for decades. My wifes Honda van recommends oil changes at 3500 miles for severe driving conditions, or 7000 miles for highway driving.

[Lance Link]

I change mine every 3,000 miles whether the light comes on or not. In 92,000 miles the light has come on before 3,000 miles 3-4 times, usually around 2,800 or so.

[Black02Silverado]

If you are running synthetic, I'd say you are fine. I have over 5k and it says i have 25% life left based on my driving. I'd be more apt to trust a claim made by oil producers than gm's claim. Amsoil says you can go 12,500 on their oil and filter in 6 months and 25k for 1 year with 2 filters. They could get more sales if they told you only go say 5k. GM on the other hand could tell you to run any oil longer, which may be safe and conserving, but could also mean the engines die faster meaning you will need to buy another vehicle. Take gm's oil system with a note of caution.

The last line of Bigtruck21 is good advice. Regular oil can make the grade but under ideal conditions. Most of us know that isn't part of the real world. If it was then vehicles would last forever. 3k is a good rule of thumb for oil changes with regular oil. I have been reading up a lot on used oil analysis's (UOA) on bobistheoilguy.com and depending on the vehicle and driving conditions it can go 5k safely on dino oil.

 

For the most part though I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Now synthetics are a different story. Those can go longer and there are a few oil analysis's that have 10k and even 20k with great reports. Just depends on all kinds of factors dealing with driving conditions and vehicle condition.

 

My 02 venture only has 27k on it and the analysis came back trashed with only 7k on the synthetic oil. Reason being it had a coolant leak and the coolant wiped out the oil. If it wasn't for using the synthetic (according to the lab) my engine would not have been protected like it was. The reason I did an analysis is the fact that the 3.4 engines are known to have intake gasket problems and I wanted to keep an eye on ours just in case. It paid off big time. They found a head gasket leak. Warranty paid for it all. I was lucky to have it done within the warranty. Most don't get this problem till around 40k or more.

 

I'm not saying you need to have an analysis done or anything like that. Unless you plan on extended drains then it wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm just one that doesn't have a life, no hobbies, no nothing. So my extra cash deals with my vehicles. Oil analysis is one.

 

Technology is changing day by day. Sure the oil life system should be something we can go buy but it is still in it's infancy so to speak.

 

Better to be safe than sorry. An oil change is cheap insurance.

[The Beav]

I change every @ 4,500, light or no light. I run Mobil 1 w/ K&N Gold filters and the majority of my driving is at highway speed (30 mile commute, 5 miles in town/25 highway @ 75mph). I haven't outlasted the Change Oil light yet (48K on odo), so I figure I'm safe by GM's dino standards, and even safer since I'm using synth.

[jhm]

I have always changed the oil and filter at 3 month intervals, sometimes I'll go 4 months, but never longer. Most of my driving is short trips so I don't go by the mileage. I don't recall the light in this Silverado ever going on!

[Charlie in TX]

My current oil has over 6500 miles. The monitor says 10% life left. I will change this weekend.

 

A couple of thought on oil life.

 

I have never seen a engine fail due to oil failure. I have seen them fail from lack of oil but thats a different issue. My best friend is an electrician. His company runs powerstrokes. They are far harder on there oil then gas motors. The company won't allow the employees to change the oil on company time. The oil may get changed at 10,000 miles maybe 50,000 miles. He has retired 2 trucks with 350,000 miles. The truck always falls apart around the motor. The company has retired more than 10 with similar mantainence, no motor failures. I can give many real life examples, the important thing is no engine falures due to oil failures IME.

 

Farm equipment (John Deere in particular) see some of the hardest work in the harshest environments in the world. JD recomends 200hrs under these harsh conditions. 200hrs at 30mph is 6000 mile equivelent.

 

I feel safe in my choise under my driving conditions.

[MattDewalt]

I always use the light. It comes on about every 4200 on my truck and every 12,000 on the Trailblazer. I have 74,000 on my truck and my wife has 43,000 on the Trailblazer. No problems to date and oil is never totally black and does not smell burnt when I change it. With the amount my wife drives, I just don't have the time to change the oil every 3000 miles. At the current rate that the light comes on, I'd have to change her oil four times more than I do now!

[silverado man]

I always go by the light. It usually is around 4,000 miles or so.

[GnatGoSplat]

I always use the light too. I think it comes on between 4000-5000 miles. I only checked once, and after that, I don't care. Whenever it comes on is when I change it, no sooner.

 

I think it's a very good system. I have the oil monitor on my '89 Cutlass Supreme also, and relied on it religously. That car now has 198,000 miles and never had an oil-related problem. Once I had a coolant leak in a head gasket at 168,000, and had to pull the heads off. I could still see the original crosshatches in the cylinder bores. Oil life monitor works, and works great. I only ran dino oil in it too.