I'd have to find another place, just on principle. That is ridiculous gouging.
Warning message (oil needs changing)
- Thread starter Fairynuff
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I'd have to find another place, just on principle. That is ridiculous gouging.
With only putting on 5k in 13 months I would assume this vehicle has a fair amount of short trips, which is likely why it triggered the interval earlier than usual. The algorithm to determine the interval is very complex and can typically be trusted pretty well.
And no, the computer is not actively testing the chemical composition of the oil in the crankcase to know if it needs changing or not. But it IS logging your driving habits and comparing them to a table of what Porsche's engineers believe affects oil life. If it gets driven every day for a good amount of time, and it reached a certain temperature each time, and the engine was run in the normal range under a normal load and speed, then it'll keep you in the 2yr/20k OCI mode. But only run it to the store down the street once a week and that'll start triggering flags in that algorithm and tell you to change it early.
From other threads on high end brand oil changes that sounds about right. It is highway robbery but that goes with owning a brand like that.
I’m guessing the op is in Europe. The costs are higher there as well.
The OLM decided you are a severe service customer. It did that by some combination of average speed, fuel used, and miles driven. It recommends a 12 month oil change. Simple as that. It isn't analyzing your oil.
You will have to reset the OLM monitor.
You shouldn't go 20,000 miles on the oil. The OLM on my BMW will go 25,000 Km before recommending a change. Even the shop foreman at the dealership said not to do that. I used to change the oil half way through the 25,000 km interval without resetting the OLM because resetting it seemed to be linked to other maintenance recommendations. Maybe it wasn't but that's how it seemed.
I wouldn't pay $500 for an oil change either. It's not rocket science. Do it yourself (using the correct oil) and reset the OLM monitor. Or find an independent who services Porsches. I'd change the oil filter every other change. If it's good for 25,000 miles then let it go for 25,000 miles.
Your Porsche was made to be driven. So drive it. I don't hesitate to run the revs up and mash the throttle on my BMW. In my opinion you're more likely to have a failure driving your Porsche like a granny. Both BMW and Porsche have had engine problems over the years (supposedly) as a result of too easy driving.
Get the oil changed. I'm not privy to the algorithm programming that decides oil change interval but I would suggest following it. It may even have a 12 month max on break-in oil. 20,000 mi and 24 months is maximum service interval not the "suggested service interval". Suggested service interval is what the OLM says it is (IE Now!).
As to who changes the oil that would depend on the laws and regulations where you live and Porsche requirements. I have no idea if they can require dealer service there.
As to who changes the oil that would depend on the laws and regulations where you live and Porsche requirements. I have no idea if they can require dealer service there.
What does your owners manual say about this warning?
No, their service intervals are based on averaged-out driving conditions based on 99% of owners. Everyone wants to think they drive "severely" while the automakers just laugh at that notion....
That was my initial thought too but presuming the OP drives this car to "work" 5 days a week, it works out to a 10-mile one-way drive (20 miles total per day). I think there's cars that see worse conditions than that.
Either way, I'll bet that Porsche doesn't consider changing the oil every ~12 months to be out of the ordinary.
Kestas
Staff member
Apparently no one knows the algorithm used to determine when the oil needs to be changed for this vehicle. I certainly don't. Inputs could be time, mileage, warmup cycles... who knows. It is wise though to keeps written records on service and second guess the computer for these matters.
I don't think I agree with either of you that 1% are normal or 99% are normal.
If you assume the maximum interval for an OLM is based on the normal interval I've yet to see one that only 1% or 99% qualified for the maximum. It varies by application but generally it's somewhere between 50 and 90%.
Your OLM is Probably going off from your wet and cool UK weather, and easy city-like driving. It’s going by time, and reminding you to change before you exhaust the mileage part of it. Since you e already been 5000 miles, you have 15000 left. But since it has apparently discerned that your oil is toast, it wants to make sure you change it within the next 30 days, but if you blow that off, not under any circumstances to exceed the 15k you’d have left.
The OLM was invented about 20 years ago. GM seems to have pioneered that effort in their philosophy to give customers the lowest cost per mile driven. Many automakers made efforts to "replicate" that feature, but didn't really do it that well. Some were simple mileage counters, and others were simply time counters. None of them had the sophistication of the GM algorithm. The GM OLM took the specified oil, tested it under ideal driving conditions and periodically tested it to ensure the IMPORTANT specifications remained in a serviceable range. They then set that as the MAXIMUM that the oil should be used. THEN they considered several other factors, engine temp, engine temp soak, rpms, time, and a few others. These were then used to SUBTRACT from the maximum usable percentage of oil life. It DOES NOT look at oil cleanliness or color, since that is meaningless, it looks at maximum useful life and subtracts from that.
Now it seems that Porsche has come up with a similar logarithm, as I'm sure others have done by now.
You need to change your oil early because you do not drive your car as the ideal maximum would allow it to go the full two years. You are doing short trip drives, not letting the engine get up to full temp for the required period of time....simple as that.
Change the oil.
Now it seems that Porsche has come up with a similar logarithm, as I'm sure others have done by now.
You need to change your oil early because you do not drive your car as the ideal maximum would allow it to go the full two years. You are doing short trip drives, not letting the engine get up to full temp for the required period of time....simple as that.
Change the oil.
What oil is Porsche basing the suggested service time/mileage on?
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Maybe actual running hours (driving,idling,etc).
Maybe it has been 2 years since the car was manufactured? Do you know what month the car was actually made? (not when you bought it)
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Do you short trip it? Either way, change it. You have a Porsche that you bought brand new. Surely you can afford an oil change.
Mobil 1 New Life 0W-40 was factory fill unless it's changed. I suspect that's what it's based on.
I've read that some of the European OLM are pretty simple. They count gallons of fuel used (which studies have shown is a better indicator than miles, hours or engine revolutions) plus have a time component. However the specific manufacturer(s) were left out although it sounded like they could have been referring to VW/Audi Group.