Oil change

[Steveu]

I have 3,600 since last full synthetic on my 2019 longhorn. Dealer sticker said needs done in 200 miles. Oils gauge shows 50%

 

[Maconi]

Your manual tells you the recommended service intervals. The dealer will tell you to change it more often because that's more money in their pocket. The oil gauge is just a general estimate to my knowledge (doesn't reflect the recommended service interval).

Basically manual > oil gauge > dealer. If you're lazy you can just blindly follow the oil gauge and technically everything will be fine (you won't get top performance/durability but better than nothing) but it's recommended to follow the manual in whatever vehicle you drive (the engineers who designed the service schedule know what's best for their parts).

 

[Neurobit]

LIke Maconi said, follow the manual & oil life gauge. 3600 on synthetic is about 50% of it's life, so your gauge is about spot on.

 

[Jako]

I have no idea how the oil gauge works. I had conventional oil put in on my 2nd oil change by the dealer. I changed it at 1400+ miles with 81% oil life, there was a lot of low speed stop and go city traffic on those miles. That info from my calculations would require the oil to be changed at 7000+ miles. I replaced it with Penzoil Ultra Platinum (aka PUP, full synthetic) and did a 400 mile run (highway) and the oil life was 96% - conversion for the oil change would be 10,000 miles.
I would never run conventional motor oil to 7000+ miles and was taught 3000-3500 miles and maybe 5000 with the newer oil formulas.
I am in agreement with Maconi as the oil gauge is a general estimate. I would not want to run a 2019 Ram 1500 with conventional motor oil to 7000 miles. My first oil change was done by the dealership with PUP and the 2nd was conventional. My 3rd was by myself because of the conventional. There are a lot of opinions and I'm sure leasing vs owning comes into play. I prefer to change the oil ahead of schedule. I have changed the oil on new vehicles at 500 miles while some came with break in oil that did not want it change. On the Ram I did the first at 3500 miles and 2nd around 6500, conventional couldn't wait to get it out with 1400+. The Penzoil website does not list their conventional motor oil for the Ram despite it meeting Mopar specs. I have forwarded an inquiry and I am awaiting a response from Penzoil.
You can test your oil and that would give you more info to base your decision, read the various opinions on the forum or other websites and do what you are comfortable with.
By the way my BMW motorcycle service light comes on which requires the oil changed each year despite the mileage. I never had the oil tested but I believe the oil is still fine.

 

[SD Rebel]

The oil gauge is supposed to take in factors such as idle time, rpms, temps, etc. to determine how your oil is doing and adjust accordingly. It assumes you are running conventional oil as well.

As for the manual, it doesn't state a specific time to do an oil change, only the maximum internal of 10,000 miles, 12 months or 350 hours, whichever comes first. It's highly unlikely that the oil change indicator won't go off prior to that.

 

[brian42]

The oil gauge in my Big Horn is just a 10K mile countdown. Are you sure that the oil gauge was reset when the oil was changed?

As for the oil change I would go 10K miles with full synthetic unless you really beat on it, tow a lot, or spend a lot of time off-roading.

 

[Willwork4truck]

You'll get replies all over the place however in general, the most agressive you need to be (IMHO) is following the "severe duty" schedule unless you tow heavy . I am an "over-maintainer" when it comes to fluids, but then I don't use full synthetics. To me, dino oil is 3K, semi would be 4-5K and full synth would be 6-7KK depending on conditions, short driving, idling, yada yada yada.

I often keep my vehicles to over 100K, usually 150 ish before I end up getting something else so I try to keep it changed out. In addition (personal issue here) I routinely give/sell for cheap my vehicles to an adult child or niece/nephew as they know how its been taken care of and appreciate it. I don't imagine that applies to hardly anyone else however I won't knowingly abuse an engine by failing to change the oil.

Lastly, if buying used I look for CARFAX or owners maintenance records. When I see a possible vehicle that has had changes every 8-10+K or more, I don't go any further. If I see one with regular changes, it moves way up the list. If I think that way then perhaps others may too and that could result in a quicker sale for you.

Now none of this applies on leases or folks that change vehicles every 2 years or those who just don't give a she-it about the next guy.

 

[brian42]

You'll get replies all over the place however in general, the most agressive you need to be (IMHO) is following the "severe duty" schedule unless you tow heavy . I am an "over-maintainer" when it comes to fluids, but then I don't use full synthetics. To me, dino oil is 3K, semi would be 4-5K and full synth would be 6-7KK depending on conditions, short driving, idling, yada yada yada.

I agree that the severe duty schedule covers the bases.

