Oil Change Required

[Sampa]

I typically change my fully synthetic (Mobil One) oil at 5,000 mile intervals. I recently got the instrument display to change my oil at barely 4,000 miles! I went ahead and did the change. The oil was a little dirty. I'm wondering what factors determine the Oil Change Required message to display? Is it simply timing the hours of engine operating or is it hopefully, something more complex?

[mrtn]

Oil is supposed to get dirty. That's what it does, dissolve carbon particles.

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

12 hours ago, Sampa said:

I typically change my fully synthetic (Mobil One) oil at 5,000 mile intervals. I recently got the instrument display to change my oil at barely 4,000 miles! I went ahead and did the change. The oil was a little dirty. I'm wondering what factors determine the Oil Change Required message to display? Is it simply timing the hours of engine operating or is it hopefully, something more complex?

I was under the impression that the feedback was simply mileage. After reading the Scheduled Maintenance section in the manual I still think so, but Marketing would seem to want you to believe otherwise.

[Beta Don]

14 hours ago, Sampa said:

I typically change my fully synthetic (Mobil One) oil at 5,000 mile intervals. I recently got the instrument display to change my oil at barely 4,000 miles! I went ahead and did the change. The oil was a little dirty.

For any synthetic worth a hoot, 5K is way too soon to be changing your oil  -  Way, WAY too soon!  Ford and most synthetic manufacturers recommend 12K changes.  I use Castrol Edge Extended Performance fully synthetic and Castrol says it is good for 20K changes

 

I typically change at 10 to 12K on mine because I don't drive it that many miles each year . . . . without the oil change reminder recommending me to change it sooner.  But . . . . if you don't reset the change reminder each and every time you do a change, then the change reminder is never going to give you good information . . . . it's eventually going to tell you to change it at some point, and that may end up being only 2 or 3K after your last change.  Read the manual on how to reset it after you do a change, even though it has never gone off and told you a change was necessary.  Reset the change reminder every single time, regardless . . . .  especially if you intend to use it as recommended

 

If yours was reset when a change was done and then you went 5K and changed it without resetting it and you got a change notice 4K later, it's actually telling you that you needed a change at 9K and not at 5K when you last did it . . . . or, more likely, you probably missed resetting it twice and what it's actually telling you is that it should be changed at 14K  -  Mine never says a change is needed before 12K . . . . but I reset it every time

 

At any rate, 5K changes with fully synthetic oil is certainly a waste of time, money and natural resources.  Google and read all about modern oil, modern engines and synthetic oil change mileage recommendations

 

Don

[jrm223]

As Beta Don said, your OLM was not reset during at least one of the most recent oil changes, likely two. Mine typically comes on somewhere around 10K miles, although I've never paid close enough attention to know exactly. I had an oil change right before a road trip for Thanksgiving - but before the OLM said "Change Oil Soon" - and less than 700 miles into my drive, the dash was saying "Oil Change Required", because the place didn't reset the OLM. Which tells me that the OLM is strictly looking at a few certain parameters, like miles & maybe even a couple operating parameters like engine load, idle, etc. But us peons don't typically get to know the nitty-gritty of what's actually used.

 

After an oil change: Turn the key to On position, engine off, press & hold brake and accelerator pedal simultaneously until the dash says the reset is complete. I think it took like 30-60 seconds for me. 

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

1 hour ago, jrm223 said:

As Beta Don said, your OLM was not reset during at least one of the most recent oil changes, likely two. Mine typically comes on somewhere around 10K miles, although I've never paid close enough attention to know exactly. I had an oil change right before a road trip for Thanksgiving - but before the OLM said "Change Oil Soon" - and less than 700 miles into my drive, the dash was saying "Oil Change Required", because the place didn't reset the OLM. Which tells me that the OLM is strictly looking at a few certain parameters, like miles & maybe even a couple operating parameters like engine load, idle, etc. But us peons don't typically get to know the nitty-gritty of what's actually used.

 

After an oil change: Turn the key to On position, engine off, press & hold brake and accelerator pedal simultaneously until the dash says the reset is complete. I think it took like 30-60 seconds for me. 

The shop didn't reset mine at first oil change (5k) and it came on right at 9.5k which makes sense since the manual states not to go more than 500 more miles without changing oil and never to exceed 10k. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that it is set at 9.5k and one year intervals. You'd have to show proof to get me to believe that the input parameters are anything more than mileage and/or time.

[Fifty150]

20 hours ago, Sampa said:

what factors determine the Oil Change Required message to display? 

 

 

 

[mrtn]

It's all fine and dandy, but my MM message comes on at 18Mm usually (11K+ miles) and I do quite a bit of towing.

[OLDSCHOOLFOOL]

Hmm...smiles...grunts....scratches. I think I'll keep my patented Sexy Girl Calendar method. Her rhythm looks a lot better than some old computer algorithm. 

[Sampa]

Thanks everybody for your info. I'm pretty certain that I reset the OIL CHANGE reminder. And unlike the Chrysler product that my TC replaced, you get feed back that the system is resetting, then finally, the system is reset. Perhaps driving habits were a little different this last time. Most of the time it was putting around town then up to the mountains and some snowy high elevation passes.  Sure didn't seem like the 2.5L was working all that hard. Guess I'll see how many miles I get before the next reminder? May just have to ignore it and follow my usual 5,000 mile schedule.