I guess the Oil Monitor Works a Bit Differently on my car

I have an 07 malibu SS and the oil monitor consistently seems to zero out at about 3000 miles whether I do highway, city or a combination of both. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Reply to
Ted
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Could be your driving habits but sounds a little low. Most I have seen go about 5-7k before running out. You might check with your dealer to see if there are any service tips on it....

Reply to
Woody

Different engines use different algortihms.

Reply to
anon

As a matter of fact, I took the time to look at the monitor again and noticed that it will run out at about 6000 miles this time. Whether this is due to my using synthetic oil this time or that plus the fact that the car is now pretty well broken in may have some affect on the oil mileage.

Reply to
Ted

The oil monitor has no way of determining what type of oil you put in the engine.

You're seeing the algorithm adjust to the break in.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

The monitor is supposed to adjust for the number of starts, engine revs, heat? etc. So if one were to use an oil that's less prone to heat breakdown, wouldn't that have some effect on the oil life monitor?

Reply to
Ted

No because oil type has no bearing on any of the variables listed above. First off, synthetic doesn't necessarily guarantee a better oil. The oil monitor is not a physical monitor, it is a statistical monitor, it doesn't know whether you're using gold plated Pennzoil or Mrs. Butterworths pancake syrup.

This is why it is very important to make sure that the oil you are using meets the vehicle manufacturers approvals which are listed in the owners manual, i.e., GM LL-A-25, GM LL-B-25, GM4718M, GM6094M Ford WSS-M2C934-A, WSS-M2C153-H, WSS-M2C929-A Honda HTO-06 BMW LL-98, LL-01, LL-04, VW-Audi 502, 503, 503.01, 504, 505, 505.01, 506, 506.01

If your car calls for one of these approvals or a similar approval and it's not listed on the bottle or the(ir) product data sheet, you're using sub standard oil.

Reply to
aarcuda69062

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