Oil Life Monitor vs Storage time

[Vlad Soare]

Nothing monitors the oil, so the 'OLM' acronym is deceiving. There's no oil sensor anywhere; that's why you have to reset it (otherwise it'd reset itself with new oil). It's just an algorithm that basically does a combination of 3 things: Oil life goes from 100% to 0% in 365 days. Oil life goes from 100% to 0% in 10,000 miles max. And the third affects how much quicker life is reduced from 10K miles depending on how you drive. But even if you don't drive at all, the oil life would be 0% in a year, due to the calendar part alone (can't change that). Hope this helps.

That's correct.

I wonder if we can also use this as an indication of how "healthy" our driving style is. I mean, if you see that the current percentage corresponds almost exactly to the calendar, does this mean that no extra deterioration has been induced by your driving style - ergo, your driving is fine?
Of course, I'm not talking about a car that's been stored for months - in which case it's obvious that only the calendar will be considered. I'm talking about a car that's driven daily.

I've just checked mine, and the oil life matches the calendar exactly.
FordPass shows 58% remaining oil life.
I picked up the car on the 12th of October last year. So it's five months and a few days old.
5/12 = 41.6666666 %
100 - 41.666666 = 58.333334

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[Cobrakit]

I'm only getting about 4,000 miles at less than one year. Guess i need to modulate the go pedal more judiciously

 

[Vlad Soare]

I don't think it's about the go pedal per se. I think it's more about how short your drives are, how many of those miles are done with the engine cold, how you use the go pedal during that time, etc.
Once the engine is hot I drive it like it's stolen, and I don't see any negative effect on the oil life yet.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

I don't think it's about the go pedal per se. I think it's more about how short your drives are, how many of those miles are done with the engine cold, how you use the go pedal during that time, etc.
Once the engine is hot I drive it like it's stolen, and I don't see any negative effect on the oil life yet.

I don't think it means that at all.

I'm just a novice, but any trackday will reduce my oil life by about 20%, start to finish, and I of course have no choice but to wait till both the engine and tires are hot unless I want to slide of the track. I suspect for less novice drivers here that push the car harder, it will be reduced by a lot more, and it's not because their driving is less "fine". Is probably also why the owner's manual says to start each track day with new oil.

I'm thinking that sans stupid stuff, it's more an indication of how sedate one's driving style is (not that there's anything wrong with that at all).

 

[Vlad Soare]

Of course, driving for two hours straight at 7000 rpm will take a toll on the oil life. I'm not talking about such extremes. I was talking about daily (albeit spirited) driving.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

Of course, driving for two hours straight at 7000 rpm will take a toll on the oil life. I'm not talking about such extremes. I was talking about daily (albeit spirited) driving.

It would be the same I'm sure. The more "spirited", the quicker oil life (according to the monitor) runs out. During my normal sedate driving, oil life goes down slowly, but if I go for a drive up through the mountains through some twisty roads for half an hour (there's one particularly nice place popular with motorcycle riders), it goes noticeably quicker. Driving in a lower gear (higher RPM) for longer periods of time, also oil life goes down quicker. I don't think there's much reason to attribute it to how fine or good one's driving is, but more to how "spirited" one's driving is.

 

[Cobrakit]

Interesting that when i changed oil, monitor started at 4K miles for 100%. And continues to count down from that. So it looks like i can never get above that mileage

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