hello all, new to c5 world (also have a c3) so have a question. keep hearing about "oil life indicator" where is this displayed and how to you get it to display? thanks for any info and look forward to learning about these cool cars.

 

On the DIC just keep pushing the trip button.I will display the mileage,trip mileage(both A and B),your elapsed time,average speed and FINALLY the oil life remaining!

 

thank you

 

When the oil life reaches 0% you won't have to look for anything---the "CHANGE OIL" warning will light up on the dash and will remain until you reset the life indicator
To get the change oil light to go OFF and to re set the life meter:
1. Turn ignition key "ON" without starting the engine
2. depress on the gas pedal FULLY--(wide open -floored) and lift off the pedal COMPLETELY ------ 3 times in a row
3. Turn key off
the meter is now re-set to 100%

 

I think the light comes on at 0%.Not being critical,just trying to relay the correct info.

 

Oops --- Thks I corrected the post----

 

Actually, it comes on quite a bit before 0%. More like 10% you start getting messages on the DIC every time you start the car. At least on my 98 it's that way.

 

Mine starts showing up around 6%, 99Vert

 

Im still to scared to let it get that low! , I have gone to 15%, but no less!

 

You can go to 0 %.. don't be afraid.. that's why its there.. be confident in its ability to determine a safe oil cycle... when it reaches 10 % you will get a warning.. that's when you want to schedule an oil change be it one you do yourself or one that you pay someone to do... in any event. even if you reach 0% there is a built in safety factor... when we developed the oil life monitor we used a benchmark of 10,000 miles and then subtracted from that through the oil life cycle.. we allowed this to go on while we gathered field data.. we were so confident in the OLM system we increased the benchmark to 15,000 miles ( this doesn't mean you can drive your car for 15,000 miles instead of 10,000 miles.)
the algorithms that determine the decrease in oil life integrity subtract from that bench mark. typical oil life is between 3,000 miles to 6,000 miles... based on how you drive.... this system is much better than changing your oil every 3000 miles and better for the planet and your pocket book , if you follow it. Also you never want to exceed 0ne year of service because carbon and metal breakdown causes an acid PH of the oil, this causes thermal breakdown of the oil and the additive package it can also effect gaskets and seals ... one year is where you want to change your oil if you don't hit the 0% mark.

 

I certainly feel better about it now, thank you!

 

What you don't want to do is follow in the footsteps of your grandfather, and what he did with his Desoto back in 1950. Get out of that mileage mentality... mileage means almost nothing, when it comes to oil integrity.
here is a quick logic analogy:
Car #1 is a daily driver.. car sees highway driving @ 50 mph.. engine sees avg. 1200 rpm in 6th gear. so in an hour of driving @ 50 mph, the engine sees 72,000 revolutions of work. ( 1200rpm X 60 minutes = 72,000 revolutions of work.

Car#2 is Not a DD. car sees city and local traffic, never sees 5th or 6th gear, never sees an over drive gear. Combined city and local driving sees an "average" of 3,000 rpm, running through the gears at each stop light and stop sign, and rarely seeing 4th gear.. So Car #2 sees the same 50 miles although it may take several days but Car #2 sees 180,000 ( 3000 rpm X 60 minutes= 180,000 ) revolutions of work to cover the same 50 miles.
So car #2 sees 2 1/2 times the work that Car #1 sees in the same 50 miles. This is just using mileage .. consider that Car# 2 also sees many cold starts, closed loop, lugging under load, etc conditions to go the same 50 miles, that my take more than several days, further degrading the oil that Car #1 never sees in his 50 mile journey of a single day
Doesn't this seem logical?
This is why the OLM is much better than a single Number using mileage as the oil change criteria.
People will argue that if they change their oil every 2000 miles, they are protecting their engine better than what the OLM does... this may be true but you are wasting resources and throwing money away.. especially if you do 10,000 miles a year... that's 5 oil changes a year, where two changes may be enough for the same 10,000 miles, and for those who pay someone to change the oil, thats 375 dollars a year vs. 150 dollars a year for the same protection. Throwing away good oil is what many people do.
Bill aka ET

 

Great info,

 

Very insightful. I appreciate that. I got just over 5k out of my last oil change. I may be able to approach 6k if I listen to the OLM.

 

I've been meaning to ask you about this, Bill. My car is an '02 thus it uses a base of 10,000 mi, correct? So with the way I drive, the OLM typically hits 0 right around 6,000. Later on, the base was increased to 15,000 as more confidence was developed for the OLM. So is it safe to assume that I'm good for more like 9,000 miles assuming I don't make any changes to my driving habits? That is to say...

( 6000/10000 ) * 15000 = 9000

or rather ... drive to 0%, reset, drive to 50%, change oil? :

 

the OLM base line was changed in early 2000 model year, to 15000 miles.

 

Oh wow... I guess my *ahem* habits are ageing the oil more quickly than I realized.

 

You don't listen to the OLM , it listens to you... meaning how you drive effects your car and only your car... of course if you mean taking it down to 0%.. sure you can do that and get more safe oil mileage out of an oil change. I tell people that change their oil them self to go and buy the oil when you see 10%... then wait until a nice weekend when your at 0% or 1 %. some people going from 10 % down to 0 % can be 3 or 4 weeks for others it can be 4 or five days.
For those who take their car to a shop.... at 10 % is when you should be making an appointment, especially if the shop is busy and it takes a few days to get you in. If you go over a day or two ( I don't recommend you get into this cycle ) its OK but not recommended...of course we all know about the one year ( no matter what the oil life says... the OLM does not measure or test the actual oil, only the way you drive...