Oil Life Monitor, IOLM, and UOA

[Auggie]

No UOA yet and OD has 4100 miles since the oil change and monitor sits at 46% and Bruce I will check out the BP stations for 93. Thanks guy's!

    Auggie

 

[pmezo33]

No UOA yet and OD has 4100 miles since the oil change and monitor sits at 46% and Bruce I will check out the BP stations for 93. Thanks guy's!

    Auggie

That's because it monitors time and distance, not the actual health of the oil.  The kind of oil doesn't affect anything.  At 100%, it's set for 7,500 and/or 12 months.  As you drive and time goes by, that % goes down.

 

[Auggie]

When I worked for BMW of NA their cars oil monitoring system checked: Engine starts, coolant temp, engine rpm, engine running time and distance traveled and I thought Ford was pretty much the same ??

    Auggie

 

[pmezo33]

When I worked for BMW of NA their cars oil monitoring system checked: Engine starts, coolant temp, engine rpm, engine running time and distance traveled and I thought Ford was pretty much the same ??

    Auggie

This is from my MKS owner's manual.  I'd have to assume it's the same with the SHO.  Just time and distance traveled.

OIL LIFE
This displays the remaining oil life.
An oil change is required whenever indicated by the message center and
according to the recommended maintenance schedule. USE ONLY
RECOMMENDED ENGINE OILS.
To reset the oil monitoring system to 100% after each oil change
(approximately 7,500 miles [12,000 km] or 12 months) perform the
following:
1. Press and release SETUP to display “OIL LIFE XXX% HOLD RESET =
NEW”.
2. Press and hold RESET for two seconds and release to reset the oil life
to 100%.
Note: To change oil life 100% miles value from 7,500 miles (12,000 km)
or 12 months to another value, proceed to Step 3.
3. Once “OIL LIFE SET TO XXX%” is displayed, release and press
RESET to change the Oil Life Start Value. Each release and press will
reduce the value by 10%.
Note: Oil life start value of 100% equals 7,500 miles (12,000 km) or
12 months. For example, setting oil life start value to 60% sets the oil
life start value to 4,500 miles (7,200 km) and 219 days.

 

[ajpturbo]

P.S. Engine still running strong on conv. oil

How does one measure what running strong is? Might feel strong to you but without UOA your statement really doesn't carry much weight. I remember you dismissing the benefits of synthetic oil....There generally won't be benefits you can feel or gauge with your senses by running synthetic oil but that doesn't mean it's not better

 

[Auggie]

OK, good info Pmezo and your right AJ and I should have that done but I won't because I have complete confidence in the Pennzoil I use.

 

[Brucelinc]

The 2010 oil life monitor did only base changes on time and mileage.  From 2011 on, however, it did use more sophisticated logic like number of starts, temps, etc.  The max was 10,000 miles.  That is also when they switched recommended oil weight from 5w20 to 5w30.

 

[sholxgt]

The 2010 oil life monitor did only base changes on time and mileage.  From 2011 on, however, it did use more sophisticated logic like number of starts, temps, etc.  The max was 10,000 miles.  That is also when they switched recommended oil weight from 5w20 to 5w30.

Are you certain?  My car still asks me to just set the mileage interval desired (5,000, 7500, or 10,000) and then starts counting down.  Will it override the setting chosen?

 

[sholxgt]

OK, good info Pmezo and your right AJ and I should have that done but I won't because I have complete confidence in the Pennzoil I use.

You should research coking so you know how well conventional oil holds up in turbo cars.  I would NEVER even think of running conventional oil in a car that even ships from the manufacture with semi-synthetic and requires it according to the manufacturer's specifications listed in the owners manual.  Unless you're in Canada...LOL. I guess they either figure it's cold enough there or that Canadians are too cheap.  Not sure which.

 

[Auggie]

Yah, I already went through this on this form and my 2015 Owners Manual say's that : Full Synthetic or Simi-Synthetic oils are NOT mandatory. Just saying

    Auggie

 

[Brucelinc]

The 2010 oil life monitor did only base changes on time and mileage.  From 2011 on, however, it did use more sophisticated logic like number of starts, temps, etc.  The max was 10,000 miles.  That is also when they switched recommended oil weight from 5w20 to 5w30.

Are you certain?  My car still asks me to just set the mileage interval desired (5,000, 7500, or 10,000) and then starts counting down.  Will it override the setting chosen?

