My daughter just bought a 2016 Honda CRV with 50,000 miles on it. She had the Honda dealer change oil and instead of putting the usual mileage reminder sticker on the windshield, they put on a sticker that says "change at 15%". And that is what the Owners Manual says.

I thought that was quite strange. Especially since the monitor just hit 15% at almost 8000 miles. I told her to change at 5-6000 miles, like the original owner had done since new

My wife drives a 2018 Pacifica and the suggested oil change interval is, as I seem to recall, when the monitor suggests it, 1 year, or 10000 miles. I might be mistaken but i think that is what it says. The other day she told me it had been giving her a percentage countdown for a while and it was now at 3%. After asking her to tell me as soon as it first tells her, I went ahead and changed it.

This morning I looked at the mileage totals between changes and this go around it *only* has 7100 on it, so clearly the counter in her car isn't strictly mileage based. I asked Grok how it works and that came back as an advanced complex algorithm accounting for a host of things, but assuming oil that meets spec.

I put far less miles on my Flex than she does her Pacifica... so I typically just change the oil in my Flex the week after I change hers. Right now my oil life monitor is at 50% with about 4500 miles.

Yes.

Please remember that current and future engine oil requirements are linked to the longer drain intervals. Our tests are extremely focused on each and every likely failure mode. The credential is not awarded without passing the tests.

It is not that we are purchasing 1985 engine oil and letting it ride for 10K miles. Truly, the chemistry and formulation is advanced. Base stocks are so very refined. It is a golden age of engine oil. GF-7 licenses are already granted. Buy the latest and change as directed.

I run mineral oil in both of my classic cars, low mileage rebuilt by me. (60s tech, even with some upgrades).

I change oil at 2500 mile intervals, and it needs to be changed.
It is "dirty", and you can feel the difference in viscosity, as well as picking up some odor of fuel. The latter due to radical cam profiles and older ring technology. (both are EFI throttle body and tightly tunes, but still not on par with new vehicles).

My 2010 F-150 (owned new) uses full synthetic and I will run it until the monitor tells me it's time.

That oil is still amber, clean, no odor and has similar "feel" as fresh, so it made a believer out of me.

(I originally was changing it about 3000-4000 miles, but the owner at the "Quick Change" place told me after the second year that I really did not need to change it so frequently, and we talked a bit about it, so I thought I would give it a try and was surprised when I saw the oil).

I am at 226,000 and the only thing I have had to do to this engine, was change the water pump a month and a half ago due to weeping from the shaft seal. (other than all scheduled items)

When you change your oil, send a sample off to Blackstone Labs, have it analyzed, so you know when you need to change your oil. Unless you use a lab it’s an old wives tale or bullshit. People waste money, and time, and dispose of perfectly good oil changing it early. The other side of the coin is that stupid maintenance minder which could be off. Nobody knows anything whatsoever in this space unless you are getting your oil analyzed. It’s so simple yet so few do it. Mid drain, put the little plastic container under your drain bolt and get a sample off it. Use the good ol’ USPS to mail to them, pay the small charge, get your results. It couldn’t be simpler. The kits are free and they mail them to you. I marvel at this because vehicles now cost 30k, 40k, 50k, 60k or more. It’s like a pool. If you don’t get the water tested how do you know what the fuck is going on? You don’t alter the chemicals with feels good.

I change the oil once a year in March whether it needs it or not. (of course, I only drive 2400 - 2800 miles per year. 2490 in 2023) Have no idea if the oil monitor works or not.

If I had a nickel for every SOAP Sample I ran through the Oil Analysis Program in the USAF, no one else would have a nickel.

The analysis is "after the fact", and $50 a test, and needed trend analysis as well as understanding, might as well throw in for nitrogen in my tires.

If anything significant, you might fins if you are suffering with bearing failure, maybe a coolant leak that you otherwise cannot detect.
Both of those likely will result in tearing into the engine to properly diagnose, and might prevent a catastrophic failure, (bearing or head gasket) but that is on the far end percentage of likelihood for the majority.

And there are possibility for errors with such sampling, so it's not the end all be all.

I take full responsibility for my ownership and the method I choose, and I really do have a great deal of experience and knowledge of POL.

My reply was in answer to the question of trusting the monitors, and 15 years ago, was still a "new thing" to me in my automotive experience.


I have owned approximately 30-35 vehicles in more than 50 years, lifelong mechanic, and only had one engine fail at 214,000 miles, when a rod bearing rapidly failed at highway speed. Oil pressure was good, and it simply let go with no warning. ('89 S-10 Blazer) Oil was change according to recommended schedule (sure the manufactures didn't pull an arbitrary number out of their ass).

