Ford OLM dropping faster than expected

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JeepWJ19

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Hey everyone. I have a little over a 1000 miles on PP5w20 that I just changed on my 2016 Ford Fusion with the 2.5L.

I checked the OLM yesterday and it's already down to 80%. That would mean if it were to continue at the same rate I'd have to change my oil at 5000 miles but I'm pretty sure my manual states 7500miles. I thought the "OLM" on this Ford fusion was just used for miles and not truly measuring the oil's life?

It sees some spirited driving but nothing out of the ordinary. It's mostly been highway driving...

Why is it dropping so fast?
 
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I'd probably say about a month ago or little over a month ago.

Edit: also traveling about 46 miles a day (23 miles to work)
 
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Originally Posted by JeepWJ19
Edit: also traveling about 46 miles a day (23 miles to work)

That's top candidate for 10k miles OCI.
 
Follow the OLM, change the oil get a UOA have them check the TBN and make your determination from there. The OLM might be accurate, and it may not be accurate. A UOA will eliminate any guessing.
 
The OLM is assuming you're running a semi-syn. In my Edge I have been running Mobil 1. When the OLM says it's time to change the oil I just reset it to zero. I then change the oil a few months and probably 3000 miles later.
 
I have the same 2.5 Duratec in my Escape.....it has a large 5.7 quart capacity and is not DI so I would have no problem extending the OCI when using a fine synthetic like PP. If I were you, I'd change it as per the OLM but then have the oil tested (NAPA test kits are cheap) and extend from there depending on the results...
 
The OLM isn't 100% linear. Give it more time and see if it adjusts or stabilizes.

Are you handy with spreadsheets ? If so, and I found Google Sheets works better than Excel at this, but create spreadsheet that looks like this:

Mileage %
(mileage when you changed oil) 100
(current mileage) (current %)

and keep filling it in every 500-1000 miles. Create a graph using "scatter" style and add a trendline. We have a '14 Fusion with 1.5L Ecoboost engine and it has always tracked towards 9000-10000 miles each interval so far.
 
Check this link out: https://owner.ford.com/how-tos/vehi...luster/intelligent-oil-life-monitor.html (Takes a minute to load)
You could be triggering the severe duty schedule with lots of short trips or some other factor.

Quote
NORMAL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE
Your vehicle is equipped with an Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor (IOLM) that determines when you should change your engine oil based on how your vehicle is used. By considering several important factors in its calculations, the IOLM helps ensure that your engine can perform at its best while also helping you avoid unnecessary oil changes.

With the help of the IOLM, you don't have to remember to change your oil on a preset mileage-based schedule. Your vehicle will let you know when it's time for an oil change by displaying a message in the information display.

The following table provides examples of vehicle use and how each scenario can affect oil change intervals. In practice, actual oil change intervals will depend on several different factors, but severe usage will generally require more frequent changes. Also, if it's been more than a year since your last oil change, the IOLM will display a reminder message regardless of your mileage.


oilchange.png
 
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Originally Posted by JeepWJ19
I thought the "OLM" on this Ford fusion was just used for miles and not truly measuring the oil's life? It sees some spirited driving but nothing out of the ordinary. It's mostly been highway driving... Why is it dropping so fast?

https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/files/final_submissions/392 starting on page 17, or search Ctrl-F for Ford in the document. Based on the "big" input into the OLM calculation, which is the coolant temperature, just make sure the coolant system is full. After checking that, it could also be high revs from the "spirited driving" you said you did.

Notice the algorithm first estimates oil temperature based on coolant temperature & engine RPMs as you drive, with some heat transfer adjustments. Therefore, running at higher RPMs when you shift down to pass or climb a hill, or just driving at high speed, shortens the OLM's life calculation.


Originally Posted by hallstevenson
The OLM isn't 100% linear. Give it more time and see if it adjusts or stabilizes.
Do you mean "linear with time" or with miles? It is linear that way if the driving style is consistent. The algorithm runs the same every month based on driving cycle.
 
