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Hi,

I've always assumed that the oil indicator was governed by mileage rather than the state of the oil, and that was confirmed for me last week. After an oil change, the indicator still said 10%; the mechanic said he had indeed changed the oil, and just needed to reset the indicator. But that got me wondering - how reliable is that indicator? Do I need to start checking the oil before the indicator gets toward 10%? And/or am I changing it too early if I trust the gauge?

Thanks.

 
Rep Power: 125

I do mine at 3k miles regardless of what the indicator tells me. If I listened to the indicator, I'd probably be doing it closer to every 15k miles. I'm guessing the previous owners listened to that because it now burns oil.

I suspect it's more accurate for the newer cars, but I still stick to the 3-5k range, given that I do drive my car relatively hard, and I don't drive as much as I used to anyway.

 
Rep Power: 242

Best way to know the health of your oil is to send it out for analysis. I use the minder in my Pilot and have had the oil sent out after 8–10k miles and the oil was fine. The minder doesn’t “test” the oil but rather make a estimated guess on its condition based off your driving habits.

 
Rep Power: 242

I use black stone labs for my oil analysis’.


https://www.blackstone-labs.com

 
Rep Power: 223

Use full synthetic oil if you're going to follow the maintenance minder. Conventional oil should be changed every ~3k miles, the minder would expect it to go ~10k.

 
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Thank you all; much appreciated.