Oil Change Stickers: Display Last Service or Next Service Due?

[The Critic]

I purchased a new oil change sticker printer and it came pre-loaded with a handful of templates. One of the templates allows you to print the date/mileage of the last service instead of the typical “next service due.”

Curious what the BITOG audience prefers. I can see the value of knowing the date/mileage of the last service if one follows their OLM religiously, and some of the large chain shops around here are printing the date/mileage of the last service on the stickers as well.

 

[dishdude]

For a vast majority of customers, next service due is going to be the most helpful. Also, resetting the OLM as part of the service.

 

[CKN]

I don't change my own oil. I have never, ever had a sticker that stated the "last service". I go by the OLM-even though sometimes the next service is listed at 5,000 miles.

I also have no "horror stories" about Dealers performing this service.
Sorry!

 

[The Critic]

I don't change my own oil. I have never, ever had a sticker that stated the "last service".

Me either, but I have been seeing it more lately. For example, NTB does it:

 

[michaelluscher]

What kind of printer setup you got?
My cheap TikTok shop special is customizable, but I keep it simple with "next service due"

 

[Andyd95]

I do next service due

 

[benjamming]

I would think it would depend a lot on clientele. Some people just want to be told what to do regarding maintenance & ignore all the lights. My answer is completely hypothetical at this point thankfully because I've been granted all the necessary things to perform myself, but I most certainly would prefer last service.

 

[Pterostylis]

Last service for enthusiasts
Next service for normies

 

[CharBaby]

I've always use the last service.

 

[nthach]

It depends on the car. Mileage at the next service or whatever the OLM/prognostics(not Toyota’s idiot light) says.

 

[Lubener]

I have always listed the mileage and date which the service was actually done.

 

[Danno]

Work at a large dealership. Next service due is what we use.

 

[daniel327]

I use a chinagraph and simply write the service date and current odo reading on the radiator support panel.

 

[FT92]

next service due is what i have always seen

 

[Racer4]

I have always written the date, mileage, and oil weight on a windshield sticker. I also document on the computer for each vehicle what was done.Most of the ones I use are free from Advance Auto Parts.

 

[DuckRyder]

I'd actually like to have both

I always put last done on mine and my complaint with next is that places usually set it too soon. Also what if you're doing oil at 10, and rotations at 5, which "service" do you put?

 

[daves87rs]

Last service for enthusiasts
Next service for normies

This!

 

[Kira]

I got positive, "in my face feedback" from using a DYMO Label Maker with blue tape.
I'd use the future service.
EX: "OIL 56K" and put it at the base of the speedometer needle.
The white letters stood out well on the label and the blue jumped out from the instrument cluster.

People commented all the time.
My BITOG paternalism was satisfied as I could stress the importance of oil changes briefly.

Also, I use a P-Touch label maker with its "2 line" feature for plugs and air cleaners.
The resulting label is finer that I can type here and only 1.5" long, so it looks unobtrusive.
Car Keepers like it.
NEXT PLUGS AIR CLEANER
@ 130K or DUE 130K
Put the stickers where they fit....neatly.

And last, but not least, was to use a yellow paint pen for "OIL 6.1 qt. 17mm" on the radiator support.

 

[andrew_j]

Last service more helpful to me with date.

However for most owners more meaningful if no OLM for next service.

 

[Dave P.]

If you use the "last service" date and mileage, you always know the particulars of when it was done. If you use a "next" date and mileage, maybe you, or someone else, doesn't remember whether you specified a 3000, 5000 or 10,000 mile OCI.