In today's Wall Street Journal a question was asked regarding the onboard oil change indicator.
Do the Camry's have a mileage indicator that automatically reminds you at an interval of 5,000 miles after the last reset or is is based upon a sensors that evaluate the oil as detailed in the answer provide to the question that appears below?
In addition, assuming it is a mileage interval, how does the car calculate the mileage, is it total car miles, or some calcualtion based upon how much the engine is used. It is possible, that the car can be driven 5,000 total miles while not using the engine all that much.
Thanks!
Quote:
Relying on the Car's Computer To Schedule an Oil Change
November 27, 2007; Page D4
Q: I am attempting to educate my early twenty-something daughter to be self-reliant on her auto maintenance, but mixed signals from the car, the dealer and the manual are confusing things. She drives a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, mostly in town that now has about 10,000 miles on it. She changed the oil at the dealer in June. They put a windshield sticker indicating the next oil change was next due in September or at 10,500 miles. Her car computer says "44% oil life remaining." I've told her she's overdue since September changing the oil, but she plans to follow the car computer. Which signal to follow?
-- Stephen R.
Albuquerque, N.M.
A: I think your daughter will be safe taking her car's advice. General Motors cars use an interesting set of sensors to determine how much "life" is left in the oil. These sensors track the engine's hours of operation, speed, temperature and other factors to determine when the engine oil should be changed.The company says its system helps keep drivers from wasting oil by changing it prematurely. However, many owners have had difficulty following the on-board computer's guidance and choose instead to change the oil earlier, say, after 3,000 or 5,000 miles. There's no harm to the car in changing the oil early, but improved materials, electronics and engine parts machined to more precise tolerances than in years past mean cars can safely go farther between oil changes than they could 20 years ago.
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