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How to reset the Oil Monitor sensor

Cory - is there a way to tell how many miles are left before the "change oil soon" message appears? I get a little paranoid waiting on the message to appear and it would be great to see the oil life count down on occation.

Best Regards,
Jim
Welcome to the Forum Jim. :wavey:
I assume Cory is taking a well deserved break today so I'll jump in with my opinion.
As far as I know, there is no way to know exactly how many miles are left before you have to change your oil. The change interval indicated in the book is 10,000 miles or when the monitor tells you. Since the type of driving and the conditions (dusty roads, towing) are taken into account by the computer, the actual interval may be shorter.
Everyone has their own opinion on the intervals and type of oil. I change mine every 5000 miles or 6 months whichever comes first.
If you use the 2nd trip counter as an indicator, you will get an approximation as to when you should get ready to take it in. Just zero it when you have the oil change done.

Peter
 



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In your manual

Cory - is there a way to tell how many miles are left before the "change oil soon" message appears? I get a little paranoid waiting on the message to appear and it would be great to see the oil life count down on occation.

Best Regards,
Jim

Jim, As Peter replied, your Explorer's computer can not tell you how many "miles" you have left, but it can tell you how much "percent" you have left. That percent is of course assuming your driving style/location doesn't drastically change. You have to hit a few buttons on the left side of the steering wheel to find this info. Your manual tells you exactly how to do this.
 






thanks, I figured they forgot to reset it, used to happen all the time in my Silverado, but no adjustments - had to just turn the key on and off and floor the gas pedal several times and it reset.
I’m sorry I missed your reply, Fredridge; I’m glad it was taken care of. :)

Cory - is there a way to tell how many miles are left before the "change oil soon" message appears? I get a little paranoid waiting on the message to appear and it would be great to see the oil life count down on occation.

Best Regards,
Jim
Jim,

Just like Peter and tucker_bmd mentioned, the oil change interval is tracked in your Explorer’s computer so let’s put the tin foil hat away. ;) LOL JK The following details can be found on page 417 of the 2011MY Explorer Owner Guide 4th Printing:

“For your convenience, your vehicle is equipped with a message center which determines the proper oil change service interval. You should perform the engine oil change as indicated by the message center. The message center will display ENGINE OIL CHANGE SOON or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED to indicate when an oil change is needed. The engine oil change service needs to be completed within two weeks or 500 miles (800 km) after the OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message is displayed. Your oil change service interval can be up to one year or 10,000 miles (16,000 km). Reset your Intelligent Oil Life Monitor™ after each engine oil and filter change; refer to the Instrument Cluster chapter.

If your message center is prematurely reset or becomes inoperative, you should perform the oil change interval at six months or 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from your last oil change.”

For your very own fresh digital copy of the Owner Guide, go here:

http://Owner.Ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage

Welcome to the Forum Jim. :wavey:
I assume Cory is taking a well deserved break today so I'll jump in with my opinion...
Jim, As Peter replied, your Explorer's computer can not tell you how many "miles" you have left, but it can tell you how much "percent" you have left...
Peter & tucker_bmd,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help; you rock! :D:thumbsup:

Cory
 






Welcome to the Forum Jim. :wavey:
I assume Cory is taking a well deserved break today so I'll jump in with my opinion.
As far as I know, there is no way to know exactly how many miles are left before you have to change your oil. The change interval indicated in the book is 10,000 miles or when the monitor tells you. Since the type of driving and the conditions (dusty roads, towing) are taken into account by the computer, the actual interval may be shorter.
Everyone has their own opinion on the intervals and type of oil. I change mine every 5000 miles or 6 months whichever comes first.
If you use the 2nd trip counter as an indicator, you will get an approximation as to when you should get ready to take it in. Just zero it when you have the oil change done.

Peter

Hi Peter,
I agree with most everything you stated here except the dusty road part. I do not believe the oil change calculation would have any input if you were driving in a "dusty" condition. maybe I missed something. Is there a dust sensor? Thanks for all your contributions to this forum, I've learned a lot from your posts!
 






Hi Peter,
I agree with most everything you stated here except the dusty road part. I do not believe the oil change calculation would have any input if you were driving in a "dusty" condition. maybe I missed something. Is there a dust sensor? Thanks for all your contributions to this forum, I've learned a lot from your posts!
I try my best but even then make a 'whoops' every now and then. The 'dusty roads' part got mixed in because of what I read about various conditions affecting oil changes. If the vehicle is driven mainly on gravel or dusty roads, then it is recommended that the oil be changed every 5000 miles or 6 months. Thank for your kind words and I'm glad to help where I can. Even though I've had my Ex for almost 16 months, I'm still learning things. Drive safely.

Peter
 






I have a 2013 Explorer Limited and can't figure out how to reset the oil life monitor sensor. I can toggle to the Oil life section of the system checks, but if I hold OK down to try and reset it, the highlight bar automatically jumps to the next parameter. The owners manual is pretty much useless. Anyone know how to reset it? Thanks.
 






It can be found under settings, then vehicle settings, then vehicle. Then, scroll down about five spots to reset.

I had a hard time finding the first time, too.
 












