Hydraulic cylinder monitoring

A refuse collection vehicle, comprising:

• at least one body component;
• a hydraulic pump;
• a hydraulic actuator in hydraulic communication with the hydraulic pump through a hydraulic valve operable to supply hydraulic power to cause the hydraulic actuator to move the at least one body component, the hydraulic actuator comprising a hydraulic cylinder containing a piston;
• one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data indicative of at least one of:
• positioning of the at least one body component;
• or
• positioning of the piston of the hydraulic actuator;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors, the controller configured to perform operations comprising:
• determining, based on the sensor data generated by the one or more sensors over a length of time during which the hydraulic valve is operated at a target position, a motion characteristic of at least one of the at least one body component or the piston of the hydraulic actuator;
• comparing the determined motion characteristic to a stored reference motion characteristic;
• and
• in response to determining that a difference between the determined motion characteristic and the stored reference motion characteristic is greater than a predetermined value, triggering an indication that the hydraulic cylinder is leaking fluid.