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Maybe dumb question.

2K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  AAIIIC 
#1 ·
so ive down two oil changes since i have had my CTS. havent had the car a year yet. just like to have clean oil .
ANYWAYS. my oil life has gotten to 4 percent life.

Does the car know the actual oil life of the oil? or is it just running off on how many miles ive driven? so its basically just guessing?
 
#7 ·
thank you this actually helps.


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i havent had the need to change it so many times. last time i changed it at 25% i didnt want the oil to get bad.

I wouldn't trust a car to tell u when to change the oil. I would check the dipstick to see how the oil looks.
How can u have a car for almost a yr and only change the oil twice?
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thats what i was thinking that they wouldnt put "oil life" if it just went on how many mils youve driven. i trust that Caddy knows what theyre taking about.
thanks KOT for the insight.
i also check my oil quite often. every time i get gas i check it. but i only fill it up. so i go maybe 250 maybe 300 miles before tanks. I to have a heavy foot, espespecially now that i have the VOLANT inkake install. i just love the sound of it. lol


Let me guess, you are changing the oil at 3,000 or 5,000 miles? If so, don't. Change it at no less than 8,000 miles, or trust the computer. I've own my CTS since December of 2008 and have driven nearly 80,000 miles. I've trusted the computer because millions of dollars has been spent on how the computer determines the oil life.

There isn't a sensor in the oil that determines the "oil life". So how the computer determines the "oil life" is by so many other sensors. Such as engine RPM, temp, car speed, outside temp, gas pedal and so many other sensors. It takes these sensors and determines how it was driven, like "your daddy's Cadi" or like a normal person or like a sports car. It also determines if it was driven in a cool environment, hot or a combo.

Personally, I just did my 9th oil change today in the 80,000 miles I've had her. Granted the oil was black, but it's also the fact that I have a heavy foot. So even with my heavy foot, the computer went nearly 10,000 between changes. As a matter of fact, my last oil change was July 30th of 2012 with just over 10,000 miles.

Keep in mind, this oil life system does NOT sense the oil level. So I check my level every couple thousand miles and top off as needed.

KOT
 
#12 ·
Then I guess you wouldn't be buying any new car in a few years. I know that some BMWs, Mercedes, and I wouldn't be surprised the ATS, does not have a dip stick for oil. In those cases, there is a sensor for oil level so you can tell how much oil is in the engine. Yes I know every car has a sensor for the level, but they are normal put so low that for some it could be too late when the warning comes up.

KOT
 
#6 ·
Let me guess, you are changing the oil at 3,000 or 5,000 miles? If so, don't. Change it at no less than 8,000 miles, or trust the computer. I've own my CTS since December of 2008 and have driven nearly 80,000 miles. I've trusted the computer because millions of dollars has been spent on how the computer determines the oil life.

There isn't a sensor in the oil that determines the "oil life". So how the computer determines the "oil life" is by so many other sensors. Such as engine RPM, temp, car speed, outside temp, gas pedal and so many other sensors. It takes these sensors and determines how it was driven, like "your daddy's Cadi" or like a normal person or like a sports car. It also determines if it was driven in a cool environment, hot or a combo.

Personally, I just did my 9th oil change today in the 80,000 miles I've had her. Granted the oil was black, but it's also the fact that I have a heavy foot. So even with my heavy foot, the computer went nearly 10,000 between changes. As a matter of fact, my last oil change was July 30th of 2012 with just over 10,000 miles.

Keep in mind, this oil life system does NOT sense the oil level. So I check my level every couple thousand miles and top off as needed.

KOT
 
#18 ·
No such thing as a dumb question.
Guys, Gals, my very first caddie. My first post here and I have fresh eyes.
mmMMmm, a 6 quart pseudo-dry sump oil system. Love it!! I've owned and wrenched on Porsches, GM, Saturn, Ford, Chrysler, but the Cad engineering is impressing me. The first thing that whacked me was having to pull the entire nose cone off just to replace the headlights and bulbs...are you kidding me? doh! and plastic rivets...bleah! oh, and I found that the electrical connectors in these headlights is a bit skimpy and without silicone grease.

I read in the '06 owner's manual that the interval is 3000 miles. I would surmise that the DIC is programmed to remind the viewer at 3k intervals based on the odometer, assuming you reset the counter when you did the maintenance. The manual also sez no oil condition sensor and that you have 600 miles to change after the indicator appears.

I just performed an oil and filter change (my very first stand-up oil change without spilling a drop) with mobil1 extended 15,000 mile oil, so I guess I'll be resetting the oil minder 5 times before actually needing to change it, but then it really depends on consumption rate and how colorful your oil becomes. Clear or slight brown is good while dark brown is about time...and black is shamefully bad. Wanna spin a bearing? let it go low AND black. Ask the Saturn i4 crowd about that.
k
 
#19 ·
Kilowatt said:
I read in the '06 owner's manual that the interval is 3000 miles. I would surmise that the DIC is programmed to remind the viewer at 3k intervals based on the odometer, assuming you reset the counter when you did the maintenance. The manual also sez no oil condition sensor and that you have 600 miles to change after the indicator appears.
I have no idea where you read that in the 06 owners manual. But mine says that there isn't a specific amount of miles of when an oil change needs to be done.

Directly from my manual...

Engine Oil Life System When to Change Engine Oil
Your vehicle has a computer system that lets you know 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 will be indicated can vary considerably. For the oil life system to work properly, you must reset the system every time the oil is changed.
When the system has calculated that oil life has been diminished, it will indicate that an oil change is necessary. A change engine oil message in the DIC
will come on. Change your oil as soon as possible within the next 600 miles (1 000 km). It is possible that,
if you are driving under the best conditions, the oil life system may not indicate that an oil change is necessary for over a year. However, your engine oil and filter
must be changed at least once a year and at this time the system must be reset. Your dealer has GM-trained service people who will perform this work using genuine GM parts and reset the system. It is also important to check your oil regularly and keep it at the proper level.
If the system is ever reset accidentally, you must change your oil at 3,000 miles (5 000 km) since your last oil change. Remember to reset the oil life system whenever the oil is changed.
How to Reset the Engine Oil Life
System and the Oil Life Indicator
The Engine Oil Life System calculates when to change your engine oil and filter based on vehicle use. Anytime your oil is changed, reset the system so it can calculate when the next oil change is required. If a situation occurs where you change your oil prior to a change engine oil message in the DIC being turned on, reset the system.
After the oil has been changed, the change engine oil message and the oil life indicator must be reset. To reset the message and indicator, use one of the following procedures:

KOT
 
#20 ·
funny thing about this whole conversation is that nobody mentioned that every CTS and car of same make and model is different. some of the guys have been on this forum for years and have passed along great knowledge. i for one have owned a CTS, two STS's and quite a few other Caddy's. just using the two STS's as an example, both had the 3.6L engines, one was an 05 the other an 06. the 05 drank oil like nobody's business (literally i could do an oil change on friday afternoon, drive the car 500 miles over the weekend and Monday morning i would be down two quarts) and there would never be a drop of oil in the driveway or garage...on the other hand, the 06 has never been a drop of oil short after driving the car for 6k+ miles or whatever you have it. the main key thing with EVERY car is to stay consistent on checking your oil level and doing the routine maintainence and you will normally have little to no troubles. my 05 never blew up because i montiored my oil level every other day, my 06 is still running strongly and i look at that oil level once a week
 
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