Engine oil life indicator--reliable?

[Mudsport96]

I tried to highlight the quoted text but having issues getting the part highlighted haha. It is in red in the quoted post

 

[OR VietVet]

Hell, where I work now we do endurance testing of mechanical fuel pumps. They are lubed by 15w40 engine oil. At 100 hours of constant test and a STEADY oil temp of 195F the oil film has broken down to a point the trunions on the pump lifters are starting to gall. So 100 hours x 60 miles per hour is 6000 miles. So the level of onset of damage tells me that somewhere BEFORE 100 hours the oil is shot and breaking down.

When you talk of the 15w-40 oil and the testing done, is that petroleum based oil or synthetic oil?

 

[Mudsport96]

When you talk of the 15w-40 oil and the testing done, is that petroleum based oil or synthetic oil?

It is a synthetic blend. I do not know percentage of synthetic to conventional though

 

[Marky Dissod]

Q: How many miles can I expect to go between oil changes when using this system?
A: It will vary.
The beauty of the GM Oil Life System is that it automatically adjusts the oil-change interval based upon engine characteristics, your driving habits, and the climate in which you have been operating your vehicle.
For instance, mild highway driving in a warm climate will maximize the interval between required oil changes.
Depending on the vehicle, this could be as high as
12,000 miles!

12,000 miles?! Patently preposterous, outrageously optimistic, and universally unwise.
I'll take this as prima facie evidence that GM did not want engines to last 200,000 miles.
There is no GroupIV synthetic motor oil or high end oil filter that I trust past 5,000 miles - nevermind the lesser more common stuff.

On the other hand, short-trip driving in a cold climate may limit the interval between oil changes to 3,000 miles or less.

This makes more sense.

most people who combine city and highway driving find that the GM Oil Life System will indicate the vehicle needs an oil change every 5,000 to 6,000 miles.

If it had read "every 4,000 to 5,000 miles", I'd feel better.

 

[Mudsport96]

12,000 miles?! Patently preposterous, outrageously optimistic, and universally unwise.
I'll take this as prima facie evidence that GM did not want engines to last 200,000 miles.
There is no GroupIV synthetic motor oil or high end oil filter that I trust past 5,000 miles - nevermind the lesser more common stuff.

This makes more sense.

If it had read "every 4,000 to 5,000 miles", I'd feel better.

Exactly. Why would they want them to last that long? They wouldn't get repeat sales if vehicles lasted longer. So throw out some BS about the car knows when it needs an oil change. Blame the customer when it goes south, and sell a new vehicle.

 

[Mudsport96]

Oh and here is this little thing

And here is the trip odometer never reset trip b since the father-in-law bought it. The dealer filled it up and rest the counter and that was the last time Trip B was reset. All original miles on the engine 3000 mile oil changes. Always dealer service oil-change while under warranty and extended warranty. Then just Orielly brand oil and filter after that till I got it at 395k. Then it became Orielly house brand and AC Delco filters.
Engine light is Knock sensor 2. That is a spring project.

 

[SilverSport]

so you know this was early with the OLM development and it has since been set at 7500 miles/1 year for some time by GM and according to my Owners manual you follow the Oil Life Monitor...

I believe this person I quoted was stating the most extreme ends of the settings when the Oil Life Monitor was first developed and not as it is today...

I'd bet most if not all of us are beyond the warranty period for our GMT800s...

I get that you like to change your oil based on your experience have you read of anyone having oil related engine troubles based on changing their oil at 5K miles when still within the OLM settings and using todays full synthetic oils???...

Bill

 

[Marky Dissod]

This is starting to make me wish that the Oil Life Monitor was as tuneable as the Normal Up / Down Shift Points Table ...

 

[tagexpcom]

I have a 2004 Cadillac SRX V8 AWD and it called for synthetic oil from the beginning. It's 19yrs and 170,000miles and running smoothly. I've changed oil when it says to or no longer than a year. Over the 19yrs to date, I've probably changed the oil 25 times which would be 170,000 / 25 = 6,800 miles between changes.

Similarly we had a 98 Buick Ultra also with 160,000 at 20yrs running fine before it was wrecked by our daughter and we changed oil the same - say every 7,000miles.

On these vehicles we did 20,000miles per year interstate driving a few times and probably went 10,000-15,000 miles between changes (followed the car oil life %). Other years it was just a couple of thousand and changed yearly regardless. These cars are also garaged.

For me, its been a mixed bag of longer and shorter mileage between changes but no complaints. 19-20yrs and 160-170,000 miles is acceptable service in my mind - but maybe I'm not expecting enough?

We just bought a used 2021 Yukon Denali and hoping it makes it 20yrs as well

 

[brianarmstrong]

Hello, I've got a 2003 Tahoe with 125k miles. It comes with the engine oil life indicator that gauges the oil life based on engine revolutions and temperature (it displays as a percentage).

Given the age of the truck, are these indicators still reliable, as long as they are reset after every oil change? I'd be curious to know if anyone with a similar age truck still opts to get oil changes on a mileage basis.

If the indicator is accurate, would that be a more conservative route maintenance-wise compared to just simply using mileage?

i had a 2013 yukon with the 5.3 litre motor ,I always used the oil change monitor to determine my oil changes, I changed oil when change oil light came on I drove thta 300000 km without an engine problem and its still on the road , I would trust it