Here is from the 2013 MKS manual:

Intelligent Oil Life Monitor
Your vehicle is equipped with an Intelligent Oil Life Monitor that
determines when the engine oil should be changed based on how your
vehicle is used. By using several important factors in its calculations, the
monitor helps reduce the cost of owning your vehicle and reduce
environmental waste at the same time. This means you won’t have to
remember to change the oil on a mileage-based schedule; the vehicle lets
you know when an oil change is due by displaying ENGINE OIL
CHANGE DUE or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED in the message center. The
following table is intended to provide examples of vehicle use and its
impact on engine oil change intervals; it is provided as a guideline only.
Actual engine oil change intervals will depend on several factors and will
generally decrease with severity of use.
When to expect the OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message
Miles (km) Vehicle use and examples
7500-10000
(12000-16000)
Normal
– Normal commuting with highway driving
– No, or moderate, load/towing
– Flat to moderately hilly roads
– No extended idling
5000-7499
(8000-11999)
Severe
– Moderate to heavy load/towing
– Mountainous or off-road conditions
– Extended idling
– Extended hot or cold operation
3000-4999
(4000-7999)
Extreme
– Maximum load/towing
– Extreme hot or cold operation

 

[ZSHO]

Lets stick to the TOPIC on hand which relates to FUEL.  Z

 

[Brucelinc]

Sorry...seemed like it picked up oil along the way. 

 

[ZSHO]

Sorry...seemed like it picked up oil along the way. 

No worries Bruce its all good.  Z

 

[Auggie]

Bruce, I reread your post #13 on the Ford Oil Monitoring System and I think you and I are right that the system monitors "SEVERAL important factors in its calculations" and not just time and mileage. SHOdded do you have any idea what this system monitors or maybe you could find out ?

    Auggie

 

[SHOdded]

Don't know any more than what Bruce already stated, the FSMs provide no insight.  Maybe there WAS a change between 2010-12 and 2013+, but most reports have it that IOLM is not really so Intelligent. 

 

[Brucelinc]

2010 was the last of the dumb oil life monitors that just monitor mileage.  2011 and newer have the intelligent ones that monitor several factors.  I can't provide written proof but I got this info from a Ford insider on a well-known Ford forum and the manual supports that.

Speaking of fuel, I was in San Francisco area last week and it was nearly $4 per gallon!  Had a Fusion rental that was a real dog but it got good mileage.

 

[SHOdded]

Ford's claim:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs5HusCGBAo

The website seems to agree with the manual:
http://owner.ford.com/how-tos/vehicle-features/dashboard-instrument-cluster/intelligent-oil-life-monitor.html

The Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor system analyzes your vehicle’s data to determine the recommended time to change your oil. This video shows how the system works.

NORMAL SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE

Your vehicle is equipped with an Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor (IOLM) that determines when you should change your engine oil based on how your vehicle is used. By considering several important factors in its calculations, the IOLM helps ensure that your engine can perform at its best while also helping you avoid unnecessary oil changes.

With the help of the IOLM, you don’t have to remember to change your oil on a preset mileage-based schedule. Your vehicle will let you know when it’s time for an oil change by displaying a message in the information display.

The following table provides examples of vehicle use and how each scenario can affect oil change intervals. In practice, actual oil change intervals will depend on several different factors, but severe usage will generally require more frequent changes. Also, if it’s been more than a year since your last oil change, the IOLM will display a reminder message regardless of your mileage.

When to expect the OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message

Vehicle use        Interval

Normal
•Normal commuting with highway driving
•No loading or towing, or moderate loads and towing
•Flat to moderately hilly roads
•No extended idling
                              7,500-10,000 miles (12,000-16,000 km)
Severe
•Extended hot or cold operation
•Moderate to heavy loads and towing
•Mountainous or off-road conditions
•Extended idling
                              5,000-7,499 miles (8,000-11,999 km)
Extreme
•Extreme hot or cold operation
•Maximum loads and towing
                              3,000-4,999 miles (4,800-7,999 km)

 

[Brucelinc]

At the same time they introduced the intelligent oil life monitor, they switched their viscosity recommendation from 5w20 to 5w30.  I was told that the potentially longer drain intervals was the reason for the change in oil weight recommendation.

I still follow the "severe" or "extreme" recommendation and use full synthetic.  I suspect most enthusiasts who are fussy about their cars do the same.

 

[ZSHO]

The oil life monitor only calculates the amount of mileage since your last oil change....plain and simple....it does not suffice Idling or Severe conditions which at the end of the day its just a plain ole Odometer at its very best and dont forget to reset it at every oil change,lol..  Z