OLM question for a friend

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
68
Location
Michigan
Hello all, I have a question for you guys. A friend of mine at work was about to change the oil in his daughters car, she notified him that the OLM said it was due for a change. She only had 3,100 miles on the current fill but, she is a spirited driver. Since he put Valvoline full synthetic in, he figured he would wait until spring. Thoughts?
 
Is that a GM OLM?

Thats a pretty low mileage for an OLM to call for a change IME. Maybe her driving is VERY spirited, in that case I would continue to follow the OLM and not try a time frame OC.
 
Is it a mileage based OLM, or one that is actually reading the quality of the oil? If it's mileage based, was it for sure reset at the last oil change?
 
There have been posts on this forum of the GM OLM stating that a change is necessary after only 2,000 miles.

That is the case where even the 3mo/3k interval may not be sufficient. And no, synthetic oil does not last longer as it still gets contaminated.
 
change it, and tell him quit wasting his money on synthetic
blush.gif
.
My wifes GM olm has gone anywhere from 3500-6500 miles depending on time of year and usage, my sons GM olm will go 7000-8000, he drives almost all long trip hwy, it is calibrated for conventional oil.
 
The OLM on my Buick usually trips at approx. 6K even though I do a lot of highway driving.
I would also change the oil since the OLM is very well designed (accurate).
 
Very surprising to hear the OLM on a 2008 goes off at 3100 miles. Of course everyone drives different, but my OLM has consistently been in the 10,000 mi. range on a 2007 Grand Prix.
The Cobalt is still under warranty so I would follow the OLM, but I would not use synthetic for such a short interval.
 
That oil is good for a lot longer then 3100 miles.Reset it and change oil the next time it says too.Its based on conventional oil not synthetic.My Hemi has done the same thing with me using Amsoil XL5w20 twice(3k) and my driving habits were no different then when it goes off at 5500 miles.I keep track of the mileage and run that oil to 6k.At 3k it looks like I poured it out of the bottle.
 
How long did it take to accumulate those 3k miles? I would take it at least 5k to get some of the moneys worth out of the synthetic Valvoline oil, which it can easily do.

If the spring change will be around 5-6k miles on the oil i would wait unless they don't care about the extra money.
 
ranger99,

On my 08' Impala SS my OLM told me to change mine at the 6K mark but that was it's first oil change cuz even though it's an 08' vehicle I actually bought it in the mid year of 09' as a left over from GM dealership. Like the others have aid your synthetic is capable of going an easy 6K but conventional oil is what the GM OLM is based upon.

Durango
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom