Thread: Using the Oil Life Gauge

Does this show the actual resistance of the oild or does it just show milage and do people use this for Oil changes

It uses a formula based off RPMs, engine temperature, engine load, and various other parameters to calculate the breakdown and contamination of the oil. It relies on you to reset it when the oil is changed.

GM did a LOT of research (meaning, lots of money) on this with oil analysis to program the OLM and it works surprisingly well. Knowing what I know now about how much GM went through and how accurate it can be, I would not have an issue going until the OLM said the oil is bad. I reset it every time I change the oil.

and gms oil system is one the best out there. i change mine when it gets to about 30%

Originally Posted by Sabrewings

It uses a formula based off RPMs, engine temperature, engine load, and various other parameters to calculate the breakdown and contamination of the oil. It relies on you to reset it when the oil is changed.

GM did a LOT of research (meaning, lots of money) on this with oil analysis to program the OLM and it works surprisingly well. Knowing what I know now about how much GM went through and how accurate it can be, I would not have an issue going until the OLM said the oil is bad. I reset it every time I change the oil.

So knowing this, when do you recommend to change the oil? When the monitor gets to 0%?

I change mine every 3k miles and the OLM is around 65-70%.

Originally Posted by Zef_66

So knowing this, when do you recommend to change the oil? When the monitor gets to 0%?

I change mine every 3k miles and the OLM is around 65-70%.

To be honest, I'm not sure. On the Impala (well, 00-05 models) you can't view the percentage left. It just comes up one day on the message center and says "Change oil Soon". However, if I could see the percentage, I'd be comfortable getting in the 15-25% range.

I agree with Sabrewings. the GM OLM was one thing they did engineer well and is accurate. I usually reset mine at 0%. When it hits 0, I get an oil sample and send it in for analysis and keep on truckin' until the oil analysis says its time to be changed. That usually happens between 7500 - 8000 miles.

I change mine 3k or less no matter what it says. On all my vehicles I change it when it begins to look dirty even if its less than 3k. I never go over 3k. I had a 1991 3.1L lumina go 275k, a 93 3/4 ton chevy work truck go 400k and neither had any major repairs. So I'm a believer Changing too often can do no harm, and probably contributed to my engine's longevity.

Originally Posted by David99GTP

I change mine 3k or less no matter what it says. On all my vehicles I change it when it begins to look dirty even if its less than 3k.

That's very wasteful. Just because the oil is dark doesn't mean it's "dirty". It's doing its job of trapping and suspending carbon, which a good oil will start to turn dark in the first few hundred miles.

Motor Oil Myths and Facts

Originally Posted by David99GTP

So I'm a believer Changing too often can do no harm, and probably contributed to my engine's longevity.

Changing oil does help, but changing it at 3k isn't going to make a difference over 5k (or more) if you're using a quality oil.

I ran across a study a couple years ago that indicated that after an oil change, wear actually spiked. In other words, wear went up initially then settled. I havent seen any follow up studies yet but if it were to pan out and wear particles do actually increase initially after an oil change, then that would mean there could be 'some' harm in changing it too often.

If you use synthetic over convetional will the Car take that in to consideration when telling you the % of life left

Originally Posted by jacobmh27

If you use synthetic over convetional will the Car take that in to consideration when telling you the % of life left

It has no way of telling the difference.

i stay on the safe side and change mine every 2800 to 3000 miles with synthethic mobil 1 or penzoil i think. good expensive stuff lol. how do u reset the oil gauge i took my battery cables of a few days ago to put my stereo and stuff in and the computer was loopy then it started getting back to normal like the mileage left in the tank and the mpg stuff. the oil gauge do u just hit reset?

To reset the OLM, you need to press and hold the reset for 5 seconds. Or something like that.

As for oil changes, like I said, I change mine every 3k miles. I don't waste my money on oil analysis or anything. For my DD, that is fine.