# Oil Life at 13% with less then 3500 miles



## weimerrj (Dec 4, 2011)

It probably is driving style that accounts for the difference. 

She drove hers considerably less that you did yours. Was it a lot of short trips, mostly stop and go like trips to the store a couple miles away? That'll drive the OLM down. 

I have over 3500 on mine, nearly all highway, and my OLM is 70% remaining.


----------



## ralphtrent (Mar 2, 2011)

Thanks for the reply. yes that is exactly her driving style, not hard, just short, stop and go trips. With that said, should I get the oil changed now or wait til she gets to 6000? Does that style just effect the computer or the actuall oil to?


----------



## yourdoinitwrong (Aug 7, 2011)

Here's another thread on this topic:

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/10-engine-technical-discussion/4351-olm-reads-24-2100-miles.html

There are a lot of things that go into the computer telling you when to change the oil such as number of cold starts, trip length, engine revolutions, etc. Also, the oil you need just needs to be a Dexos certified/compatible oil, not necessarily a full synthetic but you can use it if you want. At the dealership I work at a Dexos oil change is $39.99. Here is a list of Dexos licensed oils:

GM dexos Licensed Products


----------



## weimerrj (Dec 4, 2011)

ralphtrent said:


> Thanks for the reply. yes that is exactly her driving style, not hard, just short, stop and go trips. With that said, should I get the oil changed now or wait til she gets to 6000? Does that style just effect the computer or the actuall oil to?


It's cheap insurance to change the oil. In the old days we used to do it every 3000 miles regardless of use.

Quaker State and Pennzoil (BIRM) are offering a $20 rebate on their Synthetics (both listed on the Dexos1 list), and the QS is $21 at Wal Mart. You can get the Fram filter there for $6.50 or so.


----------



## TSURacing (Jan 1, 2011)

I would say stick to the OLM and have her oil changed pretty soon. It may be conservative, but that way there are no issues with warranty and what not. Also, you should be able to do way better than $82. Go to your dealers webiste and see what service specials they have. My local dealer always has oil change coupons up there and they email me special ones too. And the service is good to boot. I usually do my own oil changes, but they will get my business in the winter time.


----------



## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

Have the dealer change the oil and filter on both cars now. Anyone who tells you the oil looks clean and therefore does not need to be changed is an "idiot" and avoid them like the plague.


----------



## iCruze2 (Dec 16, 2011)

^What he said!!!


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

Agreed. Look around, it's easy to find a cheaper oil change than $82. The dealer is a good suggestion. Most of them have coupons or rebates that bring the price down to $40-50. 

You went a year on the oil/filter in both cars. Time is just as important as use. If the oil sits for too long, it can collect moisture and fuel that will not be burned out when you drive it 2 miles each way to the store. It's not doing its job well if it's all loaded down with fuel and moisture.


----------



## cruze01 (Mar 25, 2011)

Not to mention that your owners manual tells you to go by the OLM "or" one year. You need to change the oil to keep your warranty good.


----------



## CHUV (Jun 25, 2011)

5000 miles is not late at all. Especially for the first oil change!!


----------



## CLUBGUY (May 28, 2011)

ralphtrent said:


> Hi
> I have two chevy cruze 1.4 LT1. They both are exactly the same minus the color (options and all). My wife has less then 3500 on car (purchased in february 2011, 30 miles where on the car to start). He oil life ias at 13%, my car has 5850 miles (purchased also in February 2011 at a different dealer though, 4 miles on the car to start). My Oil Life is also at 13%.
> 
> Niether cars have had an oil change yet as the dealer said to go off the computer. I brought my wifes to a local STS to get her oil changed and after the guy had it and look at it, he called me and said, your a bit early, the oil is still pretty clean, you do not need the oil changed right now. Also, he mentioned the change would have been around $82 since he said it needed to be synthic, but I know there is a debate about that going on all over.
> ...


OLM reads 24% at 2100 miles..??
I originally posted this in an earlier thread...Eventually the OLM read 11% at 2700 miles....the car was 7 months old at this time.....at this point we had the oil/filter changed....I questioned the dealer service rep. about the "reading"; he asked about the driver's(my wife) driving habits...all her trips are SHORT, heavy footed around town trips. This would explain the low miles/% reading....


----------



## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

weimerrj said:


> It probably is driving style that accounts for the difference.


The computer is supposed to account for driving styles or else what is the point of the calculation, right? Otherwise we wall would just go by miles driven.

In addition to miles, the calculation looks at other things like temperature. The hotter your oil, the sooner it breaks down. That is the big value to this feature is to let the consistant smooth highway drivers know that they can save money by extending the time between changes, and the more aggeressive city drivers know that they should go in sooner in order to ultimately extend the life of the vehicle.


----------



## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

SilverCruzer said:


> The computer is supposed to account for driving styles or else what is the point of the calculation, right? Otherwise we wall would just go by miles driven.
> 
> In addition to miles, the calculation looks at other things like temperature. The hotter your oil, the sooner it breaks down. That is the big value to this feature is to let the consistant smooth highway drivers know that they can save money by extending the time between changes, and the more aggeressive city drivers know that they should go in sooner in order to ultimately extend the life of the vehicle.


It's looking for time at temperature more than anything. It's a rule of thumb to drive a summer toy car for at least half an hour at operating temperature before putting it away for the winter to get out any moisture/fuel. GM integrated that rule into the OLM, it appears like. My car sees a lot of time on the highway, so the computer was calling for a 10k mile oil change. I changed it at 7k miles and 30% on the OLM because it was nice out.


----------



## ckcruze (Apr 3, 2012)

Maybe we don't have this here in Europe but where is this OLM displayed? I have an 1.8 LT


----------

