Driving: Dodge oil change indicator light

Self-tutoring about auto maintenance: the tutor looks into the Dodge oil change indicator light.

We drive a Dodge Grand Caravan which Dodge maintains. Last oil change, they told us to return at 37000km. It’s around 30500km now, but two days ago, on vacation, the dash indicator told us “Change oil.”

I checked the oil: clean and at proper level. There was no sign of leaked oil or mess in the engine compartment. Why, then, would “Change oil” be signaling, about 6500km early?

It turns out, perhaps, that the decision to “Change oil” might arise from software rather than physical analysis of the oil. Specifically, driving habits and conditions are among what the software responds to – including mountainous driving.

We normally don’t drive in mountainous settings, but currently, on vacation, we are. The van, sensing such a change in driving habits, extrapolated that our oil would need changing sooner than normal, and signaled so. At least, that’s what a source suggests.

Source:

yourmechanic.com