04SSMTLCanada

My oil life went down to 90% at 680km ~ 425 miles. What are other people experiencing? Is the oil life really based on km/miles only or a combination of other things?

FirstAcura

70% at 2600 miles. Lot of weekend roadtrips lately. MPG is improving as the car breaks in. 30 MPG on highway @ 80 MPH for 2 hours...............

brandomc

The manual says it's based on 2 things:

1. Engine operating conditions (the way you drive)
2. Accumulated engine revolutions (distance)

I'm at 1087 miles and I'm at 90% oil life.

Hope this helps!

SSM / Q / Navi

jgrahamiii

I went to 90% at about 500mi (almost all highway), 80% at about 1200 (some highway), and just went to 70% at about 1950 (some highway). Seems to be spreading out a bit.

Lore

With all these statistics available from the on-board computer, I wonder if it makes people nervous for no reason (myself included). For example, if you have the ability to see the car's every statistic, you're might find yourself so focused on taking those things as the truth in lieu of common sense.

It's kind of like that oven monitoring example. If you had an oven that could tell you the temperature inside the oven in real-time, you might catch yourself monitoring it the entire time the food is cooking just to make sure the temperature didn't drop or go up inadvertently, and if it did, adjusting it constantly. My oven doesn't show temperature, you just set the dial and assume in 10 minutes it's preheated to that temperature and cook the food then.

I remember when I had a temperature monitoring application for my CPU. I'd be all freaked out if it went up to 35 degs C when the normal is 28 C. I now use a Dell and just assume that it'll work properly without worrying about the internal temperature.

Sometimes, ignorance might be bliss... I think with oil changes, if you just change your oil at the recommended intervals (use your odometer, which is what I do to gauge whether my 94 Camry needs a change) I think you should be okay.

At this point, it seems like the computer's information isn't entirely rational anyway. No one seems to know what the exact formula is, so it's tough to tell whether it's actually accurate or not.

Comments?

2004tl3rdG

mines is at 30% 6100miles

jgrahamiii

Lore,

One can assume that the temperature of the computer is fine, or one can know it is fine or not. In the first case, when something blocks your fan port and the computer overheats for too long, you could lose your computer. In the second case, you have a chance to shut down, find out what is causing the problem and rectify it. I don't think that was a very good example. Taking your logic to the limit, why bother having a gas guage in your car.? I can figure when I need to fill up from the miles traveled since last fill up and kind of driving I did. I'd have to be very conservative, of course, especially since I don't like to let my tank get too low. In fact, that is exactly how we used to have to decide when to change our oil. Baed on my driving, I'd figure which of two schedules applied to me. I doubt you'd give up your gas guage. Why would you want to give up your oil monitor?

Since the manual states that you should not change your oil (at least the first time) until the monitor says so, youmight even void your warranty by doing so. After that, you can base when you change your oil based on what is in fact an estimate of when it needs to be changed (from only two choices based on milage/driving type neither of which really applies to me), or you can base it on something that should much more intimately familar with the items that affect the oil life of your car and your driving style during the particular interval at issue . Just because we don't know the exact algorithm the car uses is no reason to think that the Acura engineer's don't. They have an interest in making their cars last. They are the same ones who came up with the old maintanence schedule, remember?

Several cars have had oil life monitors for a few years now. My dad's Cadillac STS is one. There must be info on whether these work well or not by now. Any one know?

Lore

jgrahamiii:

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure if I conveyed my thoughts clearly in my post, but all I was trying to say is that with all these monitoring devices, one can get caught up in monitoring and making sure their device is operating at their desired level that they miss out on using the device and enjoying it for what it is. I know that I'll probably be constantly playing with the gauges to see what levels I'm at...

For the computer example -- that's not entirely true -- on all Intel processors, they have an operating limit of 80 degrees celcius. When they hit 80, it's a hard shut off - it will physically turn itself off stop working until it cools down. However, as it approaches 80, there's a threshold where it will drop the speed continously until the temperature is within operating limits. (I believe this threshold is 70 degs C)

80 degrees C is a pretty extreme temperature to be at; even if your fan stopped working but you had a heatsink on the chip, you'd be hovering close to 80 but probably won't be right at it. And bear in mind that the chip will be slowed down to such a degree that it may just sit at 60 degs C running happily at 1ghz instead of the 2.4ghz it was rated at.

As far as I know, AMD chips do not have this protection circuitry.

But back to the car example -- you're right, I would rather have the car tell me when I should change my oil, but if and only if it is adapting to my driving style and calculating oil life based on that.

jgrahamiii

I'll defintely agree with that. I find the MID too limiting and yearn for a mode that automatically cycles through the information. Even the button sequences that you have to push are non-intuitive (not up the the level of I-Drive, but that is a different story).

Personally, I like the trip computer, the distance to empty, the odometer (both trip and total) and the temp display. You need 3 different screens to see this information, all of which is relevant on an ongoing basis sometimes. I usually leave it on the temp display unless on a long drive, when I use the trip computer more. Oil life I check sometimes. I think I remember it should warn me when I hit 15%, and it only seems to change every 700 miles or so, so that at least does not need to be displayed on an ongoing basis. But as for the rest, the MID is a pain! I for one enjoy guages almost as much as I enjoy the drive (which I enjoy more everytime I get behind the wheel of this car). (See, you are right, I'm getting frustrated already!)

BolderKeith

In what year did the TL's first have the oil monitoring? I have never seen it on my 99. I wonder if the condition of the oil is based on the way the car is driven and miles, or does it actually evaluate the oil?

Viper

I'm now at 3850 Km and I'm at 60%. For you americans out there that's almost 2400 miles.

TorontoTL

I'm at 980 kms and now indicating 90% oil life.

njtom

I don't know if this is relivent but my '92 Legend has 290,000 miles and I use it every day to go to work which is an 80 mile round trip. The engine and tranny have never been worked on except for the timing belt.

I used to change the oil myself with Mobil 1 for maybe the first 100,000 since then I just let the dealer or a local garage do it at the recommended interval.

I think following the manufacturers recommendation is wise and saves you money. The dealers have their own schedule and try to convince you that you should do it their way.

My 2003 CRV needs oil changed every 10,000 but the dealer gave my wife a hard time because she waited.

So when my new TL get's here in two weeks I plan to continue following the manufacturers advice depending on my driving habits and conditions.

Regards,

Dany222

Does this oil monitoring apply to petroleom based only? What if you use synthetic?

jgrahamiii

I don't think it adjusts for synthetic

prodiac

I am at just under 3400 miles, and my oil has been at 40% for about 200miles I think.

rets

I'm driving a lot in local and city roads, bumpy and stop&go, some highway.

90%, around 500.
80%, around 900.
70%, about 1300.
60%, about 2200. - lots of highway
50%, about 3100. - lots of highway
40%, about 4000. - lots of highway

Still, 40% at 4500 now.

The minder is really calculating by factors of your driving-environment, engine, transmission, oil, and temp etc.