Oil life %

[Jconnor]

My DIC shows the "oil life" %. At what time is it recommended that the oil be changed? Other than the normal 3,000 mile that most people use. I tow a travel trailer with a GVWR of 7500lbs, so oil life will drop faster. Just curious at what %?
Thanks
Jim

[weo38]

I think you may get a change oil message in your display when it's time to change oil. At least that's what I get on my truck.

[silverado122775]

That oil% is for people who do not know when to change the oil. just follow what the user manual says. But for giggles, I think if it falls below 50% I would begin to think about an oil change.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by silverado122775

That oil% is for people who do not know when to change the oil. just follow what the user manual says. But for giggles, I think if it falls below 50% I would begin to think about an oil change.

That's pretty much "dead on". People who are more familiar with their vehicles and knowledgeable about oil and when is a good time to change it will generally do so once it drops below 50%. In the shop most people I've seen do it between 10 and 25% ( sometimes it depends on their schedule when they can get it in to change the oil.) But it all boils down to when you feel comfortable at what %. I use synthetic so the monitor doesn't apply in my circumstance but I still use it to gauge when to change it,(usually after resetting it 3 times once it's gotten down there, so it's around 9 to 10,000 miles.)

[Jconnor]

Thanks for the replies, i am one who preferes to change every 3,000 miles, and do it myself. On the synthetic oils, are they really that much better?

[weo38]

If your vehicle is relatively new (less than say 25,000 miles), than one advantage is the extended drain interval. I know Amsoil synthetics the oil is only recommended to be changed once a year or 25,000 miles whichever comes first. But in most cases you can go at least 10,000 miles and not have to worry too much about the breakdown of the oil. Synthetics last longer and have better anti-wear properties than conventional.

[2string]

Are you saying don't use synthetic on vehicles with more then 25,000 on them?

[knogoodidleft]

Meh, i use full synthetic and change it every 3,000 miles, and the oil still comes out dirty...

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by 2string

Are you saying don't use synthetic on vehicles with more then 25,000 on them?

I wouldn't use synthetics on an older/high mileage engine as leaks are prone to develop since the synthetic cleans sludge from the inside of your engine.

I like synthetics because of their protection of the internal parts of the engine is better, and as also stated before , the longer change interval. O still change my filter about halfway through the "service life" of the oil (anywheres from 5,000 to 6,000 miles,) and top off the oil to compensate what was lost from changing just the filter. I believe that using synthetics has two good results. 1) It can reduce our dependency on foreign oil in that we aren't changing our oil so much that we continue to increase demand for it, and 2) Since were not changing our oil every 3,000 or so miles, we are actually reducing the amount of waste oil we generate and thus have to recycle , or disposed of improperly in the environment,(yes there are people who still dump there oil wherever they can ) I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I have to wonder if these companies that produce the oil we use in our vehicles lobby the car manufacturers and other "experts" in the field to continue to recommend the 3,000 mile oil change to keep their profits up. There has been major technological advances in both engines and oils in the last decade and one would think with these improvement, you could lengthen the time between oil changes. Granted , some manufacturers and "experts" are now advocating longer change intervals of 5 and 7,000 miles, but could you imagine if everybody started using those figures for oil changes, the amount of money these companies that produce it would lose?They wouldn't go for it. Just my