So, I looked for an answer using the search feature without success. Basically, a while ago, I had a dealership change my oil, but they forgot to reset the FSS indicator. I have yet to reset it, and now it says I am about 4,800 miles late. At this point, the oil certainly has some miles on it, so soon it will need to be changed. But, if I reset the FSS indicator now, will it sense that my oil is old, or will it assume the oil is new, meaning the FSS will not show an accurate measure of when the oil needs to be changed. This is a difficult question to explain, but I can explain further if my question is confusing. Thanks in advance for anyone's help.

 

The FSS basically counts down from 7,000 (I think).
It will not sense your oil's age.
It is purely a countdown, dictated by your driving habits, towards the next oil change - 7,000 intervals.
Wait until your FSS says 7,000 miles overdue, and it's time for another oil change.
Then reset the FSS using the method described somewhere on this forum (use search - obviously!!!)

 

Thank-you!

 

I think you are spot on with your assessment. I think 7,000 is a base point and depending on how you drive (as mentioned) the miles can go up or down.

BMW claims 15K between oil changes. I remember my indicator showed my interval closer to 13K because of my driving habits and traffic conditions in the SoCal area. I think the MB indicators work much the same way.

 

I don't know about you guys but mine counts down from 8,500 miles.

 

FSS takes into consideration driving conditions, it isn't just a count down. I have sometimes hit the 7,000 mark before the FSS did.

 

If you trust your dealer, they should be able to reset the FSS to the actual mileage left using the DRB-III tool.

 

I didn't notice mine until after I drove it home from where I bought it (1,020 mile trip). The car now has 1,400 miles on it and the FSS shows a minus 281. As the mileage goes up so does the FSS, but not at the same rate (although still with the minus sign). Does that mean I'm overdue by 281 miles?

My car is one of those "inventory reduction" vehicles; build date 3/05, in service date 2/07. Based on that and according to the service manual I'm overdue for the below.

• Inspect body for paint damage (every two years)
• Check chassis and supporting body parts for damage and corrosion (every two years)

Would that be the reason for what's indicted by the FSS, or is it just for oil changes (oil was changed a few weeks ago by the dealer)?

 

There should be an icon of a single wrench / dual wrenches next to the numbers... This indicates the level of service recommended. Refer to your owners manual for a key...

 

The FSS system counts down to the next servicing in two ways. It is either in days or miles. When the system is in the "miles" mode, the number is always rounded out to hundreds of miles, such as 6,500 or 400. Being that your display says -281, I'm sure yours is currently measuring in "days", meaning you are 281 days past due for maintenance. Mine was -59 when I first got it. You should notice the number increasing by 1 each day.

 

But seriously guys do you really need this to know when your car needs maintenance ?? It is a nice feature but what did you do before you had this to tell you when to service your car ??

 

My car doesn't need to tell me jack. But, since the "nice feature" is there I'd like to know how it works, along with the rest of my car. Most people don't want to know how things work, just as long as it does. I'm the opposite.

 

Thanks, that makes sense as it seems to advance per day.

 

There should be one of 3 icons that will display next to the number, one wrench for service schedule A, two wrenches for service schedule B and a clock face for time.

And as others have mentioned before, it changes based on how the car is driven and conditions.

 

That is good to know - I recently bought a "new" 2005 SRT and mine is showing the same thing - close anyway - like a -381. Are we sure it is days?

 

definitely days.

 

Ok...Thanks.