Oil Life 13%
09-22-2017, 02:45 PM
#1
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Oil Life 13%
Hey guys!
It's been awhile since I've posted but I have recently been driving around 500 miles every weekend and have noticed my oil life has dropped to 13%. I don't get free oil changes anymore but is this something I should be worried about, like should I be getting an oil change like RIGHT NOW, before doing another road trip, to avoid damaging the engine?
Looking forward to any kind advice!
Kind regards,
Xtina
It's been awhile since I've posted but I have recently been driving around 500 miles every weekend and have noticed my oil life has dropped to 13%. I don't get free oil changes anymore but is this something I should be worried about, like should I be getting an oil change like RIGHT NOW, before doing another road trip, to avoid damaging the engine?
Looking forward to any kind advice!
Kind regards,
Xtina
Popular Reply
09-28-2017, 05:38 PM
Drifting
I’m a latecomer to this thread. I glanced at it early, and it seemed to be the usual interval silliness, so I haven’t looked again until today. My experience at one of the big oil companies is that the few, really senior technical types keep their eyes on things. They let a lot of minor details go by, because as many have said in various ways in this thread, you don’t have time for everything. On the other hand, they don’t let fundamental and/or serious errors go by. So if I apply that thinking to this thread, can I imagine that there are debates down among the weeds about exactly what functionality the OLM should have? Sure. But can I imagine that it’s seriously wrong? Nope. And I say that from two standpoints. First, the analogy that I wouldn’t have let a serious error go by in such an important function. Second, the fact that I know from my own oil company’s testing that 25 spread full synthetics (such as 5W30) are perfectly ok for intervals even longer than come out of the OLM’s. I might start getting sweaty palms with dino oil or ultra wide spread oils like 0W40, but that’s a different issue. And the issue of time interval for very low mileage cars is a toughie. It really boils down to how those low miles are driven. If it’s a super-short daily commute to an office 3 miles from your house, you are probably at high risk. But if it’s just rare use, but when it’s used, you get the oil thoroughly hot (>170F on oil, the coolant temp is totally irrelevant), then you are probably ok for well over a year.
09-22-2017, 02:59 PM
#2
Team Owner
Hey guys!
It's been awhile since I've posted but I have recently been driving around 500 miles every weekend and have noticed my oil life has dropped to 13%. I don't get free oil changes anymore but is this something I should be worried about, like should I be getting an oil change like RIGHT NOW, before doing another road trip, to avoid damaging the engine?
Looking forward to any kind advice!
Kind regards,
Xtina
It's been awhile since I've posted but I have recently been driving around 500 miles every weekend and have noticed my oil life has dropped to 13%. I don't get free oil changes anymore but is this something I should be worried about, like should I be getting an oil change like RIGHT NOW, before doing another road trip, to avoid damaging the engine?
Looking forward to any kind advice!
Kind regards,
Xtina
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BaconWrappedSushi (09-25-2017)
09-22-2017, 03:01 PM
#3
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09, '14-'15-'16-'17-'18
I'm at 43% and plan to get my oil/filter changed in a couple of week from now. In general, I don't let it get below 40% before getting it serviced. I'm a fanatic about that sort of thing because it's the easiest thing one can do to ensure long engine life.
Now excuse me while I get out of the way for those who will say that GM knows what they are doing with the algorithms that set the percentages for getting oil changed and that it's OK to wait until approaching 0%.
Now excuse me while I get out of the way for those who will say that GM knows what they are doing with the algorithms that set the percentages for getting oil changed and that it's OK to wait until approaching 0%.
09-22-2017, 03:03 PM
#5
Hey guys!
It's been awhile since I've posted but I have recently been driving around 500 miles every weekend and have noticed my oil life has dropped to 13%. I don't get free oil changes anymore but is this something I should be worried about, like should I be getting an oil change like RIGHT NOW, before doing another road trip, to avoid damaging the engine?
Looking forward to any kind advice!
Kind regards,
Xtina
It's been awhile since I've posted but I have recently been driving around 500 miles every weekend and have noticed my oil life has dropped to 13%. I don't get free oil changes anymore but is this something I should be worried about, like should I be getting an oil change like RIGHT NOW, before doing another road trip, to avoid damaging the engine?
Looking forward to any kind advice!
Kind regards,
Xtina
But, to answer your question, you're not going to hurt anything letting it go down to zero. There is an undefined grace period, but you most keep up w/ the required services to keep your warranty intact.
Last edited by Foosh; 09-22-2017 at 03:17 PM.
09-22-2017, 03:36 PM
#7
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2015 C7 of the Year Finalist
At 5% it'll start to nag ya to change the oil. I let it go until I get nagged and then I change the oil.
Elmer
Elmer
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09-22-2017, 03:37 PM
#8
Team Owner
No big deal either way change it now or let it go to zero.
09-22-2017, 03:47 PM
#9
Le Mans Master
I schedule my appointment once it gets to 10% of so... I wouldn't worry about it just change it when you can.
I do check my oil on a regular basis (weekly) to ensure levels are correct and oil looks okay.
