Oil Life Monitor system

[Magmetallic15]

We have a 19 Bullitt Mustang. The car currently has about 5,600 miles. We did the initial oil change at 2,000 miles. At about 5.2K miles the oil life monitor popped up messages at startup that the oil needed changed. This would be 3.3K of oil life. I thought that that seemed too soon, especially for a car that takes 10 quarts of oil. But I did not ignore the warning, and changed the oil and filter at about 5.5K for its 2nd change. So I am deciding to keep an eye on this oil life monitor after every drive. So after a complete oil and filter change I drove the car 63 miles and then checked the oil life monitor and it said the oil life was now at 91%. 91% after 63 miles??? 9% drop in this mileage is crazy. So is anyone else having this issue that you are getting crazy readings from this oil life system. I guess it is supposed to be intelligent. Does that mean that the oil life could drop if I do not drive the car daily, which at this point in the year the car is parked a lot until next spring?
I did do the oil changes myself and reset the OLM myself each time. Is there some magic that Ford would do during an oil change to allow this system to extend the OLM range??? I would think that getting 6,000 miles between oil changes would be reasonable.
Am curious if any other 19 or 20 Mustang owners have had this issue.

Sponsored

 

[Louk]

Definitely weird. I wanna say the time frame is 12 months if you don’t hit the mileage. Miles will vary but should be 6-10k.
with your miles your showing would only be about 700 miles between changes something is off with the algorithm.
is there a few week period between oil change and drive? Only thing that could explain it.

 

[Magmetallic15]

Definitely weird. I wanna say the time frame is 12 months if you don’t hit the mileage. Miles will vary but should be 6-10k.
with your miles your showing would only be about 700 miles between changes something is off with the algorithm.
is there a few week period between oil change and drive? Only thing that could explain it.

Drove the car the next day after the oil change. So I am going to ask Ford about it next time we go in to local dealership!

 

[Elp_jc]

I bet the oil life monitor didn't reset. Always check that it says '100%' after resetting it, if you want to rely on that. And I bet the first time didn't reset either. No way I'd show a change at 3K+ miles without some track duty. And even less at 60+.

 

[AceS550]

Do you spend a lot of time with the engine idling? That would also affect the engine oil life.

 

[Andy13186]

Mine has come on after 2800 miles but I expect this considering I hit 7500 rpm like 20-40 times a day. Also have to add about 2 quarts in that mileage. No track driving but some occasional long WOT high speed runs.

 

[Mr & Mrs Shrek]

I drove to the dealer to get a service (oil change) in Mar and parked in the garage and ~6 months later I started the car and service for oil change came up. Yes, I should drive it more, so the timer is way less than 12 months.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Just an FYI:

The oil life monitor counts down even when the car is sitting unused. It’s not just based on driving use.



Also as mentioned, if the Service Center Tech (or actual owner doing a DIY oil change) does not reset the oil life monitor, it just continues counting. The system does not actually know when an oil change is needed OR when one was done.

 

[StangTime]

Just an FYI:

The oil life monitor counts down even when the car is sitting unused. It’s not just based on driving use.



Also as mentioned, if the Service Center Tech (or actual owner doing a DIY oil change) does not reset the oil life monitor, it just continues counting. The system does not actually know when an oil change is needed OR when one was done.

That's why I change the oil before storing then reset the oil life monitor in the spring when it's time to bring it out. Pour in a can of Ceratec and it's go time.

Makes zero sense for that timer to count down with brand new high-quality synthetic oil sitting in the crack-case undisturbed for 6 months. Do you think the oil in the pan will degrade just because I poured it from the jugs into the crankcase? No way.

 

[Magmetallic15]

Just for further information. The car has never been tracked. I have yet to push it extremely hard with revs. I will do a few quick accelerations each drive, but nothing to redline. So the engine has been not yet pushed hard. Concerning resetting the OLM back to 100% - yes that was done at each oil change. That is how I know it came down from 100% to 91% in a little over 60 miles. Do I idle the car, no not anymore than normal.
So my conclusion on this is that the OLM system has a timer on it and it is ticking all the time. With this car sitting 10-12 days or longer between starts, it is slowly counting down. So I will stick to my old tried and true method of changing the oil every 6,000 miles, or every spring.

 

[Magmetallic15]

That's why I change the oil before storing then reset the oil life monitor in the spring when it's time to bring it out. Pour in a can of Ceratec and it's go time.

Makes zero sense for that timer to count down with brand new high-quality synthetic oil sitting in the crack-case undisturbed for 6 months. Do you think the oil in the pan will degrade just because I poured it from the jugs into the crankcase? No way.

I agree, synthetic oil is NOT degrading in 6-8 weeks of sitting in an oil pan in a garage in a relatively newer engine. So resetting the OLM is what I will do also come each spring.

 

[Elp_jc]

The system does not actually know when an oil change is needed OR when one was done.

Expanding on that, the 'oil life monitor' is a misnomer, since that implies there's a sensor that actually tests the oil. That's NOT the case at all. The 'monitor' is just an algorithm, hence requiring to be reset after every oil change.

OP, I thought you said your OLM used 90% in 60 miles, not that it had left 90%. That'd be perfectly normal due to the time accumulation. We're supposed to change the oil every year, so even if you never used the car, the OLM would show 0% life at the end of a year, even if the oil has 0 miles. Hope this clears any leftover confusion . By the way, I change the oil every 5K miles or every year, whichever comes first... which typically it's the year first. But since I do a lot of highway driving not too far apart, I wouldn't have an issue leaving it for 6K.

Sponsored