Oil Life System

[ChevDawg]

HI all,

             Been running my Colorado now since Sept. of 18, and I'm real disappointed in the OLS telling me i need to change oil just after 3000 miles. Just wondering what everyone else is seeing on their's, seeing as how the dealer recommends every 5000 miles now, which I think is still a little low, with the progress of synthetics over the years.

[SILVER SLED]

There is a time factor in the oil life monitor equation now.  How long have you had vehicle?

[ChevDawg]

Bought Sept. 2018, 7700 miles, need 2nd oil change already.

[Timd32]

What engine?  We have a 3.6l its brand new will have to keep an eye on it.

 

Any chance they forgot to reset it.

 

My "other" brand I did at 5k never reset and it sent a message at 7k to do it. Then again at 8k to reset. I finally reset it. I just go by miles anymore.

 

 

 

 

[ChevDawg]

On 5/3/2019 at 1:54 PM, SILVER SLED said:

There is a time factor in the oil life monitor equation now.  How long have you had vehicle?

Can you elaborate more on this time factor equation. Thanks.

[ChevDawg]

On 5/3/2019 at 5:59 PM, Timd32 said:

What engine?  We have a 3.6l its brand new will have to keep an eye on it.

 

Any chance they forgot to reset it.

 

My "other" brand I did at 5k never reset and it sent a message at 7k to do it. Then again at 8k to reset. I finally reset it. I just go by miles anymore.

 

 

 

 

3.6 L also, was under the impression that you had to reset it or it will just keep reminding u it wasn't done, but yeah it was reset.

[SILVER SLED]

6 hours ago, ChevDawg said:

Can you elaborate more on this time factor equation. Thanks.

Well I don't know the exact part time plays in the equation, but it does.   A car that sits for a year will probably use up a good part of the oil life. I've seen new cars with just a few (less than 100) miles that have sat on the lot for a while have less than 50% oil life remaining.  Sorry I don't have better info, that's all I know. 

[OldChevyNut]

With "standard", or regular motor oil, it needs to be changed because it gets "dirty", or gets contaminated with undesirable particles. But it doesn't degrade simply because of time. That's why it can be re-refined, which removes the undesirable contaminants, and used as "new" oil. It can also be simply filtered, and re-used as "recycled" oil.

 

"Synthetic" and "Synthetic Blend" oil can degrade over time, so vehicle makers had to include a time factor in the lubricant system programming.

 

When using synthetic oil, miles between oil changes will depend upon many factors, such as engine type, operating environment, frequency of operation, etc., so it's not possible to reasonably estimate intervals at which lubricants should be changed. To determine when such oil should be changed, several factors must be analyzed by the computer system and displayed as a percentage remaining.

 

Oil Change businesses may recommend changes every 15 minutes, and may even show you your dipstick that has been dipped in black paint, just because they want to steal your money. Some people may say just change it every 5,000 or 10,000 miles, but this method may in fact allow needless damage to occur.

 

My personal recommendation would be:

Have a dealer verify that the lubrication system electronics are working properly.

Then change the oil when it says to.

[Ibmikey]

I have changed oil every 3000 since my first car (55 Chevy) in 1960.  Even today with Mobil 1 full synthetic I change every 3000 but it often takes four months or more to hit that mark.   In the meantime the dealer reminders start at three months and continue about every 12 minutes until I make an appointment.   My Jeep is a different situation, since I take it to GMC for the 3000 mile shots of Mobil 1 the Jeep people ignore me.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Ibmikey

[elcamino]

Condition/Concern

 

Since 2010 all GM vehicles have been equipped with the oil life monitor (OLM) system

The monitor calculates the percent of oil life remaining, based on 3 pathways

 

The OLM starts its calculation for all pathways after the first 50 miles to account for marshalling and time before sale.  Subsequently, calculations begin immediately after each reset.

 

Recommendation/Instructions

 

Oil Life Monitor Calculation Pathways:

1.      Engine revolutions- Oil life starts with a fixed number of revolutions and will decrease with each revolution.  Cold / hot coolant temp readings have multipliers that reduce engine revolutions pathway quicker depending on how far from the normal oil temperature the vehicle is operating.

Note: If engine coolant temp gets above 260F, engine overheat condition, the oil life will go to 0%.

