Real life experience with the oil life monitor system.

[Big_B]

My 6.6L GMC truck engine just counts down from 7,500 miles.
Hot, cold, short trip, long trip, towing etc.....
Doesn't matter.

 

[GMBoy]

GM didn't program and hard limits in the OLM until around 2011, when dexos first came out. For most cars, it became one year of 7500 miles max. The exception is the Volt, which is 2 years max, no mileage limit.

The limits were implemented after they started having problems with some of the HF V6 timing chains with DI. That's also when they developed dexos.

Older GM cars with the OLM have no limits programmed in, but the owner's manual said not to go more than 12k or a year.

On your truck, that's less than 1000 miles in a year. It probably is OK to only change it once every 3 years with such low use.

You are exactly right on all points! They tried to shorten OCI's to combat the timing chain epidemic but that didn't work because the real problem was the chains themselves.

 

[Foxtrot08]

How many people know who Shirley Schwartz was?

No googling.

 

[Passport1]

How many people know who Shirley Schwartz was?

One of the two characters in the tv sitcom about a couple of ladies that worked in a Milwaukee brewery?

Oil monitors are like my alarm clock, just advisory. My Ford OLM went to almost zero once and when I prompted it, the thing told me I was a Publisher's Clearance House Winner.


5K or Q6 months for me.

 

[gman2304]

She’s the mother of the GM OLM. Brilliant lady.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Hondas is supposed to be intelligent, but I'm not so sure. 1800 miles on my FL5 and the monitor is at 90%. I have 1 mile short trips to the gym, on the highway the thing is spinning at 3600rpm, and I drive it hard in the twisties. I'll stick with changing at 3k+- so all it really does is remind me to check other maintenance things.

See how long it takes to get to 15% which is when Honda wants you to change it. The first 1800 miles/90% left doesn't mean it will suggest an 18k OCI! Possibly, there is enough 3600 rpm highway driving to offset the 1 mile trips to the gym and the twisties

 

[Oily Ed]

One of the two characters in the tv sitcom about a couple of ladies that worked in a Milwaukee brewery?

Oil monitors are like my alarm clock, just advisory. My Ford OLM went to almost zero once and when I prompted it, the thing told me I was a Publisher's Clearance House Winner.


5K or Q6 months for me.

It was Shirley Feeney on Laverne and Shirley. I watched that show when I was a kid

 

[NormanBuntz]

Atikovi, if the Chevy is an actual tow truck, please post a photo. If you just use it as a two vehicle, there's no need to.

 

[Foxtrot08]

She’s the mother of the GM OLM. Brilliant lady.

Ding ding ding. Winner.

I wish I could find the data that once saw from what she tested. Maximum life span of oil (specifically Mobil 1), every different fuel, base oils, weather conditions. Everything. She probably blew up more engines than nascar does in 20 years.

 

[4WD]

With everything going GDI and/or turbo - GM’s 7500 limit is reasonable considering entry level Dex gets used allot …

 

[doublebase]

I’m still blown away that the lady from Laverne and Shirley designed the OLM…

 

[GMFan]

2001 Saturn SL: ‘Change Oil Soon’ indicating light in instrument cluster. Varied by driving style. Usually ~6000-7000 miles. No time limit on OLM but owners manual stated 1 year.

2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer: ‘Change Oil Soon’ indicating light in instrument cluster. Varies by driving style. Usually 10,000+ miles. No time limit on OLM but owners manual states 1 year.

2018 Buick Encore: Oil Life % display in instrument cluster display. Varies by driving style. Usually ~4,500-7,500 miles. Seems to aggressively reduce OCI for short tripping closer to 4,500 miles. This OLM seems vastly superior to the old style. No time limit on OLM but owners manual states 1 year.

 

[bobdoo]

My CX-5 says change needed at ~1200 miles (6 miles per trip). It's been a year.
..

 

[Ctopher]

See how long it takes to get to 15% which is when Honda wants you to change it. The first 1800 miles/90% left doesn't mean it will suggest an 18k OCI! Possibly, there is enough 3600 rpm highway driving to offset the 1 mile trips to the gym and the twisties

This is not correct, it may light up and warm you at 15% but that’s not when you change the oil.

MyGarage

mygarage.honda.com

How does the Honda Maintenance Minder System work?​

There is no longer a maintenance schedule in the owner’s manual. The system shows engine oil life as a percentage, which drops over time as the vehicle racks up miles. It starts out at 100% with fresh engine oil, and winds down to 0%, signaling the oil life is over. Your Honda will alert you with a visual warning light to indicate not only when the next service is due, but also what type of service is needed by a series of codes.​

Regarding MM, I follow my 06 Civic Si based on oil testing. I have records from first oil change at like 1900ish miles, 15%, 0% and I did 1k miles past 0%. Each of these with a test to determine how reliable it was based on my GTX 5w30 that I always ran. And I samples multiple times over the years to stop check. Based on samples and TBN numbers I was comfortable following the Honda Maintenance Minder for oil changes as well as general maintenance like air filters, plugs, coolant, etc. One difference that I did was always replaced the oil filter with each change, not the Honda every other oil change.


CTopher

 

[WobblyElvis]

Poor man's OLM.
Change oil by amount of fuel used. Does close to the same thing.
250 gallons?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Poor man's OLM.
Change oil by amount of fuel used. Does close to the same thing.
250 gallons?

That's actually the main factor Mercedes uses for its OLM's OCI calculations.