I do check my oil on a regular basis (weekly) to ensure levels are correct and oil looks okay.
Last edited by thill444; 09-22-2017 at 03:47 PM.
09-22-2017, 03:52 PM
#10
You should check your manual, which requires an annual oil change, even if you've only put 500 miles on it in that year. You can't just focus on mileage.
Many Corvette owners don't put 5K miles on it during the 3-year warranty period, and if they've never changed the oil during that time, they'd be in serious trouble in the event of a warranty claim.
09-22-2017, 04:09 PM
#12
Le Mans Master
The computer adjusts for the oil life based on time. My car only had 2000k miles on it since the last oil change but it had almost been a year and it was at like 8%.
09-22-2017, 04:21 PM
#13
Le Mans Master
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Right there with ya brother. Albeit I won't put 5K miles on mine in a year, and most always have to change mine at the 12 month mark. My other cars, they're going in at 5K. To me the price is cheap enough to feed my OCD. 
BTW, traveled through your beautiful city last month. Stayed at the HIE on 37th.
Xtina, you can change it or wait. Your preference.
Last edited by Rebel Yell; 09-22-2017 at 04:21 PM.
09-24-2017, 09:32 PM
#14
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I'm at 43% and plan to get my oil/filter changed in a couple of week from now. In general, I don't let it get below 40% before getting it serviced. I'm a fanatic about that sort of thing because it's the easiest thing one can do to ensure long engine life.
Now excuse me while I get out of the way for those who will say that GM knows what they are doing with the algorithms that set the percentages for getting oil changed and that it's OK to wait until approaching 0%.
Now excuse me while I get out of the way for those who will say that GM knows what they are doing with the algorithms that set the percentages for getting oil changed and that it's OK to wait until approaching 0%.
Just the time component will consume 60% of the OLM in that time.
Basically you're changing oil every 6 months if not faster.
09-24-2017, 09:37 PM
#15
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You should check your manual, which requires an annual oil change, even if you've only put 500 miles on it in that year. You can't just focus on mileage.
Many Corvette owners don't put 5K miles on it during the 3-year warranty period, and if they've never changed the oil during that time, they'd be in serious trouble in the event of a warranty claim.
Many Corvette owners don't put 5K miles on it during the 3-year warranty period, and if they've never changed the oil during that time, they'd be in serious trouble in the event of a warranty claim.
The OLM on my car from April to October of last year went down to 13% and I had put on 6900 miles on the car. I feel that even putting on a "normal" 1000 miles a month with no time component the OLM would demand a change before crossing 10000 miles. Much more aggressive than the C6 OLM. With the time component I feel like getting over 8000 miles in a 6 month period on a single oil change is damn near impossible.
09-24-2017, 11:12 PM
#16
Moderator
It sounds like it's been 11 months since your last oil change. It's based upon mileage, type of usage, and also time. At the 1 year anniversary of the date on which the oil life monitor was last reset, it will read 0%. You can change the oil, and not even start it for a year, and it will still read 0% exactly 1 year after resetting the monitor.
But, to answer your question, you're not going to hurt anything letting it go down to zero. There is an undefined grace period, but you most keep up w/ the required services to keep your warranty intact.
But, to answer your question, you're not going to hurt anything letting it go down to zero. There is an undefined grace period, but you most keep up w/ the required services to keep your warranty intact.
When the system has calculated
that oil life has been diminished, it
indicates that an oil change is
necessary. A CHANGE ENGINE
OIL SOON message comes on.
Change the oil as soon as possible
within the next 1 000 km (600 mi).
that oil life has been diminished, it
indicates that an oil change is
necessary. A CHANGE ENGINE
OIL SOON message comes on.
Change the oil as soon as possible
within the next 1 000 km (600 mi).
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09-24-2017, 11:43 PM
#17
If they put on 5k, even without the time component they'd be down under 50%.
The OLM on my car from April to October of last year went down to 13% and I had put on 6900 miles on the car. I feel that even putting on a "normal" 1000 miles a month with no time component the OLM would demand a change before crossing 10000 miles. Much more aggressive than the C6 OLM. With the time component I feel like getting over 8000 miles in a 6 month period on a single oil change is damn near impossible.
The OLM on my car from April to October of last year went down to 13% and I had put on 6900 miles on the car. I feel that even putting on a "normal" 1000 miles a month with no time component the OLM would demand a change before crossing 10000 miles. Much more aggressive than the C6 OLM. With the time component I feel like getting over 8000 miles in a 6 month period on a single oil change is damn near impossible.
09-25-2017, 12:10 AM
#18
You should check your manual, which requires an annual oil change, even if you've only put 500 miles on it in that year. You can't just focus on mileage.
Many Corvette owners don't put 5K miles on it during the 3-year warranty period, and if they've never changed the oil during that time, they'd be in serious trouble in the event of a warranty claim.
Many Corvette owners don't put 5K miles on it during the 3-year warranty period, and if they've never changed the oil during that time, they'd be in serious trouble in the event of a warranty claim.
