|
|
The Oil Change Indicator Light And Tracking System
Well, the old days of putting a small sticker on the inside of your windshield as a reminder of when your car is due for an oil change are over. To my surprise, the new 2008 Honda Civic has a system inside the car that tracks the "oil life" and notifies the driver when it becomes due for an oil change. As seen in the photo above, the "tacometer" (sp?) will show a percentage ranging from 100% to 0% as the official oil life. When the percentage drops to 15% and below, the wrench light will turn on every time one turns on the engine, with a suggestion to service the vehicle as soon as possible. I snapped this photo shortly before taking it to my local mechanic; The light reads 5% oil life. Apparently with these newer Hondas, a car does not need an oil change as often as older cars. 3,500 or three months seemed to be the standard for much of the cars in my lifetime, but now the standard mileage between oil changes appears to be in the range of 7,000 to 10,000 miles. I do not know the details (perhaps someone can fill me in and I'll update this page), but the oil life tracking system is so sophisticated that it can assess the quality of the oil based on other factors besides mileage. As for me, I had my first oil change at approximately 6,600 miles, which I think may have been lesser miles than the average Honda Civic due to my long, round trip cross-country drive from Colorado to New Jersey over a three week period. Lastly, after receiving an oil change, the way to reset the percentage back to 100% is to push the "reset" button on the dashboard for about ten seconds. Once the oil life indicator begins blinking, let go, then push and hold onto the button again for about five seconds. (See the manual for exact directions.) -Steve (December 18, 2007)
|
