Oil life?

[jayarek]

Maybe you lucked out and got the biodegradable oil? Better for the environment. Not so much for the vehicle in the long run.

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[HeyBales]

I just past 1 year on my ‘23 hybrid and at only 3,600 miles (yes, I don’t drive it as much as I would like due to too many cars) displays the “change oil soon” dashboard message. And I am within the shaded area on the dipstick. How is oil life calculated? # of miles driven, # of days since last change, oil level, etc?

Not level.

Yes time, temps, trip lengths, on hybrid: engine used miles, engine run time, engine idle time.
Probably more, those are the fields mentioned I've found logged info for.

 

[MetalsGeek]

There are a couple likely scenarios to explain this clear software bug. (1) Since the app was likely written with culture-specific components (language, units of measure, etc) the versions using non-USA English were not well tested. (2) The software developer could have reused a subroutine that was originally written to display the estimated distance remaining in the fuel tank.
Software development costs are notoriously difficult to control, partly because software is never perfect and the developers can "always" find things to improve and bugs to fix. At some point, management typically calls the product "done" (good enough) and pulls the funding plug.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

I think this is another one of those cases where the metric is technically more accurate but the imperial is easier to understand.

And then there's temperature measurements. F° is more accurate, but C° is easier to remember.

Water freezes at 0° C (32° F)
Water boils at 100° C (212° F)

 

[tciotti2003]

2022 Lariat EB.

 

[Mother Trucker]

So I’m not a heavy driver (5,200 miles in almost 11 months now). App says 10% oil life left. While I know I’ve read the monitor is trying to take into account mileage, driving patterns, and time in “monitoring” the remaining oil life, I wonder if time trumps the other factors.
What I’m asking is does everyone reach the 0% life remaining by the end of a year even with low mileage/light driving?.
I know lots of ppl drive more and get to 0% in less time due to their actual driving factors, so I guess I’d really only like to hear from low mileage drivers or ppl who know specifically about this particular question.
This is my first hybrid and I figured it would be good for 8,000 to 10,000 miles between oil changes as that would be roughly equivalent to 5,000 to 6,000 engine driven miles. Maybe the 8,000 to 10,000 miles between oil changes would be true if I drove more, but I think the clock might be trumping my low mileage.
Thx.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

What I’m asking is does everyone reach the 0% life remaining by the end of a year even with low mileage/light driving?.

OLM calculates several things. And one of them is time. It will always remind you to change the oil at the end of 12 months, regardless of miles on that oil change.

You should change it at least every 12 months, regardless of miles.

 

[Toddman45]

Can anyone tell me what this means’4000 kms till empty’ on oil? Don’t want to run out of oil. View attachment 184416

Must be a Canadian thing. Doesn't say that here in the US.

 

[Jeff D.]

What I’m asking is does everyone reach the 0% life remaining by the end of a year even with low mileage/light driving?.

I changed my oil the first time early, at 1820 miles on March 6th 2024. My OLM recently recommended I change it next at Jan 3rd 2025. I ended up changing it a few days early on Dec 27th, 2024 at 5314 miles. So, I only had 3494 miles, and ~ 10 months between recommended changes (within a few days).

If I were to guess, I think my low miles and short drives contributed to my OLM's recommendations.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

So I’m not a heavy driver (5,200 miles in almost 11 months now). App says 10% oil life left. While I know I’ve read the monitor is trying to take into account mileage, driving patterns, and time in “monitoring” the remaining oil life, I wonder if time trumps the other factors.
What I’m asking is does everyone reach the 0% life remaining by the end of a year even with low mileage/light driving?.
I know lots of ppl drive more and get to 0% in less time due to their actual driving factors, so I guess I’d really only like to hear from low mileage drivers or ppl who know specifically about this particular question.
This is my first hybrid and I figured it would be good for 8,000 to 10,000 miles between oil changes as that would be roughly equivalent to 5,000 to 6,000 engine driven miles. Maybe the 8,000 to 10,000 miles between oil changes would be true if I drove more, but I think the clock might be trumping my low mileage.
Thx.

I got 10% remaining a couple weeks before year up at 965 miles. It has a countdown clock.

 

[Carlitos_92]

So I’m not a heavy driver (5,200 miles in almost 11 months now). App says 10% oil life left. While I know I’ve read the monitor is trying to take into account mileage, driving patterns, and time in “monitoring” the remaining oil life, I wonder if time trumps the other factors.
What I’m asking is does everyone reach the 0% life remaining by the end of a year even with low mileage/light driving?.
I know lots of ppl drive more and get to 0% in less time due to their actual driving factors, so I guess I’d really only like to hear from low mileage drivers or ppl who know specifically about this particular question.
This is my first hybrid and I figured it would be good for 8,000 to 10,000 miles between oil changes as that would be roughly equivalent to 5,000 to 6,000 engine driven miles. Maybe the 8,000 to 10,000 miles between oil changes would be true if I drove more, but I think the clock might be trumping my low mileage.
Thx.

Ford says not to exceed one year between oil changes, regardless of mileage. Page 451.

 

[Mother Trucker]

I appreciate the feedback gang. I think the OLM goes down to 0% in 12 months for low mileage drivers.

One reason I asked is I’ve seen multiple examples from YouTube and other places online where people have sent their oil in for analytical testing and the results they report back say the oil is still plenty good even after a year.

One such example here

Synthetic oils have gotten so much better over time and I know it’s still hard for some people to let go of the “back in the day” advice of every 3,000 or 5,000 miles between oil intervals even with an on board OLM. I’m not convinced that there should be a firm every 12 months maximum interval other than it being a generally accepted and repeated claim. It doesn’t cost a manufacturer anything to recommend frequent oil changes (but any claim under warranty would have to be within their recommended interval via their OLMs).

All this said, I’m not going to exceed the 12 month maximum interval nor do I want to get in a debate with anyone how completing even more frequent changes are measurably better for an engine’s long term health.

Recent article on the topic here. Not that this is the auto bible or that such a thing even exists, but at least it’s current and considers modern oil improvements.

https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/a27078539/synthetic-oil-change-interval/

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