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With our 2017 2.3 EB Explorer the iOLM always counts down to 10,000 mi oil changes. It does not matter the season or type of driving. It could be a long distance summer vacation with almost all highway driving or everyday commuting and local driving in the winter. I just changed the oil last week at ~4,800 miles and the iOLM said oil life left was at 52%. That's counting down to another 10,000 mile oil change. I changed it slightly earlier with the cold and foul weather coming earlier this year. I definitely don't want to do it outside in late Dec or Jan
frown.gif
.

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Do you mean "linear with time"? It is linear that way if the driving style is consistent. The algorithm runs the same every mile based on driving cycle.

I have seen some variations from the actual data points vs the trendline but over time it stabilizes. At 1000 miles in, maybe it's just too early to do the math and predict when it will reach 0%.

The monitor also tracks 'time' but independently. If, after 8-9 months the mileage isn't approaching Ford's mileage limit (on Fusions, it will be 10k miles), the % will drop quicker than normal so that it reaches 100% by the 12-month mark too. It's a case of "whichever comes first, 10k miles or 12 months" with Fusions (and likely other Fords).
 
Originally Posted by Whimsey
With our 2017 2.3 EB Explorer the iOLM always counts down to 10,000 mi oil changes. It does not matter the season or type of driving.
I've noticed the same in my '15 Ford C-Max. Ford might have dumbed-down the fancy algorithm they were (or are) using in some engines or models to a simple miles & time counter.

GM has put a 7,500 mile or 1 year limit on their OLM calculation. Those are upper limit conditions. The OLM still runs sophisticated algorithms to maybe set off the "Change Oil" light before those upper limits, but they are as far as we are allowed on recent GM engines. Mine is a '18 Equinox 1.5T for example.
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by Whimsey
With our 2017 2.3 EB Explorer the iOLM always counts down to 10,000 mi oil changes. It does not matter the season or type of driving.
I've noticed the same in my '15 Ford C-Max. Ford might have dumbed-down the fancy algorithm they were (or are) using in some engines or models to a simple miles & time counter.

GM has put a 7,500 mile or 1 year limit on their OLM calculation. Those are upper limit conditions. The OLM still runs sophisticated algorithms to maybe set off the "Change Oil" light before those upper limits, but they are as far as we are allowed on recent GM engines. Mine is a '18 Equinox 1.5T for example.

As far as GM's current OLM max of 7.5K mile OCI it must be vehicle specific because the OLM in my Silverado has calculated 8K OCI's my last two intervals.
 
I change the oil in Sis's 2011 Fusion 2.5 at 5000 miles, and the OLM is always right around 50% at 5000 miles.

I change it at 5000 miles as it is easy for her to remember to tell me that it needs a change. It gets changed on the 5's and 0's.... It's probably a bit too often, but she'll likely take this car up to 200k, so why not.

She does a mix of city and highway, with a fairly long commute a few days of the week... and some highway miles to go see her son.

She has changed jobs, and will be seeing more city driving. Curious to see how that changes things.
 
I ignore the OLM in my 2017 Fusion 2.5. I just change the oil every 10K and forget these silly high tech pieces of junk that we pay for.
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by dave1251
As far as GM's current OLM max of 7.5K mile OCI it must be vehicle specific because the OLM in my Silverado has calculated 8K OCI's my last two intervals.
GM started limited it to 7,500 miles (or 1 year) beginning with the 2013 model year.
https://community.cengage.com/Chilt...0_life_2D00_monitor_2D00_calculation.pdf



Well you can post all the articles you want. It does not change the fact the OLM in my truck calculates to 8K miles. I apologize if my experience does not fit into what you want to happen.
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Well you can post all the articles you want. It does not change the fact the OLM in my truck calculates to 8K miles. I apologize if my experience does not fit into what you want to happen.
Whats funny is you think there's a lot of difference between 7500 and 8000 miles, and probably can't tell whats going on.
 
Originally Posted by JeepWJ19
Why is it dropping so fast?


Ford's OLM is designed to also drop with time - even if the car isn't driven. You could reset it to 100% and it will drop 2% every week with the car just sitting in the garage.
 
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