LW-99-129 THE GENERAL MOTORS ENGINE-OIL-LIFE MONITORING SYSTEM

Description:

In the mid 1980’s two issues began to draw increasing attention from automotive manufacturers, as a result of information obtained from consumer-preference polls. The issues of importance to the public were: • Minimizing the time, attention, and expense needed for maintaining their vehicles, and • Maintaining a cleaner environment. At the same time, the availability of engine diagnostic tools in a car’s computer was expanding. These concurrent events (desires of the customer and expanded on-board computing capability) fostered the creation of on-board computer analyses of types that were unimaginable a few decades before. Thus, with both increasing interest and increasing technical capability, the era was ripe for technical innovation. One of the ensuing innovations was the development of oilmonitoring devices that utilized the vehicle’s computer capabilities and told the driver when to change engine oil. A number of companies developed such devices. The development of the General Motors Oil Life Monitoring System is described in the following pages.