Oil Change Intervals

[PatrickStapler]

So I changed the oil and filter in Holly’s car last December and reset the oil life. She has driven it less than 2500 miles. The change oil light came on this week. Is it running on a timer or is less than 3000 miles per oil change normal for these engines? Seems unlikely with a 12-13 qt system.

 

[EF1]

It uses both. If you don’t put enough miles on it it prompts you to change once a year.

 

[302BOB]

Patrick, I don't if this will help you, but it sounds like a timer kicks in after 12 months.....

 

[JAJ]

So I changed the oil and filter in Holly’s car last December and reset the oil life. She has driven it less than 2500 miles. The change oil light came on this week. Is it running on a timer or is less than 3000 miles per oil change normal for these engines? Seems unlikely with a 12-13 qt system.

All the responses are correct. There are two down-count counters running in the system at the same time. One counts down based on engine loading (the Bosch BMW system does this by measuring how much fuel you've burned since the last change, Ford's system is probably similar) while the second one takes 1/365th of a year off every day. The OLM percentage you see today is calculated by taking the lowest of the two counters. If the usage counter shows little usage (say you change the oil and then store the car four months over the winter) then the day counter drives the OLM display. If you fire it up after 1/3 of a year of storage has passed, the OLM will display 67% left. However, the usage counter is still at 100% and the OLM will continue to display the day counter until the usage counter counts enough usage to catch and pass the day counter. If the usage catches up to days, the OLM will display the lowest value of the two until one of the counters hits zero.

 

[PatrickStapler]

Thanks all. I had planned on changing it in a week or so anyway. I assumed it had to be a daily counter, but wanted to be sure. I expect the oil to look new when I drain it.

 

[PatrickStapler]

Another related question. I’ve always ran Lucas Oil Stabilizer as the 13th quart in my F250. I figure if it’s good enough for 1M mile OTR trucks, it’s good enough for my diesel.

Does anyone use it in these 5.0 engines?

 

[JDee]

I've got the Mach1 and an F150 pickup, both of them 2023's. Neither of them are driven enough to mileage out the oil. I just follow what the dash indicator says for the truck which seems like it will end up getting 2 oil changes per year based on time because it's not driven much.

During winter the Mustang is in the garage on a lift, I get the oil changed (by the dealer in order to ensure there's no warranty issues) before it goes into storage. It gets driven even less than the truck does. So I wonder how the automated counter deals with that 4-5 months of non usage? And just to add to the question, the battery is out of the car during winter months, so does the computer do the math when I put the battery in next spring?

I think I liked it better before we had all this automated stuff.