Trust the OLM for short tripped turbo car?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 27, 2016
Messages
1,333
Location
Minnesota
I just bought a 2017 Chevy Cruze hatch with a 6 speed and I'm curious what everyone thinks about my situation. I live 5 miles from work and with winter sadly not terribly far away we will get some very cold weather. The car is a 1.4 turbo with direct injection, not the best setup for oil longevity. My question is, will the OLM be trustworthy for this type of driving? My main concern as many others is fuel dilution. I will get a UOA done eventually but I want to wait till it's a little more broken in.

I will be running Mobil 1 5w30 as it's what I'm already running in the wife's sonic. Probable stick with OEM filters for the time being.
 
If the OLM tells you to change it around 5,000-7,000 miles, I'd say it's pretty accurate.

Wait and see..........
 
It will require Dexos specification oil , which the Mobil 1 is .

We have a 2015 Sonic & have been running M1 & Mobil Super Synthetic in it . No problems .

Best wishes , :)
 
Sounds like time would be a better measure for you rather than the OLM. Once a year, or every six months if you really want to be extra cautious.

I had a '02 Ram drove very little, I'd just change the oil aroind my bday to make it easy to remember.
 
The OLM on my old Chevy HHR was pretty good and would tick off the % pretty fast in the winter with short trips
 
Trust your senses first....

Is the oil turning black pre-maturely?
Is there a smell of gasoline when you pull the dipstick?
Can you feel a loss of lubricity when you rub a drop between your fingers?

All of these occurred with my DI turbo Mazdaspeed3, confirmed by UOA, resulting in me adjusting the OCI to 3000 or less, synthetic only.

But, she did run like a scalded rabbit so I guess it was worth it.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Indydriver
Trust your senses first....

Is the oil turning black pre-maturely?
Is there a smell of gasoline when you pull the dipstick?
Can you feel a loss of lubricity when you rub a drop between your fingers?

All of these occurred with my DI turbo Mazdaspeed3, confirmed by UOA, resulting in me adjusting the OCI to 3000 or less, synthetic only.

But, she did run like a scalded rabbit so I guess it was worth it.


I might agree with that but I'd probably change the focus to get to know the car as well as trust your senses. I have a DI vehicle where the oil doesn't start to turn dark for 1K miles or more where others might be different. Premature discoloration of the oil may or may not be telling you something if "premature" is variable based on the vehicle...same with gas smell in the oil...in vehicles that I've had it doesn't take much gas at all in the fuel to give you the smell...so you might have to establish an experiential baseline before using that as a benchmark. Obviously, a UOA will be telling.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
If the OLM tells you to change it around 5,000-7,000 miles, I'd say it's pretty accurate.

Wait and see..........


Agreed. If it's driven on a very daily basis but primarily short trips, if your mileage in that time frame is somewhere over 5,000 miles I'd go with a 6 month or 5K OCI, whichever makes the most sense to you. Your oil should be a good choice.

As important as a thousand miles here on there on the OCI is making sure the car gets to stretch its legs occasionally. As frequently as every couple weeks try to get it out and drive it at least 15-20 miles to keep it limbered up and get everything good and warm. It will reward you in the long run.
 
Trust the OLM IMO...

My Colorado was a demo model and used 62% of the oil life in 32% of the service interval.

After I got it the next 36% was consumed in 40% of the normal service interval.

Went 600 highway miles without it moving a single %.

GM's system behaves the way that I would expect it to behave, so I'd trust it.
 
We have a poster who is also an Acura tech. Based on his experience, he believes Honda's IOLM misses badly on short-tripped vehicles. Of course, GM isn't Honda but it is some evidence that these things aren't infallible.

The best plan may be do a UOA with a lab like OIl Analyzers (Polaris) that tries to measure fuel dilution directly and see how it correlates with oil life monitor information.
 
The OLM will take your short trips into account
smile.gif
 
Just make sure it says full. So many drivers will follow a percentage number but have no idea how to check the oil level. They could be three quarts low and still have 40% left.
 
my wife drives our 2014 Trax 1.4 Turbo, that's basically short tripped 90% of the time, in temps ranging from +30 C down to occasional extreme overnights at -30 C. I'll change the oil when the OLM hits 20% or lower, and that usually equates to every 8000-ish km. about once a year for me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top