Oil Life Monitoring Systems
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Oil Life Monitoring Systems
Many carmakers are using oil life monitoring systems that save oil and cut service costs.
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Nearly every manufacturer today has vehicles that require oils that meet their proprietary specifications, when you check your owner’s manual you will see the API and ILSAC ratings such as 5W20, 5W30, 0W30 etc. GM's requirement normally looks like "Look for the API symbol and ILSAC starburst. Use an oil meeting SAE 5W30 and GM specification GM6094M". Now that is paraphrased here, but when you look in your manual it is usually in bold print immediately below the API donut, and ILSAC starburst. Today if your manual shows GM6094M, or GM4718M, they are both obsolete specifications and are replaced by dexos. The one video linked here shows the manual in the background and the GM4718M specification is clearly visible, that car today to be serviced correctly should get a dexos licensed product.
Another common trap is the accidental resetting of the monitor system. GM publications specifically instruct owners to change their oil at 3000 miles if the system is accidently reset and no longer accurate. Some recommendations associated with this topic suggest sending an oil sample out for lab testing and yes you can definitely do that. Fleets do it all of the time in order to try and control expenses. But is that additional $25-$30 expense per test really justifiable for the average consumer? If you own and are maintaining one of the more expensive European models, and your oil changes cost around $100-$120 then maybe so. But if your vehicle can be serviced correctly for $29.00 you may not want to nearly double your expense.
One of the biggest issues with the extended service intervals has to do with getting a technician to take a look at all of the other things that also need checked periodically. Many issues develop slowly over a period of time so the normal driver simply doesn't notice them until they finally create a situation that gets the drivers attention. One of the most accurate statements we ever hear is "I never noticed it before XXXXXXXX" some would allege that the problem occurred because of possibly something that happened while the vehicle was being serviced, however most of the time the gradual nature of most failures allows them to be ignored until the owner has a reason to pay closer attention to their vehicle, then they notice XXXXXXX. When a real technician has your vehicle in for service, even if it's a visit for one of the most minor issues it should still get a look over, and all of the other fluid levels checked, and then above all a road test even if it's just around the block. The tendency for many owners to take their vehicles to quick lubes causes them to lose the chance for the kind of attention to detail and disciplined approach to properly inspecting their car that only a true master technician can deliver. Now with the fact that cars can go a year or more between even one of the most basic services has many vehicles being neglected. This is resulting in breakdowns, and greater failures than the owners would otherwise have had to deal with. It's also contributing to a situation where there are fewer places that can handle the larger problems that can occur which means sudden breakdowns can lead to a longer period of time without your car.
Today there is so much more to know, and it’s all driven by the technology that is in the industry. Things like what are the ACEA ratings and are they important for choosing the correct oil for your car? Is there really a difference between synthetic, fully synthetic, advanced synthetic, synthetic blend, and other oils without those words on the bottle? What does it mean when a bottle of oil that is labeled synthetic says on the bottle that it cannot be sold outside of the Americas?
Quality of oil is detected regardless which oil is used meaning the system will predict oil change intervals to be longer using synthetic oils compared to conventional oils.
Many carmakers are using oil life monitoring systems that save oil and cut service costs.
This article was written back in 2011 and like many others back then it distorted the information by first preaching to the idea of spending less for service. This one combined with others that questioned whether you had to use the manufacturers oil where they blurred the difference between brands and specifications and its no wonder we are seeing a number of the failures that are occurring today. Choosing the right oil shouldn't be difficult for any vehicle but misinformation made it harder than it needed to be. Fortunately articles like these have been going away and that has been making room for accurate information. That's not totally correct. It is correct that most systems rely on recording the conditions that degrade the oil and simply countdown, however there is an exception but its usefullness and accuracy are in question. Mercedes has (had?) a system that includes a capacitive sensor that is reported to detect certain issues with the oil and command the service be performed before the regular maintenace system counter does. Now just how bad the oil has to get or what exactly the system really is detecting isn't something that we can pin down.