2.      Mileage from last reset – Starting with MY 2013, the OLM is capped at 7500 miles for all GM powertrains except the Volt.  In perfect conditions a vehicle would reach 7500 miles from the last reset and the oil life left would be 0%.

3.      Time- This pathway is a liner function, a fixed decrease in oil life for a given time after the oil life is reset.  The oil life will drop to 0% after 1 year regardless of the amount of engine revolutions or how many miles since the reset.

Note: The Volt uses a 2 year timer instead of 1 year. It also uses the engine revolution counter. It does not use the mileage pathway to count down.   

 

[Wayne3593]

On ‎6‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 5:00 AM, elcamino said:

Condition/Concern

 

 

 

Since 2010 all GM vehicles have been equipped with the oil life monitor (OLM) system

 

The monitor calculates the percent of oil life remaining, based on 3 pathways

 

 

 

The OLM starts its calculation for all pathways after the first 50 miles to account for marshalling and time before sale.  Subsequently, calculations begin immediately after each reset.

 

 

 

Recommendation/Instructions

 

 

 

Oil Life Monitor Calculation Pathways:

 

1.      Engine revolutions- Oil life starts with a fixed number of revolutions and will decrease with each revolution.  Cold / hot coolant temp readings have multipliers that reduce engine revolutions pathway quicker depending on how far from the normal oil temperature the vehicle is operating.

 

Note: If engine coolant temp gets above 260F, engine overheat condition, the oil life will go to 0%.

 

2.      Mileage from last reset – Starting with MY 2013, the OLM is capped at 7500 miles for all GM powertrains except the Volt.  In perfect conditions a vehicle would reach 7500 miles from the last reset and the oil life left would be 0%.

 

3.      Time- This pathway is a liner function, a fixed decrease in oil life for a given time after the oil life is reset.  The oil life will drop to 0% after 1 year regardless of the amount of engine revolutions or how many miles since the reset.

 

Note: The Volt uses a 2 year timer instead of 1 year. It also uses the engine revolution counter. It does not use the mileage pathway to count down.   

 

 

 

I was just about to ask how long does OP idle his truck as that affects the OLM more than anything since it counts the revs. Even my 2001 Silverado has an OLM and is calculated by the engine revs. The mileage and time are approximations if I recall correctly.

[Black02Silverado]

On 5/3/2019 at 2:34 PM, ChevDawg said:

HI all,

             Been running my Colorado now since Sept. of 18, and I'm real disappointed in the OLS telling me i need to change oil just after 3000 miles. Just wondering what everyone else is seeing on their's, seeing as how the dealer recommends every 5000 miles now, which I think is still a little low, with the progress of synthetics over the years.

I do know that the OLM on our 2011 Acadia was set to 5k.  It had the 3.6 in it as well.  I also did used oil analysis on it and 5k was the limit to how long I could go.  Our driving style and conditions, ie short trips taking daughter to school probably had a lot to do with it.

 

If you want you can always do a used oil analysis on yours as well and see exactly how your oil is holding up and know if you can go longer.  Just a thought.  Blackstone Labs, Oil Analyzers and Dysonanalysis are the three popular services that are out there. 

[Ibmikey]

All of the oil life gadgets are fine for those who push the envelope on maximum time/ miles they can get on a change,  I simply change my Mobil one each 3000 miles and do not worry about engine failure because of contaminates in the oil and filter.  Yes I over service my vehicles and usually get a new one before 25,000 miles.   One of my acquaintances informed me he never changes the oil in the Chevy pick up he bought from me but he does change the filter every 7000 miles and dumps oil on top to bring the dip stick level up to full.  He is also one who never washes the vehicle, piles Mc Donald’s crap knee deep inside, and has the gas pump light on for a day or two before refueling.   It had 18,000 when I sold it to him, at 40,00 if I remember correctly I saw the truck at a friends garage where it was receiving a complete new engine, the mechanic directed me to the old block with black crap a half inch deep covering everything.  He laughed about driving several hundred miles to tow the truck to his garage, the tow and the cost of a new engine was very profitable for him.

Shortly after the truck was back on the road a uninsured, no license or green card gentleman ran into it and totaled the truck.  Some folks will never learn however and i’ll bet my friend is swimming in hamburger wrappers and slowly cooking another engine today.