Oil life monitor

[Benzadmiral]

I had GM's Oil Life Monitor on my previous Buick, and it worked quite well; in six months/~4500 miles I would still have 40% oil life left at change time, and the used oil analyses I had done by Blackstone indicated the oil was in fine shape.

Flash to today. The '11 Regal, non-turbo, had 93% oil life showing when I bought it, one month ago today. In the last 30 days, I've driven ~ 850 miles, 70% city driving; and the OLM has fallen to 79%. Now it's been chilly-to-cold here, and the rate ought to slow when the weather warms (probably early next month). And the 2.4L engine is quite different from the 3.8L six. Still, 14% in a month? At this rate I'll be at 20% left by early June -- about a 5-month, 4000-mile interval. Rather short for modern, synthetic or syn-blend Dexos oil.

How has your oil life monitor performed? Do you follow it for oil changes, or change earlier or later than it recommends? Is it possible that the direct-injection engine is simply hard on oil?

 

[bbronner413]

When I had my 2011 Buick Regal Turbo, it seemed the Oil Life Monitor was rather generous. Meaning the monitor slow to tick down the percentage, implying going about 7,000-10,000 miles between changes (in the summer). I actually think a Service Bulletin was posted to correct the lengthy intervals to a more realistic value.

Now in my 2013 Buick Regal GS, it seems the Oil Life Monitor is going down VERY fast. I got my oil change at 3,477 miles and at 4,036 I was on 84% left and now I have 4,877 miles with 59% left. This implies about every 34 miles it goes down 1% and seems that I'll need an oil change again at only 3,400-3,500 miles since the service.

I know it is the winter months and the weather is cold but this is a massive discrepancy between the 2 year models.

 

[TheGS]

i just changed mine at 5000 miles and it was at 63%. The last change i think was in October.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I was going to suggest, bbronner413, that maybe the turbo engine runs a bit hotter or gets the oil hot faster. But if both of yours were turbos, then that can't be the reason.

Perhaps, if nothing alters and I have to go in for a change in early June, I'll ask the dealer if they have a reprogramming for the OLM -- not from too long to just right, but from too short to just right.

 

[Walt G]

My '12 GS is also ticking down very slowly. I'm headed for 14k mile oil change intervals.

I don't trust it. I'm changing at 5k (but not resetting the monitor, just to see what it ends up at). I think the oil change interval should be based more on soot in the oil than oil breakdown on these cars, and with the amount of soot I see on the tailpipe, I'm concerned about soot in the oil.

The oil filter can't filter out soot, and it doesn't matter if the oil is synthetic or not if it's just got crap in it that can't be filtered out.

 

[Benzadmiral]

My '12 GS is also ticking down very slowly. I'm headed for 14k mile oil change intervals.

I don't trust it. I'm changing at 5k (but not resetting the monitor, just to see what it ends up at). I think the oil change interval should be based more on soot in the oil than oil breakdown on these cars, and with the amount of soot I see on the tailpipe, I'm concerned about soot in the oil.

The oil filter can't filter out soot, and it doesn't matter if the oil is synthetic or not if it's just got crap in it that can't be filtered out.

True. But there's also the question of whether the oil will see fuel dilution thanks to the direct-injection technology. It's true diesels have had this tech for a long time -- but then the oils for diesels, Heavy Duty Engine Oils or HDEOs, are engineered to handle large amounts of contaminants. If there was a Dexos-approved synth 5W30 HDEO somewhere, I'd consider using it. But I think HDEOs are all 5W40 or 15W40, and maybe 10W30 -- no 5W30.

 

[EnderWiggin]

I think mine was around 70ish% when I changed it at 15k. I'm going on a 5k mile interval, as as I'm old school and don't trust these oil life monitors. When my wife drove a lot for work, I would change her Malibu's oil every 7500 miles using Mobil 1's Extended performance 15k mi oil. Extra insurance I supposed. I always did my Sunfire GT at 3k with normal Mobil 1 5w30, and had 0 oil related problems with it when I traded it in back in August. Wife's 05 Classic has more miles than my 98 Sunfire did, and she had no problems with it either. I could tell a difference in both cars using 10w30 though. Before I started changing hers, her parents had it done for her, and they used 10w30. I used 10w30 twice when I owned the Sunfire, once was to troubleshoot a noise (switched to 5w30 after) and the other time was when Mobil 1 had a shortage of 5w30 due to oil shortages, or a plant problem, I can't recall. That car hated it, as it was way too thick when cold.

 

[Mackiesback]

I am old school. I change it at 3 k regardless. Meter not important at that point. I find the whole concept odd.

 

[NormT]

The OLM on the 2.0T with 90% highway should see almost 100 miles per percenatge point. Remeber slso the LHU engine holds 6 quarts insteand of the 4.5 qts of old.

 

[rodstafford]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/130122/1

 

[Benzadmiral]

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/130122/1

Rod, I'm a long-time member over there, and have read a lot of the posts on OLMs. There are some die-hards who refuse to believe in the OLM, but there's plenty of evidence that it's not merely a time/mileage counter but a very sophisticated device. I'm sure the Regal's OLM is correct (though it's way too early for me to conclude that it will continue to drop at 14% a month). I just wonder if maybe these engines are harder on oil, possibly because of direct injection.

If I have to change even $ynthetic oil every 5 months, that's not a terrible financial hardship compared to replacing a grenaded engine.

 

[shs92645]

I bought my 2011 Regal Turbo on October 1, so I am new to the Oil Life concept. That said, I had my first oil change last week and the dealer said to change every 5K if I stick with the blend that GM uses or longer if I go to full synthetic. Obviously, the primary responsibility of all of us is to check the oil level on a regular basis. I am used to that, since my Audi's burned so much oil. So far, my Regal has not gone down a drop.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I bought my 2011 Regal Turbo on October 1, so I am new to the Oil Life concept. That said, I had my first oil change last week and the dealer said to change every 5K if I stick with the blend that GM uses or longer if I go to full synthetic. Obviously, the primary responsibility of all of us is to check the oil level on a regular basis. I am used to that, since my Audi's burned so much oil. So far, my Regal has not gone down a drop.

That's what my dealer said as well.

My Regal CXL hit 62% oil life at the 2-month mark since I took delivery, and it was at 92% when I did so. In 2 months, then, 30% drop, or 15% a month. Five thousand miles for me would be over 6 months, and that would leave only 10% oil life or less. I think for this first time, I'll go in when the OLM hits 20%, and then clock it from there.

 

[MayorMcCheese]

The oil life monitor is just a reminder , I only use Castrol Edge Titanium or amsoil signature series .. And its been 5000 miles since my last oil change and my oil monitor sais 20% .. Just buy premium oil and a filter