2nd oil change with 1700 miles driven on 5BW, 13% on the "maintenance indicator"

[ChiBW]

My oil change indicator showed 13% on the 5BW. I changed the oil. The oil looked very good, nearly new ish. Then I checked. The oil was changed last in April 2023. I only drove 1700 miles since then. It seems like that the indicator does not take the actual oil condition into account, at least not when reaching the 1 year mark. I looked back at the Onstar emails and even when not driven the oil % is going down. Any ideas?

 

[Professor Speed]

My best guess is that it takes into consideration not only mileage but also time between oil changes. Also, was the system reset after the last oil change?

 

[ChiBW]

Yeah it must take time into account. The system was reset after the last change.

 

[coffee_time]

I noticed on my '17 CTS-V that no matter how little I drove it it would always be 0% around the one year mark.

 

[shbox]

Oil is recommended to be changed at least once a year, regardless of mileage. I'm sure that is part of the algorithm.

 

[BW56M]

In the case stated above, I would simply document the mileage, level and condition of the oil and reset the system.

 

[GTANotch88]

Yup, it figures time into it. Mines due for its second oil change at only about 3800 miles. I did it last april. My mothers '17 cts wants an oil change yearly too, and that just hit 20k miles.

 

[raptor5244]

As mentioned, the algorithm factors in more than just mileage. The algorithm calculates mileage, idle time, engine temperatures, trip times, engine loads, and ignition starts and stops and tries to estimate the condition of the oil.

Oil Life Monitors – Everything You Need To Know - AMSOIL Blog

Oil life monitors are great tools, but they have limitations. Here's everything you need to know about the oil life monitor in your vehicle.

blog.amsoil.com

 

[thefleshrocket]

The oil life in mine was in the 60s, then I parked it for a month and a half, and then the oil life was 40%. It had 3000 miles on the car, and 1500 miles on the oil, so it must be taking into account time.