Oil Life Indicator

[Suspect Chin]

Those of you with newer cars that have an Oil Life Indicator, where the percentage of life left in your oil before a change is needed is shown, this question is for you.

Do you go by this indicator and wait until the percentage gets down to 0 before changing oil, or do you change the oil at regular intervals as we have done since the beginning of time?

I looked at my owner's manual and other forums dedicated to my car and everyone seems to think it is ok to wait for the oil life to expire. I use full synthetic in my car and can easily go 10-12K miles before the life runs out.

[ToiletCrusher]

I have an import and from what I understand, imports are self aware.

[SatCam]

I have a Honda and they want you to change it at 15%. That is when the service light comes on. If you change it before or after 15% you are voiding the warranty, apparently.

There is debate as to whether the indicator acclimates itself to the type of oil you are using, but it is definitely useful to people who use regular dino oil because it takes into account driving conditions, not just how many miles/how much time has passed

[angrymissy]

I always changed every 3k, but the oil life thingee on my crv gives me about 12k. Makes me nervous but the dealership said its aok to follow it.

[Chigworthy]

On my old truck, I thought the oil life indicator actually monitored the quality of the oil and gave you feed back. Until I noticed it activated at 5000 miles every time. It's just a timer.

[Suspect Chin]

On my old truck, I thought the oil life indicator actually monitored the quality of the oil and gave you feed back. Until I noticed it activated at 5000 miles every time. It's just a timer.

That may be true on your truck, but on some new cars, there is actually a sensor that monitors the oil viscosity and life of the oil (at least according to my owner's manual).

[boosterp]

That may be true on your truck, but on some new cars, there is actually a sensor that monitors the oil viscosity and life of the oil (at least according to my owner's manual).

The old ones were basically timers that had to be reset. On new cars there are two methods in how this works. One is for it to measure the resistance of the oil as it moves to or from the oil filter. The more deposits, the more clogged the oil filter, the increased resistance telling you to change the oil at a certain point. On more expensive cars I have read that there is an infrared light that actually measures the particles in the oil and sends feedback to the computer telling it when to change.

As for me, fuck the sensors. It is hot here, the roads can be quite dirty, and there is stop and go traffic. All of which is hell on the engine and it's fluids. Changing your oil at certain routine intervals extend the life of your motor.

Now, if your indicator says you are fine and the motor detonates under warranty you are still fine. The read your computer when you take it in and know that you were in the clear. The can also measure certain properties of the oil and make certain you followed the guidelines.

SatCam, I had never heard that changing you oil on a Honda too soon voids you warranty. On a 06 of my sister's I reviewed all the information when I had to crawl under it, I never read anything like that. Damn Honda front ends still suck.

[instrument]

The old ones were definitely timers.

Some people confuse them with their actual oil level, a friend called me scared he'd seize his motor, I was happy to inform him it wasn't the actual oil level like his old accord, poor guy.