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oil life reset

797 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  MOONRNR
hey everyone.
i have a question. so awhile ago i got my oil changed recently at the local BigO. hey placed the sticker in the window reminding me to change my oil at certain mileage. so that mileage point has come but when i checked the oil life tab on my screen it shows i have about 47% left.
what are some recommendations. should i ignore the sticker or the oil life monitor.
thanks in advance.
kirk(2018 escape S)
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If you have a hybrid the engine may only run half time or so. Ford programs this into the formula but the oil change place probably would not.
hey everyone.
i have a question. so awhile ago i got my oil changed recently at the local BigO. hey placed the sticker in the window reminding me to change my oil at certain mileage. so that mileage point has come but when i checked the oil life tab on my screen it shows i have about 47% left.
what are some recommendations. should i ignore the sticker or the oil life monitor.
thanks in advance.
kirk
How many miles has it been since your last oil change? That will give us an idea if the shop is just trying to get you in more often. Also, what kind of oil did they put in? Full synthetic, synthetic blend, conventional (hopefully not)?
The most likely answer is that you can ignore the sticker but should never ignore the oil life monitor.

Please put your vehicle make and model and details into your profile or signature so we have a better idea of what we're discussing.
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The oil life monitor has no idea whether you have conventional, semi-synthetic or full synthetic oil in it.
My guess is that the oil change place set your sticker based on a 5k change interval.
You can change it now based on the sticker or wait and use the oil life monitor as a guide.
Personally I use a 5k change interval, with my Hybrids as I rarely get over 6k due to the number of short trips and on my non-Hybrids I keep the 5k interval to stay in line with my tire rotations.
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If you have a hybrid the engine may only run half time or so. Ford programs this into the formula but the oil change place probably would not.
OP has a 2018 Escape, so not a hybrid
The oil life monitor has no idea whether you have conventional, semi-synthetic or full synthetic oil in it.
My guess is that the oil change place set your sticker based on a 5k change interval.
You can change it now based on the sticker or wait and use the oil life monitor as a guide.
Personally I use a 5k change interval, with my Hybrids as I rarely get over 6k due to the number of short trips and on my non-Hybrids I keep the 5k interval to stay in line with my tire rotations.
The oil life monitor is probably based on using the recommended oil and filter from the owner's manual. Maybe. There's no way to know.
The OLM is based with a starting mileage of 10k (the manual max interval is 10k or 12 months) when it is reset.
It then subtracts based on operating conditions (time idling, time at low speed, avg speed, outside temp, length of trip, engine temp), days that it has been since the vehicle was driven, and actual miles driven. During CV when we were locked down and using only 1 car the oil life on the other dropped about about 1% every 3 weeks with it only being driven about 5 miles a week just to keep the battery charge up and the tires from getting flat spots.
The system isn't smart enough to actually see the beginning quality of the oil (conventional and Mobil 1 20k are the same to it).
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Right, there is no actual "monitoring" of the oil. The system is taking its best guess based on a bunch of factors, but it has no idea what oil or filter you have.

Regardless of what the sticker or monitor say, my preference for oil changes is...
conventional oil = never use it
synthetic blend = 5,000 miles (the manual says 7,500)
full synthetic = 7,500
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I change my oil around every 5000 miles whether it needs it or not. If they reset your oil minder when they changed the oil you can trust the cars readout and wait until it gets closer to actually needing an oil change.
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Going from my experience with my CMAX which has the same ICE other than displacement 2L vs 2.5L, I used BlackStone Labs to test my oil. Using Mobil 1 with 30k miles they said my oil was still good w/55-60% ICE usage and I had 273k mi. with not using oil, getting great mpg's when I traded it in. I just checked my oil with 26k. mi. since last oil change and the oil is only 1/2 quart down and is still yellow looking. I have 53k mi. total mi. on it. You can do what you want, but I can't see any real benefit changing your oil sooner, just a waste of money.

Paul
I am another advocate of an oil change every 5,000 miles. As I keep an eye on 6 vehicles, doing the math in increments of 5 is a no brainer. And Ford’s The Works is a great value for car maintenance.
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Going from my experience with my CMAX which has the same ICE other than displacement 2L vs 2.5L, I used BlackStone Labs to test my oil. Using Mobil 1 with 30k miles they said my oil was still good w/55-60% ICE usage and I had 273k mi. with not using oil, getting great mpg's when I traded it in. I just checked my oil with 26k. mi. since last oil change and the oil is only 1/2 quart down and is still yellow looking. I have 53k mi. total mi. on it. You can do what you want, but I can't see any real benefit changing your oil sooner, just a waste of money.

Paul
Uh, are you saying you go 30,000 miles between oil changes? I wouldn't recommend doing that, but it's your car.
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5000 miles or 6 months. Using Motorcraft synthetic blend and motorcraft oil filter. I keep track of it the old-fashioned way, a sticker on the inside of the windshield.
All need to understand the lubrication requirements between a NA 2.5L and a TURBO EB. The TURBO introduces a lot more contaminants into the crankcase, hence the need for more frequent oil change intervals.

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