Honda on-board computer oil "analysis"

[AcuraTech]

The Honda OLM system is programmed into the PCM and considers such things as number of crankshaft revolutions, miles, engine temp, etc. It is a basic program and for the average car will have 0% oil life remaining from somewhere between 5-7K.

Once again: Using a quality oil at the factory recommended interval will probably cause no harm. If you feel uncomfortable with that then a UOA would be in order and would probably show this to be true. Honda engines are some of the best around. Basic maintenance on the engine will make it last far longer than the car itself.

 

[Bill in Utah]

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Originally posted by Michael Wan:
Here is what I understand about OLMs.

Toyota: The new ones, starting in 05, have a "dummy light" that goes off at 5,000 miles...no monitoring device whatsoever.

GM/Honda: Some type of computer algorithm that calculates the service intervals based on driving conditions...quite accurate supposedly.

Michael

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Yep,

My 2005 Corolla has the light you reset every OCI. At 4,800 miles it comes on for 20-30 secs when you start the car. At about 4950 it stays on.

My 2000 Chev truck the OLM comes on depending on how its been driven. The stock hour meter is cool to keep track of.

Even though I change the oil before the OLM comes on, I log the hour meter and the OLM is not based on hours driven I can tell!

Glad all GM trucks come with a Hour meter.

Take care, Bill

 

[AndyH]

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Originally posted by benjamming:

quote:

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Originally posted by Islandvic:
If it were my Honda, I would use M1 5-20 and either OEM Honda, Wix, Bosch Premium, or SuperTech filters.

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Honda oil filter?

They are made by Honeywell (Fram).

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Not all of them, the better Honda OEM oil filter is made by Filtech, part # 15400-PLM-A01.

 

[Patman]

I've got an oil life monitor on my Corvette, and on my last oil change it counted down to zero at 7000 miles. I ran the oil another 1000, and the analysis showed it was still capable of going further.

 

[H20024.6L]

Martyi;
I have a 2004 Acura TL and you will find the OLM is a heavily debated topic with Honda owners on the various Honda/Acura message boards. I do 'read' the OLM on my Acura, but my oil change decisions are based on analyis from Terry Dyson. I do record the OLM status when I change the oil and reset it, and the results have been interesting, but I don't have enough changes to really form a meaningful trend. Good luck with your Ridgeline. My brother in law just took delivery of a Ridgeline and he uses Terry as well for analysis, and that would be my advise to you. Terry will give you answers to your questions and good advise based on your specific driving conditions. The OLM hasn't talked back to me yet! LOL....

 

[Tree Hugger]

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Originally posted by Patman:
I've got an oil life monitor on my Corvette, and on my last oil change it counted down to zero at 7000 miles. I ran the oil another 1000, and the analysis showed it was still capable of going further.

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The GM OLM runs a 100% 'safety' factor. i.e. It's base calculation of Oil Life is on ZDDP depletion, and if their testing shows 20,000 miles to insufficient, they set the max life at 10,000. Then every 'hit' factor applies a correction of twice it's real impact...
Those guys are more knowledgeable, but just as paranoid as most of the people here...

 

[TomJones76]

Patman:
Regarding your oil still being good, if you'll recall the GM powerplant engineer who came in here for a week, he indicated that the OLM is very conservative to account for differences in real-life conditions. He implied that when ZDP depletion was the reason for oil change indication, the average engine would actually be 50% away from the point at which ZDDP really failed.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by TomJones76:
Patman:
Regarding your oil still being good, if you'll recall the GM powerplant engineer who came in here for a week, he indicated that the OLM is very conservative to account for differences in real-life conditions. He implied that when ZDP depletion was the reason for oil change indication, the average engine would actually be 50% away from the point at which ZDDP really failed.

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Another point I forgot to mention is that my Corvette is a 98 model, and back then the recommended OCI was 10k or 1 year. In 2001, they changed it to 15k, with no changes to the engine, so they did recalibrate the OLM to account for the higher interval. So in essense, I could reset my OLM at zero and go another 50% and it would equal the algorithm of the 2001 and newer model's OLM.