Oil Life Monitor

Hi:

I just bought a 2004 Pontiac Montana. It has an Oil life Monitor. My dealer tells me that the oil should be changed after the light comes on and after 2 tanks of fuel are burnt

How accurate is this? should I just have it changed every 3 months or 5000 kms, like my 2000 cavalier?

I just realize the importance of oil changes and service and I have read about the controversy concerning this subject.

Thanks Mike

Reply to
Mike
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Read your operator manual. It has the manufacturers recommendations. It also explains the service light which is normally based on mileage driven since last reset. It also explains haw to reset it. The dealer is usually biased towards more income than actual needs of the vehicle.

Reply to
Woody

Hi..

I have a 2002 Venture with the Oil Life Monitor as well. I still do my oil chnges at the 5000Km mark regardless of what the monitor says. I figure it's cheap insurance. Got enough problems with the dreaded piston slap so I feel good oil is even more important.

Steve

Reply to
Me

There is no controversy. Read your owner's manual. There is a section about oil changes. It sounds like your dealer is trying to do one of two things. Either he is just trying to drum up more service business, or he is testing you to see how gullible you are.

---Bob Gross---

Reply to
Robertwgross

"Robertwgross" wrote

I'm not sure how you come to the conclusion that the Dealer is trying to drum up more business. If I read the OP correctly, the dealer is telling him one of two things. (the op is bit vague in his opening statement) Either change the oil when the oil light monitor comes on "and" he's put another two tanks of fuel through it....or....do an initial oil change on the vehicle after two tanks of fuel, and then begin to use the oil life monitor. Either way, I don't see any attempt to drum up more service business. An early initial oil change is good advice in my books. Following the oil life monitor will actually result in "less" service business for the dealer. Under most driving conditions, the oil life monitor usually ends up extending the oil change intervals past the 5000 klm mark.

Does anyone on these newsgroups know how much profit is generated by oil changes in a dealership on low mileage vehicles? If not, I'll let you in on a secret.....there is "none", quite possibly there may even be a "negative" profit. And since we aren't really allowed to "actively" sell warranty repairs, this is not a huge profit center either. In fact, our dealership does everything it can to prevent large amounts of warranty claims as GM gets quite excited if you are over the national average. Obviously, we will point out and repair defects that come to our attention when doing regular maintenance. This is only fair, as the customer is expecting us to check and advise on problems that we see when doing things like oil changes and tire rotations. Any warranty repair that the customer does not actively complain about, has to be verified by shop foreman...etc, etc.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

"Mike" wrote

You are a bit vague about what the dealer actually told you. Personally, I'd go with an initial quick oil change (say, after about 1-2000 klms) and then I would follow the old 3 month/5000 klm schedule. On your vehicle you can't actually see the oil life percentage left (at least I don't recall this info being available on your model) so you can't really track where the oil life monitor is at when you hit 5000 klms. Some models, like the Caddy's, will allow you to see the remaining oil life percentage. This is helpful, so that you can compare your driving habits to how fast the oil life monitor is ticking down.

I'm not a big believer in the oil life monitoring system. Especially with your vehicle which has known problems with the intake gasket leaking coolant both externally and internally. The oil life monitoring system "cannot" detect an internal coolant leak. So to me, regular oil changes at regular intervals will go a long way towards preventing engine damage that could occur if you start to get an internal coolant leak.

GM is really pushing the oil life monitoring system hard. Even internally.....they basically try to make you feel like you are an idiot with no concern for the customer or the environment. Which is fine: we'll see how good it is for the customer in the years to come. I guess if you only drive your vehicle for the 3 year lease period, you can afford to leave the regular maintenance by the wayside. But if you plan to keep the vehicle for a long time....I'd stick with the tried and true oil change intervals.

If you want to read GM's propaganda...here's a link from the GM website:

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Ian

Reply to
shiden_Kai

As a side note, I saw in the tech bulletin refrences to "maintenance 1 and

2"...I assume these are the "normal" and "severe" maintenance schedules. Just wondering if these are the same as in the owner's manual or whether they are better/more complete, etc. If the latter, can you post a link to them? Thanks!
Reply to
gad

Thanks for that info shiden_kai. Some of us can read posts with understanding. Unlike whats his face Robertwgross. Who thinks a good scolding and a " Read your owners manual" statement, is good enough information to make him look like an expert!

Thanks Again shiden_Kai. Keep up the good work in this group.

Mike

Personally,

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Reply to
Mike

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