35 years ago I changed oil every 3K miles, spark plugs every 20K miles, and manually adjusted my timing. Nowadays things are designed to last a lot longer. My last truck was a diesel and it was incredibly abusive to the oil. I was changing dino oil every 5K (or synthetic at 9K) on that beast and have no qualms about maxing out the OCI under normal driving conditions for my 5.7L. Those intervals are published for a reason. Now if you start modifying the truck (supercharger, tuning, lift, tires, etc.) then all bets are off.

Lastly, if buying used I look for CARFAX or owners maintenance records. When I see a possible vehicle that has had changes every 8-10+K or more, I don't go any further. If I see one with regular changes, it moves way up the list. If I think that way then perhaps others may too and that could result in a quicker sale for you.

While I'm OCD (and appreciate anyone who keeps/tracks an accelerated maintenance schedule) it is hard to put all those pieces together. Most that are diligent about such details don't do that at a dealership so it is not recorded anywhere but their personal records. If they trade the vehicle in there's no guarantee that the dealership has those records (or kept them) from the trade-in. Most people don't care about that kind of history (how many people check to see if the 20K, 30K, etc., services were done?).

 

[Jako]

The oil gauge in my Big Horn is just a 10K mile countdown. Are you sure that the oil gauge was reset when the oil was changed?

As for the oil change I would go 10K miles with full synthetic unless you really beat on it, tow a lot, or spend a lot of time off-roading.

1344 miles with 81% oil life. 1344 is 19% of used oil life. 1344 is to 19% as X is to 100%. X=7073.7. It's been a while (graduated HS 1973) but something like this 1344/X=19/100, 134400=19X, X=7073.7. I have not recorded the oil life previously so this is my only record. Anybody else do the math on oil life mileage?

 

[brian42]

1344 miles with 81% oil life. 1344 is 19% of used oil life. 1344 is to 19% as X is to 100%. X=7073.7. It's been a while (graduated HS 1973) but something like this 1344/X=19/100, 134400=19X, X=7073.7. I have not recorded the oil life previously so this is my only record. Anybody else do the math on oil life mileage?

Yep. I did my first oil change at 7000 miles and reset the oil gauge. For argument's sake (and ease of math) we'll consider that "0" miles:

At 1000 miles my oil gauge was at 90%, at 2000 miles it was at 80%, at 3000 miles it was at 70%,...,at 8500 miles it was at 15%, at 9500 miles it was at 5% and I got a notification to change my oil. At 10,000 miles, you guessed it, it was at 0% and I got a notification to schedule an oil change.

 

[Willwork4truck]

As far as not many OCDers getting their oil changed at dealers, its any shop that reports the services, not just new car dealers. A lot of the service records I see on Carfax are from independents.

I fully admit I overmaintain, don’t really care, the vehicles in my fleet get fluids done when I feel they need it, pay no attention to maintenance minders.
I use the loss-leader oil changes as my means of getting the vehicle up on a lift in a clean, dry bay where I can see underneath and notice any leaks or whatnot. Always reject the upsales for cleaners, flushes and the usual crap they try and take advantage of their cheap oil prices, drink their coffee, eat their popcorn, get the free car wash (its not a black truck so its ok) and off I go.
Commented a couple months ago on some other oil thread about the Amsoil truck that they've never changed the oil in over what, 300K or something, just changed filters... so there’s 2 opposite ends of the spectrum for ya.

 

[SD Rebel]

The oil gauge in my Big Horn is just a 10K mile countdown. Are you sure that the oil gauge was reset when the oil was changed?

As for the oil change I would go 10K miles with full synthetic unless you really beat on it, tow a lot, or spend a lot of time off-roading.

I do a lot of low speed driving and idling, my oil meter is down to 57% at just 2,900 miles. At this rate, mine will go off at 6,000 - 7,000 miles or so.

For the first 1,000 miles my driving was a lot more highway, and the meter barely moved. It's has dropped down a lot faster with my current driving.

 

[jonnyt]

I am on board with what the vehicle states, approximately 10k. The dealership wants you to believe 3k is a necessity so they get you in three times as often.

 

[Willwork4truck]

I am on board with what the vehicle states, approximately 10k. The dealership wants you to believe 3k is a necessity so they get you in three times as often.

3k is well proven to be excessive with our high grade oil formulations. People who do a lot of highway driving can certainly go longer, lots longer. Even moderate stop n go isn’t going to roast your motor oil at 5K (unless you drive like the mail trucks in my neighborhood do). Full synthetics are wonderful oils, understand all that.
Still like my average $15-18 oil changes (from their coupons). Oh, $2.50 more for the hemi...extra oil.