I'll stick my bullshit, you can stick with yours.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:

If anything significant, you might fins if you are suffering with bearing failure, maybe a coolant leak that you otherwise cannot detect.
Both of those likely will result in tearing into the engine to properly diagnose, and might prevent a catastrophic failure, (bearing or head gasket) but that is on the far end percentage of likelihood for the majority.

I actually did a Blackstone test on my wife's vehicle when I changed the oil in late 2023, as I recall. I did it because I noticed that it was losing coolant but I couldn't find a leak. The engine ran a little rough, but it always has been a little rough.

The Blackstone report came back mostly positive but said it detected something in there that *could* indicate some coolant in the oil, but could also just be some contamination. They suggested no immediate action but to keep an eye on it for signs of unexplained coolant loss.

So I took it to the dealer and explained it all. They took a full day to tell me they could diagnose anything because there were no codes. I asked if they bothered to do any actual diagnostic work like compression or leak-down tests and they said "we don't do that without codes".

So I wrote them off with great irritation and took it to a trusted private shop whose mechanic actually did mechanic things and confirmed a cracked head. In my case I'd say the Blackstone worked out, nudging me to get what I suspected might be a problem looked into.

When I took delivery of the new vehicle this past September, the sales guy told me that I would never need an oil change.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
So I wrote them off with great irritation and took it to a trusted private shop whose mechanic actually did mechanic things and confirmed a cracked head. In my case I'd say the Blackstone worked out, nudging me to get what I suspected might be a problem looked into.

It’s the go to, respectfully, and IMO, to get the OCI dialed in so you aren’t wasting money, wasting oil, and skipping the maintenance minder. IME, the lab sample has saved me a lot of money and time. Once the OCI is figured out for my riding/driving for that particular vehicle, using the lab analysis, I’ll send one in every other oil change to see if there is any contamination, etc. I have a fleet of vehicles and for me it’s done to make things simpler and cost effective. It also gives me some great data, and concrete details in case a stealer ever tries to F with me over service etc, as I tend to do a lot of maintenance myself. When I don’t have time to do it myself, it’s the easiest thing in the world to hand it to serviceman and say “please get an oil sample mid drain”. I’ve never had a single mechanic say “no I’m not doing that.”

Can anybody who is committed to an arbitrary maintenance schedule contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations OR the oil life monitor on the vehicle provide any actual evidence that they are doing anything useful other than "it's cheap insurance" or "I don't trust it"?

Are you having your waste oil analyzed? Are you comparing against a large dataset of varying maintenance cycles? Or does it just make you feel better?

I'm not trying to start a fight, but I find these discussions to be all about feelings and not about any actual data. It wasn't that long ago that the 3 month, 3000 mile interval was sacred, but virtually nobody buys that any more.

6 months or 5000 miles.

Mine seems pretty spot on. Why not just check the monitor with your knowledge of your last oil change?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
When I took delivery of the new vehicle this past September, the sales guy told me that I would never need an oil change.

No

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
6 months or 5000 miles.

My truck ('12 SuperDuty) uses synthetic. Recommended is 10,000. I do it once a year, maybe twice if I'm driving alot. I just keep a little notepad in the console with the date/mileage so I remember when I did it last.

My dummy light goes off at 5000.

Nope.

I change mine every 6 months or 5k miles. I drive lots of short trips normally and that doesn't allow the engine to burn off all that moisture properly compared to highway driving.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:
When you change your oil, send a sample off to Blackstone Labs, have it analyzed, so you know when you need to change your oil. Unless you use a lab it’s an old wives tale or bullshit. People waste money, and time, and dispose of perfectly good oil changing it early. I marvel at this because vehicles now cost 30k, 40k, 50k, 60k or more. It’s like a pool. If you don’t get the water tested how do you know what the fuck is going on? You don’t alter the chemicals with feels good.

Yep!

Or the "I change at 3,000 miles because it's cheap insurance..." crowd.

This isn't grandpa's oil from 1967. Today's cars and oils are extremely advanced.

I change at 5,000-7,000 intervals because I also do an inspection and rotate the tires. I use Amsoil or Pennzoil Platinum which could easily exceed that interval but I don't want to put the car on jackstands to just do one or the other.

Sure, if it tells me to change the oil before 5,000 miles.

I go by miles in my 2002 Chevy Silverado truck, but all this time the oil life monitor has been dead on. I change every 5,000 miles. Now, I am going way over in months as I don’t drive it a lot but I go by miles and apparently it does too.