!#1: Cheap Jumpstarter Reviews: 2011

!: Oil Monitoring Systems - Friend or Foe?

Recently, we have seen the introduction of oil monitoring systems in some vehicles, most notably in General Motors and Mercedes vehicles (although I believe BMW may have a similar system as well). The systems do not all work the same. Mercedes actually has two slightly different systems while the General Motors system is the same for all vehicles (at least those that have it installed).

Mercedes calls their unit a "Flexible Service System". The FSS on some Mercedes vehicles monitors actual oil quality as well as operating conditions (such as the number of cold starts, average engine temp, mileage driven, oil sump level, rpms, etc.). To measure oil quality, there is actually a sensor that measures the electrical conductivity of the oil. The higher the conductivity of the oil, the greater the need for an oil change, according to Mercedes. Of course, this isn't likely a perfect model, and will not be nearly as accurate as an actual oil analysis in determining true oil quality, but it is better than no measurement at all.

At any rate, as electrical conductivity increases, this value is combined with all of the operating condition data and run through a special algorithm to determine if the oil is ready for a change. When a change is necessary, a light will flash on the instrument panel indicating such.

The other Mercedes FSS unit, which will be somewhat less accurate, does not actually measure the electrical conductivity of the oil, so it is not testing the quality of the oil in any way. It does, however, measure all of the operating conditions and uses the algorithm to predict when an oil change will be necessary.

This is actually how the GM oil monitoring system works. It does not measure oil quality via electrical conductivity or via any other means. It simply measures operating conditions and "calculates" when an oil change should be necessary based upon those conditions.

So, How Accurate Are These Units? Can They Be Trusted?

That's a tough question to answer at this point. First off, these systems haven't been in use long enough to really have much in the way of hard statistics comparing vehicle/engine life with or without these systems in place. Second, many drivers do not trust the longer drain intervals recommended by these units and change the oil sooner anyway, offering, again, little data to show whether the drain intervals recommended by these systems are conservative enough to maintain engine protection equal to that attained with shorter change intervals.

Since these units do not FULLY measure oil quality, in the same way that an actual oil analysis would, it is unlikely that they are completely accurate, but there is good reason to believe that they are fairly accurate.

The problem, from my perspective is, how were the limits set? Quite frankly, it's in the best interests of vehicle manufacturers to have their engines begin to decline in performance somewhere shortly after the 100,000 mile marker. Many people these days don't expect a vehicle to perform well much beyond 100K, so building a vehicle and recommending maintenance practices that will help the vehicle perform longer than that is not in the best interest of the OEMs.

So, I would be willing to bet that, if you are an individual that likes to keep your vehicle as long as possible, oil quality limits have been set to a lower standard than would be appropriate to getting the absolute most mileage from your vehicle. It really only stands to reason.

How many companies do you know of these days that build MORE quality into their products than their typical customer expects? Not many. In fact, unfortunately, I'd be willing to bet that most of us could count on one hand the number of products we've purchased over the past year that offered quality/durability that was BETTER than we expected. Although this is a sad commentary on the business world we currently live in, it is a pretty accurate reflection of the attitude of most companies these days. Why would today's automobile manufacturers be any different?

Of course, that being said, I have no proof of the above statements. There do not appear to be any websites out there collecting oil analysis data from GM and Mercedes owners to compare the ACTUAL oil quality to that "measured" by the oil life monitors. I looked. In fact, if you happen to know of one, please let me know - I'd love to see the results. I'm guessing I know what they'd be, but I'm certainly open to the possibility that I'm wrong.

I think the main thing to remember is, nobody yet REALLY knows just how accurate these oil monitoring systems are nor how conservative their oil change interval recommendations are. So, be careful how much trust you put on their oil change interval recommendations.

Syn vs. Petro - Does INITIAL Oil Quality Affect Recommendations

Well, that's an interesting question. As it turns out, these systems can't tell whether you've got synthetic or petroleum oil in the crankcase, and, this DOES make a difference. In fact, we can see this in the light of a class action lawsuit that was filed against Mercedes Benz a few years back.

