Oil Life Monitor

On our new HHR there is an oil life monitor on the driver info. When I was looking at the manual for recommended oil change intervals. There are none except for when the monitor tells you it's time. Is this thing a gimmick or pretty accurate? I've always been a 3-4000 mile guy, but then I'm old and set in my ways. What do you folks do that have these things?

Reply to
Paul O.
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Steve

Reply to
Steve Mackie

=46rom my point of view, the oil life monitor is useful. It takes several things into factoring oil life, not just a time/miles aspect. Oil quality has came a long way since the 3/3000 recommendation, and if the car manufacturer stands behind a longer interval, than you can be confident as well.

Reply to
Certainly

From my point of view, the oil life monitor is useful. It takes several things into factoring oil life, not just a time/miles aspect. Oil quality has came a long way since the 3/3000 recommendation, and if the car manufacturer stands behind a longer interval, than you can be confident as well.

I just had an oil change on my new GM vehicle. At 4000 miles, I had 40% oil life left. I check the oil color on the dip stick, and it looked very clear for 4000 miles. I changed it anyway being the first oil change. But I could go 5k-7k or what ever the monitor shows and be comfortable with it. In any case, for reasons I can not explain, I'd probably change it at 7K any way.

Dave C.

Reply to
Dave C.

GM spent a lot of money on this, but let me tell you that the car monitors NOTHING. It is strictly a mathematical calculation.

You can be relatively certain that you are protected if you use this indication.

But, as I am like you in some ways, you can also decide for yourself when to change oil and filter.

Reply to
HLS

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Reply to
Paul O.

The GM system does monitor the number of starts ambient temps and total revolutions of the engine between oil changes. I have an 07 Colorado driven in Phoenix for light delivery. It is a 2.9 auto. I have gone by the oil monitor for oil changes. The first change was 13,000 miles. The second time at just over 25,000, third cange at 38,800, fourth change at 52,000. The truck now has almost 59,000 and runs perfect. We will see how the truck does as the miles pile on. So far not one problem. Scott

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Reply to
zonie

I shouldnt have said that the system monitors nothing, as -by your post - it clearly has input. What I perhaps should have said is that it does not measure any parametric property of the oil itself, such as density, turbidity, color, viscosity, etc.

Reply to
HLS

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