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Correct me if I'm wrong but it's not exactly a monitoring system but rather a timer of sorts. Takes account of the mileage and type of driving done... then it "determines" when the oil needs to be changed. It does not analyze the oil, it just makes an educated guess. My Fleetwood has this system and I don't use it... I just reset the light when it comes on.
The system in BMW cars, at least 1980s and 1990s vintage, looks at the number of cold starts, amount of time you spend under some threshold RPM, amount of time over, and probably a couple more things that I can't think of right now. I'm not aware of any maintenance computer/indicator that actually monitors oil condition, but I don't know all about every car out there, one may exist.
Oil change interval depends on the kind of oil you are using and the conditions of service. For most relatively modern cars, say 1980 and newer, 3000 miles would only be needed if you are using (or really abusing) the car with extreme service conditions - a downtown urban environment in winter, rural Alaska, something like that.
A very simple test you can do to evaluate the conditon of your own oil is to put a drop of oil from your dipstick onto a white coffee filter (or other blotter paper). If it forms a "bullseye" pattern, with a dark ring around the outside of the oil spot, then your detergent package is not yet saturated. You need to have a few miles on the oil for this to work, of course, if it's not yet dark colored you can rest assured it's fine.
Of course this simple test does not detect things like coolant or dirt contamination, but if your car is in good shape overall typically you need to change the oil based on depleting the detergent package.
That and as I have written before, all miles are by no means created equal. Me cruising down a blue road on the way to work, racking up one of the 37 miles the trip entails, I'm causing much less wear to the entire car than a New York City cabbie battling his way one mile through town.
Not to be over-simplistic, but take a look in your owner's manual, provided your car didn't come with one of those "free" maintenance packages, the manufacturer's recommendation is usually good advice from people who know what they are talking about, and have no axe to grind for you to change your oil at anything other than the optimal interval. Now if you have "free" oil changes coming to you from the stealer, well, they have an axe to grind all right in suggesting 15K or more between oil changes - think about it.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it's not exactly a monitoring system but rather a timer of sorts. Takes account of the mileage and type of driving done... then it "determines" when the oil needs to be changed. It does not analyze the oil, it just makes an educated guess. My Fleetwood has this system and I don't use it... I just reset the light when it comes on.
yeah that's what I meant.
I'll tell you why I like it though. It doesn't arbitrarily pick a mile number out of the sky. It's based on real analysis of how hard you drove it over time.
If you're just putting straight hwy miles on it maybe it doesn't need to be changed as often as if you were kicking the crap out of it in stop/go driving conditions.
I think 3,000 mile intervals are mostly just good for turbo or supercharged vehicles that get driven harder than average. Synthetic is the way to go with these vehicles.
On a daily driver, like an Accord for instance, 5,000-6,000 miles will do.
How long do you want to keep the vehicle? Just til ppayment are over or long term? The milage intervals for oil changes will make a difference on how long the engine last. But even if you don't change the oil, DO change the Filter!!! It has been proven the filter is too clogged to be efffective after 3500 miles. Regardless of brand.
I think 3,000 mile intervals are mostly just good for turbo or supercharged vehicles that get driven harder than average. Synthetic is the way to go with these vehicles.
On a daily driver, like an Accord for instance, 5,000-6,000 miles will do.
I don't know that more frequent intervals are important for supercharged engines just because they're supercharged. But it's a good idea for turbocharged engines because the oil is used to lubricate the turbo shaft. It'ss hotter than hell in there which can accelerate the oil's thermal breakdown which in turn can cause coking in the shaft housing and impede oil flow. And then you're looking at $400-$1000+ to replace the turbo.
Basic rule is that oil in some cars is dirty at 3000 and with others it will last longer.Look at it and if still seems rather clean at 3000 I dont see why you can not go another 1000 to 15oo.Just be sure its not low and dont forget that an engine ran hard and hot will get dirty faster and the heat can break down the oil. Also if it has aluminum heads and uses the new small filter and only take 4 quarts to fill it the oil should be changed more often.
I know a 20 year old girl that inherited her "fiances grandpas" 1990 Buick Century Custom sedan with the 3.3L V6. It had 84K when she and her fiance got it and it looked like new. It now has 110K and she still has not changed the oil. SAD!
It was so nice and beautiful when they got it... now its a piece of junk... moss growing on it, they (her boyfriend) have ripped out the headliner (because it started to sag), lost hubcaps, shorted out some wires in the steering column while trying to install a radio, huge exhaust leak, etc.
What a shame.
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