The Truth about your Change Oil Soon Light

Written by: Joe McCann

Hello everyone and thanks again for checking in on our monthly blog. Before I start, I’d like to take this chance to thank all of the great friends, family, and customers we have at McCann’s Garage. Thanks to you we were able to collect nearly $10,000 dollars that will go towards a nursing scholarship at Loyola University in Chicago. I know my brother loved his job, and he loved all the wonderful people and patients he was able to care for throughout the past 10 years. Hopefully this scholarship will help a young student continue Pats tireless vision for a better and healthier future for everyone.

This month I’d like to discuss the most basic of maintenance on your vehicle, that dreaded and annoying, but ever so important, oil change. Have you ever found yourself looking at your oil change sticker on the upper left corner of your windshield and realize your 500 miles overdue? Just to look at your oil life monitoring system to find out you still have 60% life left? If you have don’t worry, you’re in good company. Today’s engines are a vast improvement in comparison to what we had 40-50 years ago. The advancements in engine oil has a lot to do with the extended life that we see in our vehicles. With synthetic oil and synthetic blended oil, the old adage of three months or 3,000 miles, thankfully is something we can all forget. While I know, my grandfather would roll over in his grave, if he heard me say the 3,000-mile no longer applies. The reality is, thanks to the use of in-vehicle oil life monitoring and new oil formulations, there’s no longer one specific mileage interval to adhere to. In other words, changing your oil every 3,000 miles will likely lead to wasting oil by replacing it before it is actually necessary.

While this new technology has been great for extending the life of your vehicle. What many technicians and now the manufacturers are beginning to see is that people are following the in-vehicle oil life monitoring system to well. Depending on how you drive your vehicle, it’s not unheard of to have nearly 12,000 miles in between oil changes. If you follow the oil monitoring system like it’s the word of God, you might still have 15% life left. The problem is that throughout those 12,000 miles, your engine will have likely used one maybe even two quarts of oil in the process. Most manufactures stick firmly to the statement that oil consumption is a normal part of a car’s operation. Subaru considers a quart burned every 1,000 to 1,200 miles to be acceptable. Certain Audi and BMW models state that a quart burned every 600 to 700 miles is reasonable. That means on a typical engine that holds between 4-5 quarts of oil, going 10 to 12,000 miles on a single oil change could result in an expensive repair. According to an April, 4 edition of AutoWeek,

General Motors is warning owners of almost 800,000 2010-12 vehicles that they may need oil changes more frequently than the on-board oil monitoring systems are telling them. After high warranty claims on several models with four-cylinder engines, GM will reprogram software to make oil change warning lights go on sooner. The change only affects 2010-2012 Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain and Buick LaCrosse and Regal models with 2.4-liter LAF and LEA four-cylinder engines. GM sent letters asking 778,956 owners of those vehicles to take them back to dealerships. The service will be done at no charge until Feb. 28, 2015.

“Even if they were out of warranty, they would still be good to have this done through that period,” said GM spokesman Alan Adler. “After that, the dealers have discretion to make the customers happy.”

Much like everyone else, I don’t like spending my hard-earned money on unnecessary repairs, and I hate seeing good customers and friends come out with major engine problems that could very well have been prevented by simple changing their oil more often. At McCann’s Garage we charge $32.00 for a conventional oil change and $49.00 for synthetic oil. I fully understand it’s an inconvenience for everyone and something most people dread, but overall getting your oil changed more frequently will prevent costly repairs down the road. If you do decide to follow your oil life monitoring system, it’s a good idea to check your oil on a regular basis. Even having old oil in your engine, is better than not having any at all.

Hopefully you found this information helpful, if you have any questions regarding engine oil or the General Motors software update that was stated above, give us a call at 752-8359. Before I finish I’d like to thank everyone again for reading. With the new year upon us, I know it’s extremely helpful to get feedback from our great customers to allow us as a business better serve you, and grow as a company. If there’s any comments you like to leave, I’d invite anyone who we’ve been able to serve, to please leave a Google review. Thanks again, and have a happy holiday.