Oil Change

changing oil is a simple procedure of draining the oil pan and changing the filter. they do not touch anything else. if they pulled the air filter, they may have touched the mass air flow sensor connector or hose. that would be the only connection.

it s possible they did nothing wrong and the failure would have occurred even if you did not have the oil changed.

once the code is pulled and identified, then the area of failure can be narrowed down.

Roy

My car has an oil change percentage use display on the dash along with other electronic info. I have always changed engine oil at 3500 to 4000 intervals. When I use this indicator (I think it indicates viscosity) it shows oil change at MUCH greater intervals than I have done on former automobiles I have owned. I have been offered differing opinions by different persons some recommending using my former regular schedule and others saying I can trust the indicator on the dash. What is your take on this indicator light and whether I can trust it to guide me in proper care and maintenance related to engine oil and filter changes?

All the oil change light does is keep track of how many miles have been placed on the vehicle since the last time it was reset. At the time of an oil change, it should be reset. Most people change their oil every 3K miles. If your light is set to come on at that interval, it will show you (in %) how much longer you have until you hit 3K at which time the light will come back on.

This guide will walk you through the oil change steps.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-change-engine-oil-and-filter

As far as the mileage intervals, you can adjust the number of miles between oil changes from the panel. What I would like you to remember is oil doesn't wear out. It only gets dirty. There are detergents in today's oils that help keep the engine clean. I was taught that the detergents are good for aprox 3K miles. After that, they don't work as well resulting in sludge build up in the engine. The oil's viscosity doesn't change unless something has been added.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Joe

I have a Buick Lucerne and live in the Omaha area. I called GM (1-800-521-7300) to ask how the sensor worked. They said it actually worked off of sensing heat and RPMs of the engine and NOT by keeping track of how many miles have been placed on the vehicle. I also contacted local Buick dealerships (Plaza @ (402) 593-4000) and Reagan @ (402) 330-0400‎) who also said the sensor does NOT work by keeping track of how many miles have been placed on the vehicle.
With that said, the GM people suggested changing the oil based off the sensor while the dealerships suggested changing the oil based off 3 months/3000 miles. I contacted GM and told them the dealership contacts and the dealership suggestions. They put me on hold and in turn contacted the dealerships. GM then said that I should go by what the dealerships said (3 months/3000 miles) since the dealership takes into account location (weather, city, etc).
Hope that helps.
My question is, why put a sensor on a car that I should ignore?

Why the neg feedback?

Remember, oil doesn't wear out, it gets dirty. At aprox 3K miles, the detergents in the oil are spent and that is when deposits begin to happen. Most cars with an oil change reminder are adjustable by mileage intervals. Regardless, no sensor should be ignored on the vehicle and one should always follow the manufacturer's recommendations.