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Okay so here it goes. The hubby and I just brought a used 2010 Town & Country a couple of months ago. We got it from a dealer and it was supposedly recently serviced.
Nearly 2 weeks ago the oil change indicator came on. When I asked my husband if I should take it in that weekend, he said there was no hurry and the light was "just a suggestion".
I asked again today and he is still not seemingly impressed. I keep trying to get him to tell me where to take it (the dealer? local guy? should I get it fully serviced when I'm there?) but he just sort of blows me off.
The thing is, my hubby can be a bit reckless sometime. He's one of these guys who think nothing bad is ever going to happen to him. He's also a notorious procrastinator.
Is he right? How much time do we have? Should I keep asking until he answers of should I just call the dealer tomorrow a figure it out when I get there? I don't want to be talked into stuff I don't really need when I get to a wherever so I keep trying to wait for him. I also don't want to do damage to the car or break down somewhere because I didn't change the stupid oil when I was supposed to.
I know this is an elementary question for you guys. LOL. Don't mess with me too much!
That oil light is probably coming on based on certain mileage. You don't know how many miles ago the oil was changed and if they reset the light when they changed the oil or no. I would play it safe and change the oil and reset the light. But more importantly you will have to read the owner's manual in the glove dept of your car. That is the car "bible" and should tell you everything you need to know. In this case I think I would take things in my hand and not wait until the car breaks. An oil change is very cheap insurance. If you don't have warranty no need to use the dealer, just a good local mechanic, but stay away from the quick lube places IMO.
On the Chrysler the service required or oil change required (idiot message) has no bearing on the state of the oil.
It could come on the same day you change it.
It's based on millage, start stops, etc etc not the quality of the oil.
You can't reset it unless it comes on so when the dealer changed the oil the light was proubely off, now a few miles latter it is on.
I believe you can turn it off your self, (read owners manual)
If I remember you turn on the ignition but don't start it, depress the gas peddle twice or 3 times in like 5-10 sec slowly. will reset it
Without knowing exactly the mileage the light usually comes on at or the oil used, its hard to know if you really should change it now or not, but with pretty much any oil, the light is pretty much a suggestion and you have plenty of time (or several thousand miles) to worry about it.
IT also will not hurt at all to have the oil changed right now, but you will probably just be taking oil that still has plenty of good use and throwing it away. If you take it to an independent place, you are talking 30-40 bucks. THe dealer, probably much more, but some places will do oil changes pretty inexpensively just to have you coming by, so calling the dealer will not hurt. Personally, I would stay away from the large oil change chains, but a smaller local oil change place is probably fine and will probably be able to rest your light.
Think of it like baking. You set the timer. The buzzer buzzes, but you do not take the cake out immediately, you put a knife in and see if it is done. You might let it cook a little while longer.
You oil light comes on like a timer buzzes. It does not really mean anything. It is just a reminder. They tell you to change oil every 3500 miles or 5000 miles or some cars. However with a good filter and clean conditions, oil can easilty function properly for 10,000 miles. When oil gets dirty, you can see it, feel it and sometmes smell it. I would not recommend waiting to 10,000 jut because t MIGHT not damage your car to do so, but I would not panic over it. It is not worth creating marital strife. I once worked on a car that had 67,000 miles on it. The oil had never been changed and was almost like mud. However the car was fine. They drove it another 90,000 miles (with regular oil changes) and sold the car. Again not recommended, but not something to panic over.
If it were me, I'd just get it done now. Might as well establish your own baseline with your 'new' vehicle and go from there. As others have said, the light really means nothing. On most vehicles, it goes off after a pre-determined set of miles frmo when it was last reset, the idea being you reset it every oil change. It could be they never reset it when they did the oil change. It could be that they didn't change the oil. Who knows?
How bout this for #1? Somebody CHECK the oil level at least. Totally ignoring indicator lights, especially in a brand new car, not a great idea. Check it, and yes, get it changed/serviced.
As already mentioned here, it is just a reminder. The life of oil depends on too many factors, and while the oil change places/dealerships love the idea of you being a frequent customer, in reality, the oil change can usually wait a bit longer. I learned this lesson after I bought a new 1998 Accord. Following Honda's recommendation to leave the original oil (break-in period) a bit longer than the "accepted" 3000 mile norm, I started taking the car for oil change every 3000 miles/3 months as I'd done with previous cars. To my surprise, it was the service folks at the Honda dealership who said that the car wasn't really in need of frequent oil change and that I could wait another 1000-2000 miles. In fact, seeing that the car was neither burning oil nor consuming, 5000-6000 mile oil change interval became the norm, even at over 190K miles on the car.
So, when you do get the oil change done, look for manufacturer's recommendation and the condition of the oil. You may not need those frequent trips and spend more than you need to. But, as mentioned above, you should go ahead and check the condition of oil. It doesn't take much effort anyway.
The light is based on a formula that determines when the oil should be changed based on miles and driving habits. The light should be reset anytime you have the oil changed. In general, when most lights trip, you should get the oil changed within the next 250-500 miles. You said it was serviced when you got it and have now been driving it for two months. The light may be correct.
Chrysler states that the average change interval on the 2010 T&C should be 5,000 miles and you should not exceed 6,000 miles or 6 months. Did you drive over say 3,000 miles in the past couple months? If so it may actually be do. If not, I would ignore the light and just have the oil changed and the light reset when you hit 5,000 miles since you bought it. The dealer may have simply done the oil change and not reset the light.
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