Oil Level Low Warning

Kerrslight · February 29, 2016

I had my oil changed about a month or so ago and on my info screen, I'm still at 70% oil life left. I have not once seen any oil leak or oil on pavement or anything else. I can't imagine I'm burning much oil here in Houston, but maybe I am.

Has anyone else experienced something along these lines?

sahls01gmc · February 29, 2016

I'd be interested to know how much oil they put in at your last oil change. I'm sure you burn a small amount, and if they filled it to just over the "Low Oil Light", it would go off pretty soon. Did you check the oil level after the oil change?

chuckl1218 · February 29, 2016

I had my oil changed about a month or so ago and on my info screen, I'm still at 70% oil life left. I have not once seen any oil leak or oil on pavement or anything else. I can't imagine I'm burning much oil here in Houston, but maybe I am.

Has anyone else experienced something along these lines?

So, I will admit I am a little confused by your question. Oil Life Monitor (info screen) at 70% has nothing to do with losing oil. OLM uses a formula based on miles and engine operation. If OLM is at 70%, then you most likely put some miles on in the last month or it wasn't reset at the last oil change. Now, if your dipstick is reading low (which it should be if you got an Oil Level Low warning), then I would wonder if it was filled properly at the last oil change or if you are burning oil/leaking it somewhere. I have read where some shops (including dealer techs) think these new V8 motors hold the same as previous generations and they put 6 quarts instead of 8. I hope this helps?

From the Silverado Owners Manual:

This vehicle has a computer system

that indicates when to change the

engine oil and filter. This is based

on a combination of factors which

include engine revolutions, engine

temperature, and miles driven.

Based on driving conditions, the

mileage at which an oil change is

indicated can vary considerably. For

the oil life system to work properly,

the system must be reset every time

the oil is changed.

Edited February 29, 2016 by chuckl1218

Kerrslight · February 29, 2016

I'd be interested to know how much oil they put in at your last oil change. I'm sure you burn a small amount, and if they filled it to just over the "Low Oil Light", it would go off pretty soon. Did you check the oil level after the oil change?

I used to check the level after an oil change but I've been going to the same place for years and never had a problem. I will probably check after work and see what it looks like.

So, I will admit I am a little confused by your question. Oil Life Monitor (info screen) at 70% has nothing to do with losing oil. OLM uses a formula based on miles and engine operation. If OLM is at 70%, then you most likely put some miles on in the last month or it wasn't reset at the last oil change. Now, if your dipstick is reading low (which it should be if you got an Oil Level Low warning), then I would wonder if it was filled properly at the last oil change or if you are burning oil/leaking it somewhere. I have read where some shops (including dealer techs) think these new V8 motors hold the same as previous generations and they put 6 quarts instead of 8. I hope this helps?

From the Silverado Owners Manual:

This vehicle has a computer system

that indicates when to change the

engine oil and filter. This is based

on a combination of factors which

include engine revolutions, engine

temperature, and miles driven.

Based on driving conditions, the

mileage at which an oil change is

indicated can vary considerably. For

the oil life system to work properly,

the system must be reset every time

the oil is changed.

I see how that could be confusing. My reasoning for saying the oil life is at 70% is just me saying I didn't have the oil changed that long ago. I know it has nothing to do with level, but I figured since it hasn't been too long it must've burned a lot of oil, has a leak, or just wasn't filled properly. I drive about 30K a year so I've been doing some driving lol.

All in all I was just curious if anyone else had a low oil level warning not long after an oil change. I will check when I get home and if I find its low, I should be able to have the shop top it off.

diyer2 · February 29, 2016

FYI

chuckl1218 · February 29, 2016

I used to check the level after an oil change but I've been going to the same place for years and never had a problem. I will probably check after work and see what it looks like.

I see how that could be confusing. My reasoning for saying the oil life is at 70% is just me saying I didn't have the oil changed that long ago. I know it has nothing to do with level, but I figured since it hasn't been too long it must've burned a lot of oil, has a leak, or just wasn't filled properly. I drive about 30K a year so I've been doing some driving lol.