Hi Peter,
I agree with most everything you stated here except the dusty road part. I do not believe the oil change calculation would have any input if you were driving in a "dusty" condition. maybe I missed something. Is there a dust sensor? Thanks for all your contributions to this forum, I've learned a lot from your posts!
You’re right, ExploreThis2012; there’s no “dust sensor.” :D There’s a different maintenance schedule if you operate the vehicle in dusty conditions (such as unpaved or dusty roads). You can find a chart in the 2011MY Explorer Owner Guide 4th Printing on page 431.

See my previous reply (two posts up) for the link to download a free copy of the Owner Guide!

I try my best but even then make a 'whoops' every now and then. The 'dusty roads' part got mixed in because of what I read about various conditions affecting oil changes. If the vehicle is driven mainly on gravel or dusty roads, then it is recommended that the oil be changed every 5000 miles or 6 months...
Thanks for all your help, Peter! Cleaning the “dust sensor” is probably just as important as filling the “headlight fluid.” ;) LOL JK

Cory
 






I have a 2013 Explorer Limited and can't figure out how to reset the oil life monitor sensor...
jtheise4,

Looks like vegastime got you the instructions you were looking for! :) For future reference, the instructions are on page 417 of the 2011MY Explorer Owner Guide 4th Printing. The digital version is easier to search; you can grab a free copy here:

http://Owner.Ford.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Owner/Page/OwnerGuidePage

It can be found under settings, then vehicle settings, then vehicle. Then, scroll down about five spots to reset.

I had a hard time finding the first time, too.
Thanks for lending a hand, vegastime!

Cory
 






You’re right, ExploreThis2012; there’s no “dust sensor.” :D There’s a different maintenance schedule if you operate the vehicle in dusty conditions (such as unpaved or dusty roads). You can find a chart in the 2011MY Explorer Owner Guide 4th Printing on page 431.

Cory
That's not what I told a friend of mine last year. We were driving along on a nice sunny day when the wiper made a single pass. 'Why did it do that?" he asked. I told him that the 'dust sensor' will cause the wiper to come on every now and then to keep the windshield clean.
He was really impressed.
Obviously that was prior to have the random wipe TSB done. :D

The random wipe happened a couple of times after having the MFT upgrade done but has been okay the last couple of months. I have mentioned it to my dealer and said I would keep an eye on it.

Peter
 






That's not what I told a friend of mine last year. We were driving along on a nice sunny day when the wiper made a single pass. 'Why did it do that?" he asked. I told him that the 'dust sensor' will cause the wiper to come on every now and then to keep the windshield clean.
He was really impressed.
Obviously that was prior to have the random wipe TSB done. :D...
That’s really funny, Peter! Nice job on the quick wit. :):thumbsup:

Cory
 






Reseting Oil life Monitor

Can someone direct me how to reset the Oil Life Monitor. I have read the owners manual but I did not see anywhere how to reset. I did go through the Instrument cluster chapter but no info. I have a 2013 xlt with v6
 












Can someone direct me how to reset the Oil Life Monitor. I have read the owners manual but I did not see anywhere how to reset. I did go through the Instrument cluster chapter but no info. I have a 2013 xlt with v6
In my 2011 Owner's Guide, 1st printing, it is mentioned in the chart of the Instrument Cluster chapter under Settings/Vehicle/Oil Life Reset. Use the left hand steering wheel controls and the settings are in the left hand screen of the dash cluster.

Peter
 






My wife just took the car in to a Ford dealer near us for an oil change, and in addition to the normal special got charged $94 for .99 of labour for "ROM Reset Oil Monitor". If this is to find the reset switch, I think I just paid a major fee towards their training.

Hmmm .. and the cabin filter cost me $47 plus $47.50 for half hour of labour - is cabin filter that hard to get at?
 






My wife just took the car in to a Ford dealer near us for an oil change, and in addition to the normal special got charged $94 for .99 of labour for "ROM Reset Oil Monitor". If this is to find the reset switch, I think I just paid a major fee towards their training.

Hmmm .. and the cabin filter cost me $47 plus $47.50 for half hour of labour - is cabin filter that hard to get at?
They charged you for resetting the Oil Life monitor? I hope I read that wrong. That takes about 3 or 4 seconds. I've had 3 oil changes done and never have they charged to reset the reading. If that is their practice, I'd find another dealer or tell them them that wife will do it herself next time.;)

Peter
 






Yeah Peter, I'm kind of in shock too. But that is what it seems to say, and needless to say I'll call tomorrow. Maybe I'm somehow misinterpreting their invoice, but I quoted the line item exactly.

Potentially the most expensive oil change ever!
 






Okay called dealer, and yes they charged me $94 to reset the oil life monitor, but it appears to be a slip of the keys - they typed code "99" one too many times and it ended up as .99 hours.

Whew - credit coming and I feel much better about the dealer as I can see it was an honest error. Good thing I checked though! :)
 



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Okay called dealer, and yes they charged me $94 to reset the oil life monitor, but it appears to be a slip of the keys - they typed code "99" one too many times and it ended up as .99 hours.

Whew - credit coming and I feel much better about the dealer as I can see it was an honest error. Good thing I checked though! :)
Good for you calb but I still don't think there should be any charge for that. It should be part of the oil change service. Next time tell them you'll do it yourself if they insist on charging for it.
Glad to hear you will now have a substantial credit on your account.:thumbsup:

Peter
 






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