Everyone has their opinion about how often an oil change should be done, there are several threads relating to this.

My DIC said the car was at 30% oil filter life with 4500 miles on it and 6 months of ownership. That was when I had it changed. Now, I'm at 4850, and it's already down to 95%. I'm wondering if the dealer has the ability to change the DIC for their recommended 3000 mile interval?

Do any of you know?

With 350 miles on the car before, it was at 99%. I'm assuming that the DIC goes by mileage.

 

I think there are several factors that change the Oil Life readouts, I remember Wheelie's 2nd oil change, his odometer was at 2,100 est. miles, i didn't change Wheelie's oil again untill 6 months later...6 months and 4000 est. miles later, Wheelie's oil life was at 60%....so I think driving habits play a part in the oil life readouts on you DIC..

 

Oil and ambient temps as well as engine RPMs play a big role in how fast the OLM percentage drops.

The hotter it is outside, the hotter the engine runs and the faster the oil life depletes.

I am currently averaging a 1% drop in oil life every 93 miles.

 

First of all, it isn't a oil filter life indicater, it is an OIL life indicator. This subject has been beaten to death many times here.

Why would you want a dealer, who makes money on servicing your car, to change an indicator that GM spent tons of money researching?? I'd think that might actually void your warranty.

Me, I'll trust the judgement of the people who made the car, not someone who wants me to change the oil more times than I need to!

 

BTW, by the math of your DIC, 350 miles = 5%; which works out to 7000 miles = 100%. Doesn't sound out of line to me.

 

Our free oil changes for life at the Chevy dealer has a 5000 mile rule.
I usually come close to it and they change it.

I think the DIC has gone down to 50% or a little less and they changed the oil since the car was getting close to the 5K miles between changes that they specify.

Now I'll likley pay more attention to the one in our Oddity sice Honda has no free oil changes gimmick going for the dealership I got it at. Same conversations going on in the Odyssey forums too. They all have DICs or crippled DICs ( like ours, don't ask )

Seems its all the rage, oil life indicators that is.

 

GDZHHR, you are absolutely right. Once again, I'm suffering from brain-fartage

 

No. It uses a algorithum based on a whole bunch of variables.

It considers different driving styles and conditions. The mathmatical model, through computerized monitoring, considers engine revolutions, operating temperature, coolant temperature, oil temperature, and other factors to calculate the rate of engine oil degradation and determines when it should be changed

From an article I read on the OLM...."Customers don't have to worry about deciding when the best time is to change their engine oil because our Oil Life System technology adapts to their driving conditions and habits, and determines the right interval," said Peter Lord, executive director, GM Service Operations.....

With the OLM, we have an accurate and reliable way to monitor engine oil life. An added benefit is that overall operating costs are lower, because the oil is changed only when needed.

The fact is, oil change intervals, without monitoring the driving style of the driver, are stupid. Some people, based on the way they drive, should change oil every 2,000 miles, others 10,000. There are too many variables that affect how long oil will last and there is no such thing as a routine oil change interval IMHO.

 

I drive less than a thousand a year on my old Corvair. Sometimes I feel silly doing its yearly oil change since the oil looks and smells brand new.

 

I do a lot of driving (commuting 80 miles a day to/from work) and I was changing my oil at 4K miles (every month and a half or so) for a while. The garage guys were all like, "But this oil looks brand new" as they changed it. Glad that I have a computer keeping track of it all for me.