All in all I was just curious if anyone else had a low oil level warning not long after an oil change. I will check when I get home and if I find its low, I should be able to have the shop top it off.

Gotcha...not had this issue. But I have read where others have experienced the tech not filling it properly. When the dealer did my "free" changes, I checked the dipstick immediately after I got back home. They were spot on. Now, I give the oil change shop (that I have been using for many years to do my annual inspection and oil changes on all my cars) the exact 8 quarts of M1 needed and the filter. Again, I check it each time as soon as I get home. I've gone 3,000 miles and mine still reads full. Another thought...I do have AFM turned off and have for some time.

Nathan79 · March 1, 2016

Did they forget to reset the OLM when they changed the oil? Oil level and OLM have nothing to do with each other.

redwngr · March 1, 2016

Truck is used 30,000 miles per year.

Oil changed a 'month or so ago'. Lets go with 6 weeks , so a month and a half.

30000/12 = 2500 miles per month.

Month and a 1/2 means 3750 miles.

If 30% oil life = 3750 miles, then when it suggests oil change at 100%, it will

have 3750/30 x100 = 12,500 miles.

How many miles were you hoping it would go before the oil needed to be changed?

(if the last change was a month ago, the 30000/12=2500 miles; 2500/30 x100 = 8300 miles per oil change)

Kerrslight · March 1, 2016

Did they forget to reset the OLM when they changed the oil? Oil level and OLM have nothing to do with each other.

Truck is used 30,000 miles per year.

Oil changed a 'month or so ago'. Lets go with 6 weeks , so a month and a half.

30000/12 = 2500 miles per month.

Month and a 1/2 means 3750 miles.

If 30% oil life = 3750 miles, then when it suggests oil change at 100%, it will

have 3750/30 x100 = 12,500 miles.

How many miles were you hoping it would go before the oil needed to be changed?

(if the last change was a month ago, the 30000/12=2500 miles; 2500/30 x100 = 8300 miles per oil change)

You guys need to read before posting. Yes they reset the OLM during my last oil change and yes I am aware the oil level has nothing to do with the OLM. And yes Redwngr, I drive appx 30k a year, but I go between 5000-7500K between oil changes, so your formula has no weight on the situation. Some days I drive down the street and some days I'm all over the city. Skipping ahead, the reason I brought up the OLM is since it is at 70%, it hasn't been a long period of time since I got the oil changed. If it were at, lets say 30%, a good amount of time and mileage would've gone by from the time I got it changed. That being said, if my truck were to be burning oil or leaking oil and the service techs filled up my truck correctly, that seems like it would be a good amount of oil lost. Chances are they just came up short on the amount of oil they put in and it triggered the sensor. I was just curious if this had happened to anyone else.

After checking my oil last night while it was warm and again this morning when it was cold, it was well within the Min/Max fill range. I was triggered with the message twice over the weekend and once yesterday, but have seen nothing today. That is what sparked this whole conversation.

sahls01gmc · March 1, 2016

I wonder if your oil level indicator is malfunctioning/bad. I haven't heard of that before, but anything is possible.

tnchevy · March 2, 2016

If your oil level is fine then to me it is a sensor gone bad problem.

redwngr · March 2, 2016

30% of the oil life has been used in about 2500 or so miles -- seems to match up with what others find.

Again, it's not a measurement of the oil level.

Edited March 3, 2016 by redwngr

eagle4495 · March 15, 2016

I'm having to do oil consumption tests as my 2014 was giving me a low oil light only 2,000 miles after the oil change. I'm not sure if 6qt or 8qt were added which could be the issue, but if not I'll get back to this post. My truck only has 26,000 miles on it so obviously it should not be burning oil. However, GM has said that the direct injection motors will burn up to I believe 1qt every 3,000 miles naturally?

Also There was a recall on an oil cooler line a while back, but I've already had this checked.

I've also disabled my afm with a range device so that nothing gums up while I still keep my warranty. I have the 5.3L V8 ecotec.