OIL LIFE Calculator on DIC--Does it Work, HOW ???

**Mr D** · 04-10-2012

03 GTP. Bought the car last July. DIC Oil Life calc was at 98%, oil filter looked new, so I assumed oil was new. I drove between 4k and 4.5k before Oil Life calculator got to 0%.

I change oil and filter w/ Fram filter and Castrol convention oil that was 50% recycled, reset DIC calc. Oil Life calc dropped to 97% at 100mi. Project that math out, and it would reach 0% at 3,333mi. That's significantly less than when I bought it.

Then a piece of plastic from my dipstick brooke in the tube/pan. So I drained oil and changed filter, in a fruitless effort to recover plastic pieces.

This time I used Penzoil conventional oil with a CarQuest filter (b/c it was on sale). A week later, road trip for holiday weekend with beautiful weather and wide open freeways. I monitered my guages. 1,100 miles, 3/4 of time had cc set 78-80.

This time the DIC Oil Life calculator hit 90% at 1,270miles after Penzoil conventional/Carquest filter. Project that math out and its 12,700 miles before oil life calculator would hit 0%!

Now that's a big differnece. What gives?

**dsmuts** · 04-10-2012

Your oil doesn't get as dirty on long trips as it does on short trips. That gauge isn't very accurate anyway.

**txslow6** · 04-10-2012

Yeah I don't even use the oil life system. I change mine at 4K regardless of how much "life" the oil has remaining.

**industrialfish** · 04-10-2012

It just calculates it based on Average speed, RPMs, miles, gas consumption, etc. Doesn't actually monitor your oil life.

**mechguy** · 04-10-2012

It isn't a gimmick though.

Obviously it isn't performing an oil analysis as you drive.

But it gives you the general expected oil life.

**BillBoost37** · 04-11-2012

There is a write up in teh owners manual on how it roughly calculates the life.

Based on run time, throttle percentage, speed, blah blah blah.

Personally, I dislike the oil life thing. It should be called a potential sludge indicator and display in the reverse that it does.

**Toms04compg** · 04-11-2012

I tend to pretend as if it wasnt even there... Only your noodle can really calculate how much of an arse whoopin you vehicle has taken lol.

**postalc38** · 04-12-2012

Every car has an oil life indicator....its called a dipstick

**Fivefingerdeathpunch** · 04-13-2012

I do oil changes everyday at work, the amount of cars that come in with the oil life on 0% are well, I dont have enough fingers or toes to count all of them.

I then like to glance at the previous oil change and when the return mileage should have been, most if not all are over 2,000 miles in the very least. Some as far as 5,000 on regular oil.

And they wonder why the oil is either low or looks like black death.

So to some it up, these oil life things suck.

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