Oil Life System

[nyrfan]

Originally Posted by Angrybird 12

You better document every oil change and keep receipts for the oil and filter. If something g were to happen to your engine during warranty your claim could be denied for lack of proof of proper maintenance.

I change mine around 50% on the oil life monitor. Never had an issue with oil level on this car or my 2010 with the LLT.

Every time this comes up and people say their car uses excessive oil I ask what break in procedure was used, by the book or like engine builders say running it hard. So far I have not gotten anyone to answer.

I can tell you that with my LLT as with my SS I threw the manual out the window and drove it off the lot like I stole it. Neither of the cars burn(ed) a drop of oil.

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by nyrfan

I can tell you that with my LLT as with my SS I threw the manual out the window and drove it off the lot like I stole it. Neither of the cars burn(ed) a drop of oil.

Thanks for finally answering my question. But i was wanting to hear more from those that do suffer from excessive oil use. I went by the manual on both of mine and no oil usage issues here either. I am going about 5,000 miles between oil changes, give or take 1,000 miles depending on use. I had over 27,000 miles on my LLT 2010 and now have over 15,000 on my LFX 2012.

[wakespeak]

Yes would be interesting to hear some real world cases of using oil.

IMO oil use starting after about 20k miles is from gunked up rings or plugged crankcase ventilation. If using oil just after break in (say around 5k -10K miles) then I would say poor break in or something in the manufacturing, such as a poor seal in the intake affecting crankcase pressure. Clogged air filters don't help either.

Also overfilling the engine can cause oil to get whipped up and sucked into the intake, eventually coking up the rings. Conventional (vs synthetic) oil boils off easier and can do same if left in for too long.

I also saw that Mercedes found that most of the intake valve deposits on their direct injected engines were from the viscosity improvers in the oil. Good synthetics have very little or no viscosity improvers.

[Frank in MD]

Warranty is based upon the Oil Life Monitor system, however I drive such few miles per year the monitor really isn't doing much for me. Having said that if you read the manual it doesn't say follow the oil life monitor to the letter. For example it says under some conditions it might be possible to have the OLM indicate no oil changes are necessary for more than 10 months, do not go more than 10 months w/o changing your oil. I'm not sure who would do that, but I'm sure a certain clueless percentage of people would go more than a year if the car said it was ok.

I also usually check my oil every fill up.

[BBQdDude]

2ss here. 5k and check it every gas fillup.

[RJT Impala]

I change as indicated by OLM system, but I check the oil every time the car is washed/cleaned/detailed; the hood is up to clean those areas and easy to check fluids. v Typically every 7-10 days. Have never added oil between changes. Broke in by GM guidelines with occasional "hard" acceleration for good measure. Far better success than with my 2007 Grand Prix; broke in strictly by the book, and it uses a quart every 1500-2000 miles (3.8l v-6).

[slomaro3.4]

I used to be very anal about my changes, my cars rarely made it to 3k before a change. Then I started reading. So many new cars including high end models including porsche and maserati are at the shortest 1 year or 12k between changes. Then I went to the oil makers, RP, Mobil 1, valvoline and they all make similar claims (obviously telling you to follow your owners manual for warranty purposes) but all of them saying around 1 year or 15k mileage on full synthetic is fine. I'm sure this is a debate that will rage for a long time and the old timers will tell me to change it every 3k regardless of what the engineers say.

I've been watching my OLM and that's what I'm going to stick with. The oil I pulled out at my last change (it had been 8500 miles due to a cross country trip and moving, and 6 months) OLM at 35% still looked great and the level was good, that was enough confidence for me.

[batman53201]

i change mine every 5000 miles ( synthetic )

[skibik]

I use the OLM or 7500 miles whichever comes first. First oil change at 3k(the dealership I bought it from the first question I asked the service department manager was how long do I run it before changing it the first time his answer 3k miles), second oil change when the meter hit less then 5%(when warning or change oil light in DIC came on) and that was around the 8k mile mark so 5k miles on that oil and I am currently at 29% and 13k miles on the odometer so I figure I should be at about the 15k mark or 7k into this change.

Dean.

[SmokiNstripes6913]

Dealer told me that for the initial break in period, to change the oil after the DIC says it drops below 50% oil life. Despite the computer monitoring it, i plan on following the traditional 3-5k oil change interval regardless.

[nyrfan]

Originally Posted by SmokiNstripes6913

Dealer told me that for the initial break in period, to change the oil after the DIC says it drops below 50% oil life. Despite the computer monitoring it, i plan on following the traditional 3-5k oil change interval regardless.

Your dealer is an idiot, By 1500 miles I was in my 3rd.
18-118 I switched to conventional
119-1500 back to Mobil 1
1501- now change every 4k.


Sent from my 2SS/RS

[SIN R G]

I change my oil once a year if it needs it or not. So it turns out that I change it every 4000 miles.

[Magilla gorilla]

Change oil every 4,000 miles...Use Mobil 1 full synthic

[Da Mammer]

Every time this comes up and people say their car uses excessive oil I ask what break in procedure was used, by the book or like engine builders say running it hard. So far I have not gotten anyone to answer.[/QUOTE]


my ls3 never burned a drop of oil. Broke it in with an easy yet varied 500 miles, changed the oil at 1,000 miles for the first time. Then every 5,000 miles.

The 454 however had a rough start to life due to having to dyno tune it. After that I babied it for the next few hundred, while again making sure I put it through some stress. My 454 has less than 5,000 miles on it and it burnt 3.5 quarts in less than 3,000 miles on this oil change. Oil life meter said 70%. I changed the oil on it at 1,000 and just two days ago. Ive been stressing about it burning that much in that little bit of time. I dont want to replace my oil every 2,000 miles but on an engine that costs about $15k to put in the car one would hope its going to be better to me than that....