Hi all,

I've driven my maxima for over 5k miles now and was surprised I still haven't seen an oil change indicator light pop up. After looking online, I couldn't find much about the oil indicator in the 8th gen. Maybe I just haven't done enough research, but should I be seeing a light? How can I check the oil life estimates (20%, 30%, etc)?

 

Did you set the alert when you first bought the car? You have to go into the settings and tell it to alert you every 5000 miles.

 

​​​​​​​Nope. I bought it used and the dealer had just done an oil change. Every car I've ever driven has had an oil change reminder, I'll be surprised if this is not the case with the maxima

 

​​​​​​​There is a reminder, but you have to manually set it. You can set it to any distance you want. Perhaps the previous owner never set it up so the alert never pops up.

 

Right but I'm saying the car should have its own maintenance reminder. Why is it required to be manually set? It's a very basic reminder. Someone who isn't aware could easily ruin their engine

 

​​​​​​​Be surprised.

 

An oil change indicator is a convenience feature. Anyone so unaware they would ruin their engine without a light would probably ignore such a light.

 

And just how would a car know its having its oil changed? Its off! any oil change indicator is a manual operation, in the max you set the distance between oil changes. Expensive cars have the mechanic reset it.

 

I'm suprised you have not taken the time to look thru the owners manual and maintenance guide. Lots of useful information about your car is contained within. Every late model car I have purchased has had an owners manual in the glovebox.

On the off chance your used Maxima did not come with an owners manual and related books, here is a link for you to download a copy. https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners...n/manualsGuide

You should not be suprised at the features of your Maxima.

 

The dealer resets mine at each oil change. Check with your dealer to find out if he does this.

 

Yep. My dealer sets this with each oil change. He also puts a sticker on the top inside of my windshield showing the date and mileage at which my next oil change is due. he also sends me a postcard about the time the oil change is due showing a discount for my oil change. And sometimes, if I have not scheduled my oil change for sometime near the expected time, either the tech writer or Service Manager (both friends of mine) give me a gentle jingle to remind me.

But I am the type who measures the tread depth of each groove across the face of all four tires every three months, so I don't think I will be overlooking my oil changes.

 

The oil change reminder in the Maxima is rather basic. The Honda / Acura system is far more sofisticated in that the oil is evaluated by actual conditions of vehicle operations and oil condition rather that just a mileage counter type that Nissan has. Fact is I always get the oil changed evey 5 K rather than wait. Used to drive my Acura dealer nuts since the car was saying 8 to 9 k miles between changes.

 

Ah makes sense. Thanks all for the help

 

I've had some experience regarding OEM software determining oil change intervals. My 2014 F150 has an oil change reminder based on an algorithm that takes into account driving conditions, i.e., throttle position, engine load, engine temperature, towing a trailer, etc.

The oil change interval range can be anywhere between 5k and 12k miles. Some F150 forum members even when as far as to drive 5k then take an oil sample and have it analyzed, drive until the "auto" oil change reminder came on (in once instance at 12k miles) and have the oil analyzed again. Turns out that the Ford oil change interval system is not all that "smart" and the oil should be changed between 5k and 7k -- intervals that are recommended by most OEMs.

The majority of F150 forum members go by milage and how they use their trucks (towing vs. driving around empty most of the time). Very few will trust the Ford software's prediction of oil change intervals. No one wants to be the "legal test case" where the engine self-destructs at 100k miles when the owner followed the factory oil change interval recommendations.

 

You can never change your oil too often, but you can change it not often enough. 5000 miles or six months baby!

 

For years Jiffy Lube, Lube and Tune and many other “quick oil change” facilities have had very successful ad campaigns touting the necessity to have ones oil changed every 3000 miles. These ads have been around for over 20 years and as a result many vehicle owners do have their oil changed every 3k miles. If one hears the 3000 mile figure enough times it becomes part of the “common knowledge” and most vehicle owners assume that is a fact. I’ve even heard people say that to be in the safe side they change their oil every 2000 miles.

This despite the fact that there are no OEM owner’s manuals for any year, make or model that use the 3k figure for oil change intervals. Disgusting when you think about how many barrels of oil that were used unnecessarily and how much waste oil had to be disposed of all so that these business could make a buck. Even new car dealers are not this greedy.

 

Wrong, my wife (GF at the time) owned a 1965 Corvair Corsa and its owners manual said change oil at 2500-3000 mile intervals.

 

I forgot the air-cooled exceptions - Corvair and VWs.

 

 

All I can think of is if the system fails you are hooped. Thank you very much but, I much prefer the mechanical system in the Maxima were I can pull the stick and visually inspect the oil. Some aspects of a vehicle should always be mechanical. Right now my dealership has had my car since Tuesday as the power shade and entire head liner is being replaced because the shade malfunctioned. I would have much preferred the mechanical shade.