Jeep Garage  - Jeep Forum banner

"Oil change required" strange/premature behavior

3K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  Walt 
#1 · (Edited)
My "oil change required" light came on today, but it seems way too early, only about 2000 miles since last change. This is an '08 WK, 4.7L, Laredo w/X-package and off-road/QDII, 63,000 miles. Bought it used last Spring from a private seller, all oil changes were done by dealers using regular oil. Changed the oil myself 5 months ago to Mobil1 Extended Performance 5W-20, reset the oil change indicator per manual. First time for synthetic oil in this engine. No problem with oil level, and I have driven it fairly conservatively. Scratching my head looking for an explanation:
-the indicator popped up today right after going through a car wash.
-towed a 3500 lbs. boat/trailer back around Labor Day but only for 6 or 7 miles.
-the vehicle has sometimes sat un-driven for a few weeks at a time since the last oil change.
Any insight or suggestions greatly appreciated!
 
#8 ·
OK I read about how it works-
Jeep Grand Cherokee WK - Oil Change Indicator System

Before purchase last Spring, I took it to a dealer for inspection, including looking for ECM codes. Is it possible that dealer also programmed oil change indicator to go off exactly every 154 days regardless of driving conditions?
'08 WK oil change indicator is not programmable, like earlier models.

Mine is consistently inaccurate and unreliable. It will pop up on the EVIC anywhere from 1,500 to 5,500 miles. Sometimes not at all. Dealer's Service Manager told me he gets many similar complaints. As a result, I just do oil/filter change at 5,000 miles and be done with it.

Today was one of those days.....the EVIC indicator set at less than 2,000 miles on this oil fill, but did not go off again as I hit 5,850 miles. So I just changed the oil & filter. Another '08 WK electronic gremlins....

I prefer the ZJ and WJ systems that are programmable and are understandable reminders.
 
#4 ·
Thanks. Seems like I came across mentions of 3500 miles when searching on this topic. 2000 seems totally wrong though. Seems like dealer programming shenanigans. Calling them tomorrow. Anyone have insight as to what the options are for dealers when altering programming for this?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top