 

[jkm312]

You can't really go wrong changing the oil, plain and simple. Even if you change it sooner than recommended, you still didn't make a mistake. I've been caught, charged and convicted of over maintaining my cars and trucks. So be it, proud of it.

 

[Willwork4truck]

You can't really go wrong changing the oil, plain and simple. Even if you change it sooner than recommended, you still didn't make a mistake. I've been caught, charged and convicted of over maintaining my cars and trucks. So be it, proud of it.

Not to belabor a point but since several have gone to relatives, it helps them out so I keep doing it. I never know who is going to get what vehicle so I treat them all well.

 

[brian42]

Not to belabor a point but since several have gone to relatives, it helps them out so I keep doing it. I never know who is going to get what vehicle so I treat them all well.

I am the same. My father is meticulous with his vehicles and it was passed down to me. I've purchased a few from him over the years when he was ready to move on to something else as I knew he would give me a reasonable price (moderate "family discount") and it was very well cared for.

I don't take care of vehicles for the next owner but I do take care of them to my standards which are way above normal (similar to yours). I did learn to expand my comfort level for intervals with my last truck as changing almost 4 gallons (15 quarts) of oil every 5-6 weeks was a bit pricey, even with dino. The only reason I switched trucks this year is because mine was totaled in an accident (not my fault). In my earlier years I learned a hard lesson with my first car...if it seems too good to be true have a mechanic check it first. That was the first and last GM vehicle I ever owned.

 

[Cravenfan]

How about that first oil change, from miles 0 onward? Seeing some of the oil filter results on here...when should a brand new truck get its first oil change, in general? Wait until the meter says change it, or change it early, at 2k-3k, fearing metal pieces from engine break in?

 

[mikeru82]

I change mine after the first 1000 miles on a new vehicle. As soon as I get it home if I buy used. Definitely being paranoid, but it's my money and my peace of mind.

 

[Jako]

Yep.

At 1000 miles my oil gauge was at 90%, at 2000 miles it was at 80%, at 3000 miles it was at 70%,...,at 8500 miles it was at 15%, at 9500 miles it was at 5% and I got a notification to change my oil. At 10,000 miles, you guessed it, it was at 0% and I got a notification to schedule an oil change.
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I do a lot of low speed driving and idling, my oil meter is down to 57% at just 2,900 miles. At this rate, mine will go off at 6,000 - 7,000 miles or so.

For the first 1,000 miles my driving was a lot more highway, and the meter barely moved. It's has dropped down a lot faster with my current driving.

Yours works out to 6,744 miles.

My mpg for my last oil change was 15.01 mpg in 1,363 miles. Like you I had a lot of cold weather starts and short trips and had my worst mpg of 10.38 mpg on my last tank (best 16.49). Calculating my oil life worked out to 7,000+ miles, very similar to your experience. This was with conventional oil.
I did an 893 mile trip bringing my son back to college. Minimal stops going and no stops coming back. The mpg (vehicle display) for the trip going was 21.2 (400 miles+, 1st tank of gas) and 20.7 coming back until I did some local driving which dropped it down to 20.3.
I had just changed the oil prior to this trip (full synthetic PUP). The oil life now reads 92%, which calculates to 11,163 miles oil life. I believe it is going to change any mile now as 91% would drop it down to 9.922 oil life, which is more in line with oil changes.
As per page 165 of the owner's manual:
The engine oil change indicator system is duty cycle based, which means the engine oil change interval may fluctuate, dependent upon your personal driving style.

What exactly is measured and calculated in "duty cycle based" is unfamiliar to me. I do know my mpg goes down dramatically with cold weather starts and short trips and can watch it drop. I have just started to calculate the "oil life" with oil changes. With my current info it appears 7,000 - 10,000 miles. I'm sure it can be reduced just by being a city driver only. And although the math works out to 11,000+ miles as per above I am sure it will drop down shortly to 91% and 10,000- miles.
Summary:
7,000 mile oil life, conventional oil, distance 1400- miles, avg mpg 15, cold weather starts, short local trips.
10,000 mile oil life, full synthetic oil, distance 900- miles, avg mpg 20, minimal starts, highway.

I am interested to see if the full synthetic has an impact on my mpg with cold weather starts.

FYI if you want to read more.

Understanding the Ram Oil Change Indicator and Service Indicator Lights | YourMechanic Advice

Car symbols, or dashboard lights, are a car service reminder. The Ram Oil Change Indicator tells you when and what service your car needs.

www.yourmechanic.com