Apparently, the MB FSS assumes the use of synthetic oil in the engine. Most Europeans are using synthetic oil by default, since typical oil drain intervals in Europe are MUCH longer than those recommended here in the states (although that gap is closing). In contrast, most North American drivers are still using petroleum oil.

Well, there were no significant warnings given to these MB owners with regard to the FSS units and the use of petroleum vs. synthetic oils. So, many users were utilizing petroleum oils and using the FSS as a guide for when to change their oil. Unfortunately, since the FSS was designed to recommend SYNTHETIC oil drain intervals, severe sludging was occurring in these vehicles. The petroleum oil simply couldn't hold up for the oil change intervals the FSS was recommending. Bad news for your engine.

In the end, the vehicle owners won their suit and there was a 32 million dollar settlement issued against Mercedes. It is my understanding that MB is now very careful to make it explicitly clear what type oils should be used in order to rely on the results of their FSS monitor.

So, clearly it makes a difference. And, since these systems can't tell what type of oil you're using, you'll need to adjust accordingly. The way I understand it, the GM units assume petroleum oil usage (with the exception of vehicles which specifically require synthetic lubricants - such as the Corvette). So, if you're using synthetic oil in a GM vehicle that does not specifically require it, the oil life monitor will likely "go off" much sooner than necessary.

I have heard that you can have the dealership adjust these units to account for the fact that you're using synthetic oil, but, even then, there are significant differences in quality from one synthetic to another, so this may still not be completely accurate. If you're using a premium synthetic oil which is designed for much longer oil drain intervals (such as AMSOIL's 25,000 mile oils or Mobil 1 Extended Performance 15,000 mile oils), the unit will very likely "trigger" sooner than necessary. However, at least you'll know that you have a considerable margin of error due to the enhanced quality that is built into those oils.

Conclusions on Oil Monitoring Systems and Drain Intervals

It's difficult to say with certainty whether these oil monitoring systems are accurate or conservative enough to completely trust their recommended oil change intervals. It seems that the best advice we can give is, if you intend on driving your vehicle as long as possible and are looking for the best protection possible, you'll likely want to be more conservative than your oil monitoring system will be. You may want to wait for the monitoring system to "flag" the oil as ready for a change once or twice to get a better gauge for your change interval decisions.

If you're driving a Mercedes or a GM vehicle that requires the use of synthetic, make sure you ARE running a full synthetic oil (not just a blend - it's not the same), if you're going to do this.

If the manufacturer requires/recommends synthetics and you ARE using an "off the shelf" synthetic oil, it would be a good idea to use the oil monitoring system's change interval recommendation as a base (assuming your driving habits remain pretty constant) and then cut that back by at least 25% for subsequent changes for the best protection. In other words, if you let the monitoring system go till it says "change the oil", and it flags at 10,000 miles, then you should consider doing intervals of about 7500 miles to stay conservative.

If the vehicle manufacturer requires/recommends synthetic oils and you are NOT doing so, I recommend that you rethink your position. First, if the manufacturer "requires" the use of synthetic, you're putting your engine in jeopardy. OEMs do not REQUIRE synthetic unless they've had problems with petroleum oils previously. If you choose to go that route, understand you are definitely putting your engine at risk.

If synthetic is simply "recommended", then you may be ok to use petroleum oil, if that's your decision, but it would be a good idea to have the dealership adjust your oil monitoring system to account for your use of petroleum oil. If they can't or won't do so, either considering going to synthetic or don't use the oil monitoring system as a judge for when you should change your oil.

If there is no specific recommendation or requirement to use synthetic, then the oil change interval specified by your oil monitoring system will be based upon the assumption that petroleum oils are being used. If you ARE using petroleum oil, then do as suggested above. Get a baseline and then cut back by at least 25% for best protection. If you're using a synthetic, ask the dealership to adjust the unit to account for this. Then, whatever interval the unit suggests, again, cut it by about 25% or more for best protection.

And, if you are using one of the 25,000 mile AMSOIL products, which are recommended/guaranteed for that interval, then you can either choose to use that recommendation OR that of the oil change monitor. Most frequently, in this case, the oil monitor recommendation will be a SHORTER drain interval than that recommended by AMSOIL, so if you go that route, you'll simply be erring on the conservative side.