Oil life question

[Wierdochild89]

On my Si, it says that i have 70% oil life left and i only have 700 miles on it...is this normal? I do alot of short driving on the car daily and all city, could that be the cause?

[SiLvErLIgHT06]

It all depends how aggressively you're driving.

[televascular]

If I were you, I'd change my oil at 5,000 miles regardless of what the OLM says.

Your situation seems a bit excessive, but maybe it's due to your driving habits. Do you cruise at a high rpm in the city? Are your trips very short? If your engine never reaches optimal temperature, your OLM will take that into account and consider those engine revolutions to be more stressful on the oil.

[Wierdochild89]

what if it hits 10% when i have about 1000miles?

[blueroadster]

Oil life meter is based on revs over time and not just miles traveled.

[Wierdochild89]

oh ok thank you.

[Civicsalesman]

That seems a little harsh. The oil life monitor is based on three things, rpm, stops and starts and engine temp. Depending on these three thing, the ecu will calculate it out. I have 1600 km's on mine and am at 80%. Probably have vtec'ed 20 times!

[Wierdochild89]

lol lets see how long i can resist V-tec haha

[dextor]

I have about 3000miles and @ 50%

[TonySI]

somewhat similar issue for me....

I just got my Si 2-3 weeks ago. She only has 378 miles and I saw the oil life monitor was at 90%. Now thats all city driving, but not hard driving at all.... im hardly ever in the 5k rpm range...

does that sound right to anyone? Ive always changed my oil every 3k or months since I dont put on many miles, so Im not entirely concerned... but should I be?

Thanks

[nayilsi]

I have done 1200 miles....oil life 80%

900 miles city...300 miles (at one go) highway.

i just got the car 1 week back. :S

[DeePStr33tzOfTn]

i really wouldnt go by the oil life thing.. mine said like 60% today and my dad was like.. have u check the oil in it lately? and i said no. my car only has 2700 miles on it, and it was low on oil. i had to add a quart or so

[Ehcees]

Ehcess spoke with Honda Customer Service 800-999-1009. After getting past the front line receptionships that double as experts (there not tech people & short time on job), Ehcees spoke with a 13 year Technical Engineer that explained:
1. Oil life percent is calculated by computer based on how the car is driven.
2. There is no oil analysis being done at all.
3. Ehcees 06 Civic LX Coupe with 14k miles shows 70% oil life left after 1800 miles. Ehcees is a conservative driver & use is 50/50 city & interstate.
4. Wiedochild89 reports 70% after only 700 miles. This begs these questions:
-------------
A. Did you reset the Maintenance Minder for oil life when you changed the oil? Owners Manual tells how. Series of steps. Should read 100%.
B. How hard is car driven? The tougher the use then the faster the oil life % decreases.
Ehcees uses proper nouns & not pronouns. Reason is to avoid confusion as to who or what is being spoken about or speaking, as advised by experts for all web communication. Larger font & text color shown is for easy read. This is a proper & allowed choice that will not change. Thanks for understanding. Please no comments on text composition, font size/color desired. Ehcees is sight impaired.

[SiViC06]

I'm at 2200 miles and 50%. This is about what I would expect assuming most oil changes are supposed to be closer to 5000.

[Ehcees]

Ehcees agrees with your actual experience with the oil life %. My 06 Civic is the first car with this feature. For 35 years Ehcees went by the oil color using natural oil to determine when to change oil, but never more than 4000 miles. Curiosity is the oil color when 50% is reached & miles driven. Time will tell.

[av911]

Originally Posted by DeePStr33tzOfTn

i really wouldnt go by the oil life thing.. my car only has 2700 miles on it, and it was low on oil

The Oil Life indicator isn't going to tell you how much oil there is.

[Ehcees]

Ehcees misquoted his oil % in a prior reply post.
After checking again, here is my oil change data % corrected to be:
80% after 1876 miles for 1.8 ltr Civic LX Coupe, AT.
Recall that Ehcees is a conservative driver.
-----------
Addition to conversation with Honda Tech Engineer:
Ehcees also asked how the Maintenence Minder Oil Life % considers oil type such as organic vs. synthetic?
Answer: No consideration. Computer does not know what type of oil is in the motor.
------------------
Another thought for the young man that stated 70% after only 700 miles:

Start over by reseting the Maintenance Minder to 100%. Be sure to record the miles that oil was actualy changed. Reason is that then you will at least know by miles when to change. Let us know what % you get after reset, say after 1000 miles?

[thicklove]

Thicklove has noticed that Ehcees writes very properly and formats in a visually pleasing manor with title and bulletin style separation. Thicklove also noticed that Ehcees likes to refer to himself in 3rd person.
Reason: Unknown.

[sbigshot]

Originally Posted by TonySI

somewhat similar issue for me....

I just got my Si 2-3 weeks ago. She only has 378 miles and I saw the oil life monitor was at 90%. Now thats all city driving, but not hard driving at all.... im hardly ever in the 5k rpm range...

does that sound right to anyone? Ive always changed my oil every 3k or months since I dont put on many miles, so Im not entirely concerned... but should I be?

Thanks

Keep up the good work!!

[Ehcees]

To: Thicklove
Thanks for kind words on English composition. The answer to your question that asks why Ehcees uses third person is shown in original post as:
Ehcees uses proper nouns & not pronouns. Reason is to avoid confusion as to who or what is being spoken about or speaking, as advised by experts for all web communication. Comments & opinions on this matter are not desired. Let us please keep to the subject matter of the post & respect free choice. Thanks.

Ehcees considers the oil life % to be mostly a gimmick to help those that forget about oil changes. At least is seems to get attention. Just look at the oil color to know when to change. Has worked for Ehcees for 30 years.