Hey Scotty,
I drive an Acura TLX 2015 with a six-cylinder naturally aspirated engine. My vehicle has under 25,000 miles and I almost always drive moderately. My average monthly mileage is around 425 or about 5,000 miles a year. I live in a mild climate in Southern Oregon and the vehicle is always garaged.
I religiously change the engine oil every time the idiot light tells me to. This is one of those computerized engine analyses that supposedly takes everything into consideration, things like your driving style, average oil temp, and age of the oil, etc., etc., etc. So my question is this:
Is this a crock of crap or is this just telling me that my oil life is at 15% life due to a timer that is controlled by the last time the reset button was pressed after the last oil change? My car uses 100% synthetic oil and I think it should be good for at least another 1000 miles or longer. What do you think?
Thanks for your input,
from the Beaver
Well the oil change monitors are good for people who drive a lot 20,000 miles a year or more. You drive less it'll tell you to change it more often than you actually have to
General rule of thumb is 5000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. (I seriously doubt the car has a chemical laboratory behind that oil change light to let you know the true condition of the oil.)
I don't pay any attention to that. I change oil, filter and PCV valve at 5000 miles maximum.
Here's how they work but I would still do 5000 mile intervals. The manufactures would like your engine to ware out sooner rather than later, as long as it's out of warranty. 10,000 mile oil change intervals is a great way for that to happen.
1 year/5k miles regardless of which SYNTHETIC oil you use will serve you best.
