What do the little bars underneath the speedometer mean?
- Thread starter alex_c
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the green shows the time until next service. the yellow light comes on when a service is due. the red comes on when the service is over due. they will go down quicker if you have a problem, such as a lightly blowing exhaust etc. If there is a sudden drop in back pressure thouh it'll go straight to red.
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They are the service indicator lights. They go down based on a variety of factors and essentially equate to how much use the car is getting. When they go yellow and/or yellow/red, the "oil service" or "inspection" text will also be lit up.
For most people they are of little use. It takes about 9-11k miles for mine to indicate an oil service is needed, and I get my oil changed every 3500-4500 miles as a matter of course.
I do pay attention when they say inspection, which usually means Inspection I or Inspection II, but you can keep track of those intervals (15k or 30k for my E36, I believe) yourself.
If you buy a service reset tool, you can reset them yourself. One thing to avoid is resetting them every time you change the oil. Instead, you should only reset them when they need to be reset. I have been told an early reset will throw the system off of where it should be, but I dont' really know the reason behind it. I just listen to my mechanic. She resets them for free when needed.
For most people they are of little use. It takes about 9-11k miles for mine to indicate an oil service is needed, and I get my oil changed every 3500-4500 miles as a matter of course.
I do pay attention when they say inspection, which usually means Inspection I or Inspection II, but you can keep track of those intervals (15k or 30k for my E36, I believe) yourself.
If you buy a service reset tool, you can reset them yourself. One thing to avoid is resetting them every time you change the oil. Instead, you should only reset them when they need to be reset. I have been told an early reset will throw the system off of where it should be, but I dont' really know the reason behind it. I just listen to my mechanic. She resets them for free when needed.
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We have a winner. One of the few Wisco folks on the board. Welcome. They do all the work on my car.
I am saying that you should reset the oil service indicator when it needs to be reset, not when you change the oil. That assumes that you change the oil on a an interval that is less than it takes for the green bars to run out and the oil service light to come on. My car says it needs an oil change every 10-11k miles, and I have it changed (I need to take a mechanic class at a local tech college) every 4k or so.
I am saying that you should reset the oil service indicator when it needs to be reset, not when you change the oil. That assumes that you change the oil on a an interval that is less than it takes for the green bars to run out and the oil service light to come on. My car says it needs an oil change every 10-11k miles, and I have it changed (I need to take a mechanic class at a local tech college) every 4k or so.