Change Oil Soon monitor

[SHOrod]

I initially expected that the oil monitor was strictly based off of mileage since the last time it was reset. This week I was surprised to see the display in my instrument cluster to "Change oil soon." I've been tracking since the last oil change, only 1530 some miles. Granted, it's probably been more than 6 months since the oil was changed so I certainly don't doubt that the oil needs to be changed, but clearly it's not basing the interval on a 7500 mile change like the manual suggests.

Does anyone know what all parameters the system looks at to determine if the oil needs to be changed? Is it actually sampling the oil, or is it just an algorithm in the PCM based on trip duration, coolant temperatures, etc.?

-Rod

 

[integrity6987]

Are you certain it was reset after the last change?
Mine came on soon after I took ownership soI got it changed. The salesman that sold me the car said no way it would have needed it since was changed when sold as CPO.

 

[TimboSHO]

or is it just an algorithm in the PCM based on trip duration, coolant temperatures, etc.?

-Rod

This is it. I'm not sure what parameters the algorithm uses, but it sounds like it was not reset at your last oil change.

 

[SHOrod]

I've done all the oil changes and am confident it was reset and verified to be at 100% after the last change. I've been resetting the oil change reminder back to 100% and resetting the Trip B meter at oil change intervals (Trip A gets reset when I refuel). And looking at the oil, it does appear like the engine could benefit from it being changed. My trips are short and since the SHO is not my daily driver, when I do drive it, I enjoy my seat time. I'd be more inclined to think I might have accidentally reset the trip odometer. My wife's afraid to drive the car so she wouldn't have mistakenly reset it.

I'll change the oil this weekend and reset the reminder and trip odometer, then see how many miles I get before it tells me to change it again.

-Rod

 

[brucelinc]

It is my understanding that the 2010 models simply used a mileage/time calculation with no other parameters being monitored. In 2011, they introduced the "intelligent" oil life monitors that use the algorithm.

 

[integrity6987]

Just curious - does the MyKey feature limiting the tops speed, radio volume, etc work with a Torrie Tune?

 

[SHOrod]

I haven't tried. My kids are not old enough to drive and my wife is afraid to drive my SHO so I've never tried to enable the MyKey.

-Rod

 

[SHOrod]

I changed the oil yesterday and when I turned the ignition on to record the mileage, the display now said, "Oil Change Required". The car hasn't moved since it last said "Change Oil Soon". As I was placing the receipt for the oil and filter in the glove box, I noticed the prior receipt had a mileage of 1500-some miles less than where it is today, but the date of the change was 1 year to the day. So maybe the monitor goes off of mileage and hours? If so, there's apparently a keep alive battery in the ECM somewhere since the car battery was changed a couple of weeks ago.

-Rod

 

[integrity6987]

Sure! - it must be an undocumented "feature" to ensure you change the oil at least once per year. like the GEICO commercial "every body know that" -- Zheesh!

 

[rubydist]

the system will tell you to change the oil based on calendar time even if you don't have "enough miles" to "need" an oil change. The fact of the matter is that a few miles over the course of a year is harder on the oil than running it 20+ miles a day.

 

[SHOrod]

I totally understand that short trips are harder on oil than longer trips, and have absolutely not issues with changing the oil after only 1500 miles. I'm actually a bit embarrassed that I only put just over 1500 miles on my car all year. That makes it a bit difficult to justify the purchase. Anyway, I was mostly just curious what the system uses to determine the car needs the oil changed. I always assumed it was based off mileage and was intrigued to learn that wasn't the case. I knew other brands actually measured oil resistance and capacitance, some makes track engine run time and temperatures, but I didn't think Ford was doing either of those.

If it's really calendar time, I wonder if the ECU uses a keep alive battery or a supercapacitor to maintain the hour counter. I've reset the KAM and had the battery out both since the previous oil change.

-Rod