cartalkanne, I have worked on cars for 36 yrs. Listening to the Government and trying to be politically correct doesn’t always bring positive results.
First hand experiences and working on more than 50,000 cars is more than “Good o’le boy folklore”.
I would recommend you keep track of the oil level and color of the oil.If the oil you put in is a clear honey color, when the color starts to change{between 3-5000 miles} change the oil.
Your dipstick should be silver in color, not stained brown. Refined oil is clear. Different oil companies add color. I would recommend using a clear -to honey looking oil.
Remember, oil is recycled and used for various different applications.I understand the effort to cut down on oil consumption. I’m all for it, but not if I have to buy a new motor as a result of false theories.
Problem is that it did not work like GM and dealerships are saying it works since my actions fell inside the parameters of the requirements. I am also wondering about Citgo 5W30 synthetic blends and the requirements of GM or the API or whether the lube place put the “said” oil into the car. I never saw them but sat on the rack while they did it supposedly. Just something went very wrong.Of the 122 responses, we still do not have a consensus about the OLM’s reliabiity
I am looking for someone in the GM family to just say that you cannot just rely on the OLM as a method for watching how your car is handling the oil and operating. If the mileage intervals fall within the paramenters and I was watching the OLM and it failed, we need to be told how to monitor it now. If the parameters are much too great or too long, we just need to be told how long the oil last, how long to monitor the OLM. If the above gentleman says the OLM have a built in factor of 20% as was stated when it comes on to change, I cannot believe how bad this engine looks with a 20% built-in safety. I have given myself a break from this for a day and coming bck to it to monitor other’s responses still makes me think others are skeptical about what manuals and dealer mechanics say when the evidence in this case show bad results.
Your question sounds very simple. Unfortunately these days there are not simple answers to simple questions. There was a proposal in congress to change the suggested oil change frequency from 3k to 10k, just to stave off oil dependency. I don’t know if you have been through eggs are bad, eggs are good, babies should sleep on the stomach or babies should sleep on their back etc etc. You have to go back to our old wise (formerly wive’s before pc) tales and take some wisdom from us old farts who think 3 to 5k is the reasonable norm for oil changes. Certainly synthetic oil adds a new wrinkle, but needing no more wrinkles we stick with what we know.
This is a direct quote from a 2010 Cobalt Owner’s Manual concerning the Oil Life System.
"When to Change Engine Oil
This vehicle has the Engine Oil Life System, a computer system that indicates when to change the engine oil and filter. This is based on engine revolutions and engine temperature, and not on mileage. Based on driving conditions, the mileage at which an oil change is indicated can vary considerably. For the oil life system to work properly, the system must be reset every time the oil is changed.
When the system has calculated that oil life has been diminished, it indicates that an oil change is necessary. A CHANGE OIL SOON message comes on. See DIC Warnings and Messages on page 4?40. Change the oil as soon as possible within the next 600 miles (1 000 km). It is possible that, if driving under the best conditions, the oil life system might not indicate that an oil change is necessary for over a year. However, the engine oil and filter must be changed at least once a year and at this time the system must be reset.
Your dealer/retailer has trained service people who will perform this work using genuine parts and reset the system. It is also important to check the oil regularly and keep it at the proper level."
It does state that the oil and filter should be changed once a year regardless of the OLM and that the oil level should be checked on a regular basis.
Citgp does not have a conventional 5W30. Their 5W30 is a synthetic blend. Their oil is marked with the assurance of the API and so forth. They have a Lubricant OIl Warranty. We are sending the oil/sludge into Citgo to be better determine what components the sludge has. The oil we send will have a mixture of GM oil and the Citgo oil when it was changed at 40,000 miles when it was changed with the first car failure. I drove it 2 hours and had the 2nd car failure when I picked it up from the dealership that fixed it. We are sending in pictures today of sludge in various key places with the oil and sludge.
The oil you send Citgo is only going to be whatever was put in by the GM Dealer.
Their Citgo oil was drained out, and so very little remains in the engine, that all Citgo has to do is compare the additive package against their oil’s contents, and they will simply say “This isn’t our oil”, and that will be that.
You would have needed to have the sample pulled when that dealer had drained the oil.
I don’t like how your GM dealer is fighting this situation so badly.
Personally, I think the fault lays with GM’s DFI system, putting too much fuel into the oil during the 10k mile run, which then sludged it up. Unfortunately, there isn’t any proof to go along with that statement, as your used oil is long gone.
If you can post a couple of those pictures for us to see, that would be great.
Aside from the OLM. (And from others claiming the thread hashing is getting old.)
I’d suggest one other point at issue:
The filter bypass valve and circuit.
GM powertrains have used this design for decades, and still do…
On cold start, or if the filter is “exhausted” from doing its job, the bypass valve engages and essentially circulates oil past the filter (bypassing it). The OLM would not be monitoring this condition. In fact, the “idiot gauges” in most cars won’t even read the “spike” associated with oil pressure bypass conditions. Of course, you wouldn’t know this without having taken one of these engines apart for rebuild. This is why changing the oil and filter at regular intervals is critical. It is NOT just the oil, it is the FILTER, too. Even if the dealer or service agent changed the filter, oil that has been pushed past its TBN limit will contaminate a new filter quickly, causing the bypass cycle all over again…
As long as the vehicle still runs up to the point the warranty expires,is all the manufacturer cares about.
The manufacturer gambles on the amount of vehicles that will make it to that point. All vehicles are sold with at least a $1000 warranty cost built in to it.
The manufacturer considers “severe duty” what most of us consider normal vehicle operation.
Sorry but unless the claim of milage was followed by we replace your engine, this idea is so far in the ozone that I’d like a private email for who to get the stuff you are smoking from. Sounds really great. You could also use english, that would be less confusing. The OLM sounds more like a milage clock than a real life check. 12k is at the extreme for a change. If you were a police car or cabbie this would not work. Is it your fault? My common sense says yes. No one should expect that performance from oil. Were you sold a bill of goods? Don’t know, did you follow the manual that came with the warranty?