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I have 1200 miles on my 2014 vette and the oil life is at 20% does not seem right.
It depends on when your C7 was manufactured as elapsed time between oil changes is also concidered. My C7 born 10/13/2013, VIN 496X, was at 24% about a month and a half ago. My dealer wanted it to be under 20% to do the oil change so I continued to drive it for about 200 miles over the next month and it was now at 18%, 2200 miles total. Called dealer to schedule an oil change for the next week. Did not drive the C7 during that week until the morning to visit the dealer. Upon starting my C7 that morning 9/15 it was now at 12%, less than a month from being 1 year old. Also the owners manual says the oil should be changed annually. I suspect this is so garage queen C7s don't end up with no oil changes over multiple years due to low mileages
If that is indeed correct, it is a new programming parameter for the C7 OLM. Calendar time was not in the programming for the C6 OLM.
That is what we are trying to figure out and by posters providing build date/VIN along with the current Oil Life % before the first change and maybe even those afterwards.
Why is this important? The obvious was is there something wrong for at least the OP and my C7 and others noted in threads elsewhere? The not so obvious is what are the warranty issues if the computer records run time on our C7s AFTER the Oil Life Moniter gets to 0% without being reset. In that situation you better have great documentation if someone other that a Chevy Dealer does your oil change. Not to be an alarmist here, but I have you been reading threads on the blown LT1s in the C7.
It looks like 3 factors are in play in the oil life monitor: time, mileage and number of stop/starts.
My C7 was built 2/20 and delivered to me on 3/29. It now has 1,300 miles on it and oil life left is 41%. I expect to be able to put another 300-400 miles on it before I change the oil and put it away for the winter at Thanksgiving.
I don't know for sure but I doubt that the computation takes into account the one year time limit and suspect that it's the same computation as for the C6. And if it did, it would not show anything relating to that criteria until you passed that limit. So say you are at 50% at just under one year, it would jump to 99% as the year limit passed. Don't think so.
Does the driving mode affect the OLM ? If TRACK mode is used all the time will the OLM percentage drop at a faster rate in comparison to the other modes ?
I don't know for sure but I doubt that the computation takes into account the one year time limit and suspect that it's the same computation as for the C6. And if it did, it would not show anything relating to that criteria until you passed that limit. So say you are at 50% at just under one year, it would jump to 99% as the year limit passed. Don't think so.
Hey Walt, so what are your data points for build date, VIN, mileage total, and Oil Life % now and before first oil/filter change if you already had one?
Unless Talon90 chimes with a difinitive answer in we all 'don't know for sure'.
If it considers the date, you could never be at 50% after a year .. Every day would affect oil life slightly
I'm guessing the date is now factored in .. the easiest way to tell would be to check the oil life %, park the car for a month, then start it up and check the percentage again .. if it changed a few points, then the date is being considered .. but who wants to let it sit for a month?
A big factor in the calculation is how the car is driven. A lot of short trips will kill oil life .. Letting it get fully warmed up each time it's driven extends oil life. Hard driving and excessive oil temps would also affect life adversely ..
Mine was born 6/30, is at 1600 miles and 80% life remaining. No short trips, ever. At least 20-30 miles every time it's driven ..
Mine was built mid April. At 1,600 miles my oil life is below 58%. Calendar percentage is about 8.33% per month. I have my car five months, deducting percentage would leave about 58% oil life remaining. Looks like calendar time is also figured into remaining oil life.
Last edited by Larry/car; Sep 21, 2014 at 06:03 PM.
Is total engine run hours a selectable display parameter on the C7? It is a handy data point that shows up in some GM vehicles like my GMC Sierra equipped with the diesel option. Possibly your C7 spent a lot of time idling at some point in the final test/dealer prep cycle?
There was a pretty good article in GM's techlink a few years ago explaining the various parameters used in the equation to calculate oil life remaining. Ambient temperature was a big factor because idling in cold weather with engine below normal operating temperature is a large negative factor.