Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Car Guy Question....
Barry Irby
I have a Honda and so does my friend. My change oil warning came on indicating I had 1500 miles to go to a oil change.
My friend thinks the waring is based on viscosity. I thought it was nothing but a counter, they reset to remind you of the milage since the last change.
Anybody know how this really works?
(And why the heck do they start pestering you 1500 miles in advance? 500 would be plenty.)
On my Fords and Jeep
Mike L
The light does not come on until it needs to be changed. I pretty sure Ford and Chrysler’s use a way to measure the viscosity and the contamination, because it tells me the percent of oil life left. How Honda does it may just be by miles if they warn you at 1500 miles left.
Re: Car Guy Question....
John Veerkamp
on my last several GM cars and on my Subaru the alert is based on milage since last change.
Re: On my Fords and Jeep
Mark Nowicki
Mileage from last reset.
My 2012 Civic is telling me I was due for a change 1800 kms. ago
My 2010 Dodge has been telling me to change oil for the past year and a half.
The % life left is probably an algorithm with mileage between resets, RPM changes (city vs highway) and engine temp as inputs.
I change my oil on a five or zero odometer reading.
Re: Car Guy Question.... *LINK*
https://www.curryhondany.com/servicedept.cfm/page/honda-maintenance-minder-faqs-570/
Re: Car Guy Question....
David Yoho
Looks like the link Dick Coers posted explains it, Barry.
I'm from the old school thinking that oil and filter gets changed every 3000 miles. However, since buying my 2013 Ram 1500 and knowing technology and oils have improved, I have modified my thinking. I suppose there's an alert in my truck's system to indicate it's due for maintenance but I've never waited for it, so haven't seen it. I have mine changed every 5000 miles. I figure it doesn't hurt, might help longevity, and it's easier to remember every time another 5000 rolls around on the odometer.
Wow! I was completely wrong....
Barry Irby
Thanks.
I will be getting my oil changed tomorrow.
1500 miles is not very long
Ian Neuhaus
Barry commented
And why the heck do they start pestering you 1500 miles in advance? 500 would be plenty.
at my current usage, 1500 miles is less than 2 weeks of driving.
Re: Testing is the the only meaningful way
TomD
The only real way to know is to get your oil tested. Then you can tell where you stand. I find the whole oil thing on boards very annoying. Either the people on these boards are extremists (as are many of us on maters wood related), or they are shilling for a company. You get people who say they change their oil at half the recommended life span for regular oil, and they have upgraded to one of the super oils that typically deliver twice the lifespan.
Oh, and I am in Canada where a lot of folks seem to just use the same numbers as in the US, where a 3000 mile interval is 5000km, but they are switching every 3000km.
I have Royal Purple in the F-150, and they say their stuff is good for 4-5 times the 3 thousand mile interval, except they won't actually be specific, which is presumably why some people still switch it out weekly, just to be safe.