millpond

Vin in the 5000 range. 6,400 mostly highway miles, 15% oil life remaining.

toddwill

picked up end of November, sat around in the garage most of the winter, a lot of around town driving, and one 500 mile trip.

Changed oil at 2200 miles and indicator was at 19%, vin around 7400

Z51 Vert

Dealer has a Vette only Mechanic and he did not say anything about it.

Only thing he asked is if I wanted to pay for mobile 1, or put the GM blend back in it (I forgot what it is called?) I asked his opinion, and he said take the four free ones, then switch it to full synthetic.

Did not apply, but I did ask about the 20% BS, and they said change it anytime you want up to four times.

C7Joy

Build date 2/19/14 -- 16075

snakepit

I thought full synthetic was already in the car.

JerryU

Time did not effect my C6, as I approached 1 year it still showed some life remaining. Always changed it anyway, per the manual and logic! But I seldom started the car when I didn't let the oil get hot! I live 15 miles from town so usually that was not a problem. If you are making lots of short trips and don't allow the oil to get to 175 to 185 F it will shorten the reading life! I don't start my Street Rod often, mostly go to shows. However when I do start it always drive 10 to 15 miles to get the oil hot. Still change the Mobile 1 once a year.

KenHorse

As I understand it, partial synthetic

Patman

Dry sump (Z51 and Z06) cars get Mobil 1, base Stingrays get semi synthetic.

KaKruisin

Mine was delivered Oct. 2013 - I just had the first oil change at 3300 miles and showing 9% oil life remaining. I suspect that at 12 months it would have been near zero.

rsl2715

Little Red is 8 months old today 5478 miles oil life 28%.Will change at 6000 miles should be in low twentys by then.

So 1200 miles 20% BAD sensor.R

JerryU

For what it's worth, there are no sensors, strictly a computer chip checking on many variables. You have ~5500 miles in a year and probable have the oil hot much of the time you start the car. If he had the car the same length of time and only put on 1200 miles, he was starting and stopping the car frequently when the oil did not get to say 175 F. Lots of water passing the piston rings on a cold engine that did not get evaporated. That is far worse than traveling on the highway for thousands of miles. Just my thought.

rsl2715

Jerry U, you know way more than me.Sorry for the bad info to the OP.R

Thanks for info on chip no sensor for oil.R

fdxpilot

The engineer who helped develop the algorithm for the C5 OLMS used to be a member here ( may still be, but he stopped posting because too many self-styled experts were telling him he was FOS and didn't know what he was talking about.) He stated that engine, oil and ambient temperature, as well as rpm were all factored into oil life. Light use with long highway trips and you might get 8-10000 miles before a change. Take it to the track for a HPDE on a regular basis, and you might need a change after a couple weeks.

JerryU

Just about things that are useless to know!
Perhaps of interest my street rod with a 502 cubic inch big block has forged aluminum pistons. When I start it sounds like a rattle! It warms up pretty quick and is fine. Aluminum has almost twice the expansion/contraction rate as steel. So the piston clearance between the block and pistons is much larger (all in thousands but larger) when cold than than when it warms up. The LT1 pistons are cast aluminum and the cylinder liners are steel so not quite as bad but until the engine warms up there is more blow-by past the rings. The products of combustion include a lot of water. So that means water is mixing with the oil when the engine is cold. It evaporates when the oil warms up but if it is not run long enough it doesn’t. GM says they monitor outside temperature, oil temperature and other parameters and set the oil life that they believe is with a conservative algorithm (ie before it is really needed.)
It’s particularly an issue with a dry sump as it holds more oil and takes longer to get hot. My wife had a dry sump in her Cayenne and although we live 15 miles from town, she is often driving to her various activities around where we live. Never could convince her that driving a ½ mile wasn’t good for the car!

Skid Row Joe

While the oil couldn't possibly be "20% @ 1,200 miles," it would be worth consulting your Chevrolet dealer - just to be sure.

I think you just nailed it.

I believe that's it. Mercedes-Benz has used the same parametric for over a decade and one half.

coupeguyz51

I had almost exactly the same experience...October 2013 delivery, 3500 miles at first oil change a week ago, 12% oil life remaining....the theory that oil life indicator goes down based on passage of time rather than miles driven seems likely correct...

Of course, to test that we would need to have 3 guys who got their cars delivered at the same time, one puts it in the garage and does not drive it for a year, one drives it 10,000 miles for a year without changing the oil and one drives it somewhere in between and see what the oil life indicator says....somehow, I don't think that experiment will ever get done.

NSC5

It sounds like time since last change are now factored in which is good. There was always a warning in manuals before to change after X number of months regardless of what the OLM calculated percentage indicated.

Here is a link to a brief note in GM Techlink about the OLM and there was a more extensive description earlier but I couldn't find an archive that had the older issues.

Short description/note: http://www.archivedsites.com/techlin...fe-system.html

JerryU

Perhaps this Q&A regarding the GM oil monitor system may be of interest in regard to how many miles to expect:
How many miles can I expect to go between oil changes when using this system?
The beauty of the GM Oil Life Monitor System is that it will automatically adjust the oil change interval based engine characteristics, driving habits and the climate in which the vehicle is operated. For instance, mild highway driving in a warm climate will maximize the interval between oil changes. Depending on the vehicle, this could be in excess of 7000 miles and as high as 12,000 miles. On the other hand, short trip driving in cold a climate may limit the oil change to 3000 miles or less. In general, most people that drive a combination of city and highway schedules find that the GM Oil Life Monitor System will indicate an oil change every 7500 to 8500 miles.

Red08

Are you certain that it was reset to 100% when brand new?

Walt White Coupe

I've never heard a solid argument for why oil has to be changed at least once a year independent of all other factors that affect oil life. And we're talking synthetic oil which doesn't break down like non-synthetic. I think it's based on selling oil.

If I don't drive my car for 6 months. Has my oil deteriorated 50%? I don't think so.

By way of comparison, in my 05 I drove that car 14,000 miles (50% highway) before the monitor went to 5% oil life left.

chas70

Does a warning light or something come up when the oil life runs out?