Oil life is 9% with less than 2,000 miles on Odometer

[blueweb]

I have a 2022 Wrangler 4xe that I purchased back in March 2022. It currently has 1,653 on the odometer, and my oil life remaining is reading at 9%. Since this is a hybrid, the engine has run for only 750 miles according to the trip meter. I have read through both of the supplied manuals' maintenance schedules, and none of them say anything about how many miles until an oil change is needed. It only says to change the oil whenever the indicator turns on. Based on what I'm reading in the manual, I do not believe the oil life gauge is taking the age of the oil into its calculation.

I have called the local dealership, they said to bring it in for an express oil change. They said that maybe someone forgot to reset the oil life when the oil was last changed. I'm not sure why that would be a concern considering that it is a brand-new vehicle and no one has changed the oil since I bought it (assuming that it should still have factory break-in oil). I have tried calling Jeep Wave about this, but they only said to take it to the dealership.

Is it normal for the 2.0-liter engine to need an oil change with less low mileage? It seems pretty ridiculous to have to waste one of three included oil changes for this abnormal oil life.

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[BigMaCro]

Yes that is not correct. Really it's based on engine run time, not miles traveled. Unless you've forced the engine to run for days on end, there's no way it should be that low. I'd take it to the dealer and insist on the oil change/ indicator reset under warranty, not using your jeep wave credits.

 

[BigMaCro]

I run my engine more than many, and even still the miles I'm comfortable changing the oil at accumulate more quickly than the oil life gauge does. Like 8000 miles still had 30% or something

 

[WhereRU_A-A-Ron]

Per the manual on page 360:
"Under no circumstances should oil change intervals exceed 10,000 miles (16,000 km), 12 months or 350 hours of engine run time, whichever comes first. The 350 hours of engine run or idle time is generally only a concern for fleet customers."

The oil life indicator absolutely factors in time since oil was last changed (or in your case, since new). Yes, you're not putting a lot of miles on your Jeep, but it's also been probably close to a year since it was added at the factory given that it was obviously built well before you bought it. If you are a "by the book" type, it's nearly time to change your oil.

 

[jaymz]

I have a 2022 Wrangler 4xe that I purchased back in March 2022. It currently has 1,653 on the odometer, and my oil life remaining is reading at 9%. Since this is a hybrid, the engine has run for only 750 miles according to the trip meter. I have read through both of the supplied manuals' maintenance schedules, and none of them say anything about how many miles until an oil change is needed. It only says to change the oil whenever the indicator turns on. Based on what I'm reading in the manual, I do not believe the oil life gauge is taking the age of the oil into its calculation.

I have called the local dealership, they said to bring it in for an express oil change. They said that maybe someone forgot to reset the oil life when the oil was last changed. I'm not sure why that would be a concern considering that it is a brand-new vehicle and no one has changed the oil since I bought it (assuming that it should still have factory break-in oil). I have tried calling Jeep Wave about this, but they only said to take it to the dealership.

Is it normal for the 2.0-liter engine to need an oil change with less low mileage? It seems pretty ridiculous to have to waste one of three included oil changes for this abnormal oil life.

Your oil life indicator is accurate. Not driving much can have negative side effects, excess condensation inside the crankcase being one of them. Change your oil.

 

[GrayHawk20]

I know mine gets 35% at 4k-5k miles but it takes about 6 months to hit the mileage so not much of a concern for me but next change I will be bringing it up as a precaution, not sure how much oil a 392 Wrangler should truly consume

 

[RocknJL]

aww how cute the 4xe owner doesn’t think they need regular maintenance

 

[Cowboy from hell]

Yep its time buddy...that oil ain't too fresh at month 9.....

 

[GtX]

It seems pretty ridiculous to have to waste one of three included oil changes for this abnormal oil life.

Think twice about using those included oil changes. Far too many have had issues with them.

All mine went unused and all I got was the right oil, in the right quantity, at the right time.

 

[Roundbarnwrangler]

aww how cute the 4xe owner doesn’t think they need regular maintenance

Troll much? Don't be rude. The OP has a legit question. We just bought my wife a 4xe and I didn't know the answer either and came on here to see what people were saying. And I drive a 2020 Ram Cummins 4x4 Longhorn to make sure that is not too cute for you. Our 4xe currently has 1400 miles on it, 950 in gas miles and oil life is at 65% but we have only had it for a month or so. It's not straight forward like most all other cars that people have owned in their life.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

Run the gas engines for at least 20 miles a week in one trip. It will greatly improve the longevity of the vehicle. It’s not an EV, it’s a hybrid and should be used as such. Your vehicle is worth very little 5 years down the road if the gas engine is sludged up.

The oil life monitor will start a one year countdown based on the first time the engine was started, not the day you bought it. If you don’t put a lot of miles on, it goes by time. My Jeep and my pickup both get an annual oil change because I don’t put enough miles to get to zero on the oil life monitor. But when I do run them, I run them well. Get up to operating temperature for at least one 20 minute, no stop drive a week, if I can. I want to make sure that fresh warm oil is circulated well through the engine and that any condensation moisture is burned off. Condensation makes sludge. Sludge is bad.

 

[martoaj]

As others said, the oil life indicator is going to take into account time/age just as much as engine usage or mileage. If you bought your truck in March it could've been manufactured in January; we're approaching 1 year since that oil was put in there, definitely change it when the dash recommends.

FWIW I bought my 4xe at the end of February, 3700 miles on it and mine displays 20% oil life, a bit better than where you're at but still seems generally accurate as well.

 

[Xspurt]

It's been proven by independent tests that time, especially a year or less, has little to no effect on engine oil performance. That being said, the 4Xe's biggest problem is the oil being diluted by gasoline because of how little the engine runs and how intermittently it runs (especially using it the way it was promoted). All of those cold (and relativley cold) start stop cycles let a lot of gasoline and related contaminents get past the piston rings (even an issue in the non hybrid 2.0s). Along with that the engine struggles to ever achieve a high enough temperature to burn off that gasoline.

So yeah, change it.

 

[Shasta_Steve]

Jeep is not the only one that counts down the percentage with time. My F150 does the same. My F150 maintenance light came on a couple months ago at about 4000 miles. It had been about 11 months since I changed it.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

It's been proven by independent tests that time, especially a year or less, has little to no effect on engine oil performance. That being said, the 4Xe's biggest problem is the oil being diluted by gasoline because of how little the engine runs and how intermittently it runs (especially using it the way it was promoted). All of those cold (and relativley cold) start stop cycles let a lot of gasoline and related contaminents get past the piston rings (even an issue in the non hybrid 2.0s). Along with that the engine struggles to ever achieve a high enough temperature to burn off that gasoline.

So yeah, change it.

Cold weather also seems to mess with the OLI.. maybe the case here in the OP post in December last year.

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