Oil Life indicator

[ajpettry33]

How exactly does the oil life indicator work?

Reason for my curiosity is I use AMSOIL full synthetic which is rated for "25,000." I would never go that far obviously but at 4,500 miles the oil life was at 20% left. Research has shown that amsoil is the best if not one of the best oils on the market. Thought it was odd to see 20%.

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[Mike_D]

I don't think the oil life indicator knows what oil you are running (i.e. that you are running a premium full synthetic 25,000 mile oil). I would think it bases it calculations assuming the oil in the engine is the semi-synthetic Motorcraft oil that is specified in your owners manual. I believe it accounts for how much towing is done (among other things), which would shorten the amount of miles before 0% oil life. Do you tow a lot?

I personally would change the oil once oil life indicator reached 0%, or at one year, whichever is sooner, for warranty reasons. I'm currently running Mobil 1 Extended Performance which is advertised for 20,000 miles. Running this hopefully better (than Motorcraft semi) full synthetic oil makes me more confident about following the oil life monitor's recommendations. After my first oil change, my oil life monitor went about 8000 miles (while running the Mobil 1) before reaching 0%. I did not do any towing during this period, some highway trips up to 80MPH, but mostly trips on the shorter side around town. The monitor probably considers multiple variables.

P.S. - probably only the Ford engineers know how the oil life indicator works exactly, LOL!

 

[Buyer2021]

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

 

[Icecoldak]

Yep Forget the OLM and do your own thing, I just keep resetting mine!!! I do my normal XXXXX miles as I been doing with every car for the last 40 years!!!! Notice I didnt put miles for a reason lol!!!

 

[Buyer2021]

Yep Forget the OLM and do your own thing

Or, do your own thing and follow the OLM!

The closing statement from the above linked Amsoil blog post:

Despite their shortcomings, oil life monitors offer a better alternative to wasting perfectly good motor oil.​

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Your OLM also acts as a safeguard against driving too long without an oil change in severe service. Many motorists may not realize they subject their vehicles to extended idle times or frequent short trips, which can expose the engine to wear if you don’t keep on top of oil changes.​

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Does the OLM 'account' for too-low oil level (a shortcoming mentioned by Amsoil in the blog)? Nope, that I track 'manually' (never seen it occur with proper level at changes and using OLM change intervals).

I've never seen my OLM suggest a change interval more than 7500 miles (usually a bit less and always well within the claimed 'life' of the 'premium full synthetic' I choose to use).

It strikes me that the 'conclusion' of the Amsoil blog is that when ensuring proper oil level and using a 'premium full synthetic motor oil', following the OLM yields minimal risk of ill-effects due to oil degradation / contamination and the only 'downside' is potential "waste of good oil" due to 'too-frequent' oil changes. IOW, the OLM is conservatively over-protective of the engine in that scenario.

I can live with that. 'YMMV', no worries!

 

[wz00r2]

Just ignore your OLM. You're already going to have warranty issues using a non-API certified oil in the truck.

 

[air2mag]

My 09 Lariat had 245,000 miles when I traded it in on my new truck. It didn’t use any oil. The only engine repairs I did was to replace a thermostat. I changed the oil based on the OLM with a synthetic blend. I think a lot of people are overthinking this. By all means do whatever works for you.

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