My '12 DD R/T was bought new in May. I had over 7k miles on it and I didn't get the message that I needed to change my oil. Before taking a long trip, I took it to the dealership and had my oil changed and told them that I never got the oil change message. I was told by the service dept customer service guy that this vehicle goes by oil viscosity and it cannot be changed. However, after the oil change, the tech told me that he adjusted the limits needed to shoot that message and now, I traveled not even 2k miles and got the message that my oil needs changed.
Is my dealership trying to screw me by having my truck say it needs oil changes when in fact it doesn't yet or was this sensor just "over adjusted" ??

 

At this point you should only need an oil change around every 5,000 mi. You may want to find out what kind of oil the dealer is using, synthetic or otherwise.

If you want to go a little longer between oil changes, you may want to consider synthetic. The dealer has probably made an over adjustment in the indicator.

I haven't checked yet, but it would seem too me that you should be able to adjust the warning indicator yourself, (someone chime in) Make sure you check the oil level since having the dealer do the change, 2,000 miles is way too soon.

 

Did they reset the oil change indicator? I know this because the first time I had my oil changed, the reset wasn't performed and mine lit uo about 1000K later. I inquired why and was told that they often forget to reset them after they do the oil change. Its been fine ever since. I have never heard of them being able to adjust the interval though, its all computer generated by 100 different factors-drive time, idle time, outside temperature, hours on vehicle, Rpm's, driving style, mileage etc. (So I was told by a friend that's a GM mechanic, I imagine Dodge is the same)

 

I can't say for sure only because my indicator never came on at all when I had the first oil change. So when I took it after the oil change, the indicator was not on, but it wasn't when I dropped it off either.
The customer service guy told me that it was reset, that's all I have to go by.

 

I've been told by two different dealer's service writers that the oil change indicator can't be reset until it actually comes on. I don't necessarily believe this but haven't found another answer yet. Seems pretty stupid to not have a countdown to know when the oil change is coming up and a reset in case you change it early. My old '02 C230 had this!

 

This is true. You cannot reset them until they come on. And the reason there is no countdown is because with these newer cars, it no longer goes by mileage. It goes by oil quality. There's a sensor that measures oil viscosity and when the oil wears out, the light comes on. At what mileage this comes on depends on the driver. If you beat the **** out of the engine, it will come on sooner, but if your grandma is driving it, the oil will last much longer. However, I'm not aware of any "sensor adjustment" to adjust when the light comes on. That doesn't even make sense. That just sounds like a crock of **** the dealer told the OP to make him happy and get him out the door!


What seems to have happened with the OP is that he bought the vehicle with over 7k miles. The first oil change typically isn't due til after 8k for normal driving conditions. So the dealer most likely just wasn't able the reset the light, since it wasn't on due to the vehicle getting the oil changed before it was scheduled. This is likely why the light finally came on after 8K miles.

 

Its all duty cycle based on your driving. You can't change the interval times and if you get the "oil change due" message here is how you reset it yourself I took a screenshot with my phone sorry if quality is bad

 

 

Well if it's based on oil quality the fresh new oil would automatically reset the cycle!
That didn't happen here and I really doubt that there are any sensors. The D doesn't even let you know if the oil's low! It probably just relies on data like rpm, accelleration temp...etc and calculates the cycle. The countdown mileage would be just as easy to calculate and display.

 

I'm sure if you change the oil before the message pops up it will automatically reset but once the message is lit it won't auto reset cause its a warning message.