Oil Change Minder: Notes

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2012 Ford Pickup, 2012 Ford F550 Super Duty, 2012 Ford F450 Super Duty, and 2012 Ford Cab & Chassis. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

NOTE: On early build vehicles, the PCM uses time and distance calculations stored in Keep Alive Memory (KAM) in the PCM to help determine the oil change minder status. If the PCM KAM is reset or lost for any reason (battery disconnect, PCM disconnect or dead battery), the oil change minder is disabled and the oil life reset procedure needs to be carried out through the message center to re-enable the oil minder function.

The message center provides an oil change minder to inform the driver that an oil change is required. The duration of the interval between oil changes is calculated in the PCM, and varies due to driving conditions. The PCM assumes a base mileage of 16, 093 km (10, 000 miles) or 1 year for normal driving. However, this number will be adjusted down due to high engine temperature, high engine rpms, use of flex fuel and possibly low oil level. The PCM calculates and provides an oil life status message to the IPC. The IPC further converts the remaining oil life using the driver's configured oil life start value and displays the oil life percentage, indicating the remaining oil life. The oil change minder can be reset at any time by the driver. Refer to MESSAGE CENTER CONFIGURATION .