FAQ
Truckers care about their trucks.
Whether you’re a fleet manager
maintaining vehicles to keep the
business on the road or a trucker
protecting your livelihood, keeping
vehicles moving is at the heart of what
truckers do.
A crucial part of this job is making sure
engine oil gets changed regularly.
But taking your vehicle in for an oil
change – particularly a heavy-duty
vehicle – can be a hassle. So why not
just change the oil out at the same time
as your scheduled maintenance? Two
birds, one stone.
In fairness, sometimes that’s a good
idea, and can help limit downtime.
But it can also end up costing you
more over the lifetime of a vehicle. For
truckers and fleet operators feeling the
squeeze as the world responds to the
COVID-19 pandemic, this can be an
easy cost to cut.
In this FAQ, we look at oil-drain intervals
(ODIs): what they are, why they’re
important and how to do them right.
WHAT IS ODI? WHY IS
IT IMPORTANT?
ODI stands for oil-drain interval.
Measured either in time or in miles
driven, the ODI is the length of
time that, according to your truck’s
manufacturer, you can leave the oil
in the engine before it needs to be
changed.
WHY SHOULD I
CHANGE MY OIL?
One big reason is the manufacturer’s
recommended ODI. It’s important not to
leave the oil in your engine longer than
the manufacturer recommends. If you
leave oil in the engine too long, you
may damage your vehicle and even
void your warranty. For example, one of
the jobs of engine oil is to trap dirt and
contaminants.
Over time, these contaminants become
too much for the oil to continue to do
its job properly. So, the oil needs to be
drained and replaced with fresh oil.
Factors which may cause you
to change your oil earlier than
planned include working in extreme
environments – for instance, very hot or
dusty environments – or if the vehicle
itself is operating at the extremes of its
capacity, such as hauling extremely
heavy loads, raising the engine
temperature.
DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU
CHANGE YOUR ENGINE OIL?
WHAT’S THE POINT OF OIL-DRAIN INTERVALS, WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT
THEM AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR TRUCK IF YOU IGNORE THEM?