kroze

I got my 06 Accord's oil changed when it was 65k miles and now with 69k on the odometer, the car said I still have 50% left! wtf. With my old Civic (Same year, 2006) it would be around 20-30% right now...

Going at this rate, it seems like I only have to change my oil every 9k miles? That's a lot for conventional oil/filter. I'm so used to changing it @ ~6k miles for my 06 Civic.

BLKFLSH

I disagree with a lot of Honda's maintenance schedule. I think the engine oil is not changed often enough, and 100k miles on the same transmission fluid is way more than it should be. I'm not sacrificing my engine or transmission, because Honda wants the maintenance costs low. IMO, these extended maintenance intervals are an effort to lower the advertised "true cost to own" figures.
For example, my 03 V6 manual says 3,750 miles for oil change (severe). Now the same engine in the 07 V6 Accord is supposed to be able to go 9,000 miles between oil changes. I'm not buying that.

George Knighton

I change the oil whenever the computer tells me to change it.

Most of the time, it tells me to change the oil around 10,000 miles.

There was one occasion that it told me to change the oil around 6,000 miles. This was a period that involved more urban driving than usual.

I understand why you'd say that, but it's a losing proposition if the cost of maintenance goes sky high at 30K (Honda) or 60K (Acura) or 100K (Optional Warranty) if they have misjudged the real maintenance requirements.

It would end up being a public relations nightmare, and I don't think they'd make recommendations that are higher than are reasonable.

George Knighton

84,000 miles so far, just doing what the computer says to do.

87shytwhip

ive always done it every 3000 miles or so for every car ive owned.. oil breaks down at different speeds depending on how your running you motor, weather conditions, and how often you drive your car.. dont take the risk, you might not notice a difference on how your motor runs now but as the motor ages with more and more miles you might notice a difference in power and responsiveness

George Knighton

I guess. But, just for argument's sake, do we really want to add up the cost of all those extra oil changes (and add in all the extra stuff the shop's going to sell you!) and then compare it to the cost of a new motor or higher maintenace at, what...?

240,000 miles?



That's our old '94 LX winning H4 races...with 230+,000 miles on it. Motor had never been gone into. Took my old commuter car, put it on the track, and won races.

I'm not really telling anybody what to do.

But I think we are so interested in and in love with our Hondas that we overdo the maintenance on occasion, and just waste some money that might go to other things.

I'm especially not saying you should ignore maintenance, especially with a car you bought used and for which vehicle you have no idea of the maintenance history.

But, still...kind of makes you wonder....

whitecvcb16

does ur car have an oil life in the dash if does wait until gets to 15 % then u change u oil

briq4

I change it every time the main't required light comes on. Why? I did the same thing with my 93 Accord, using plain old oil, whatever might be on sale. Castrol, Quaker State, etc. I sold the 93 with 364,000 miles on it, No engine issues whatsoever.

My mom had a 98 with 160,000 on it, changed the oil the same way, light comes on, change the oil. No engine problems (transmission is anothers story)

Only one I do differently is my 05 Civic, I switched to Synthetic after the original oil was drained and it's Amsoil so I change the oil once a year, and change the filter at half the OEM filter recommendations which is 20,000 miles or one year, since I never make it 20,000 in a year I do it every 10,000 miles or 6 months.

g33ky97

every 3k miles is a myth perpetuated by the petroleum industry.

oils these days are made to last.

save the environment a little. save your pocket a lot.

unless you're doing some heavy abuse, every 4-5k is early enough.

nytosc

iTrader: (3)

Good read for everyone-

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html

OP- If your worried, it may be a good idea to send a sample in to blackstone, and get a recommendation from them-

BLKFLSH

You don't have an automatic, do you? If you did, would you wait the suggested 120k miles (in the owner's manual) to change the fluid? I doubt it would last that long.

With the engine, it's just the difference that bothers me. In 03, the V6 had 7,500 maximum mileage between oil changes. Now the same engine supposedly can go 2,500 or more miles. I drive a lot of short distances, in high humidity, with quite a bit of stop and go. That spells severe to me, so the 03 manual says to change the engine oil at 3,750 miles. I don't think it would matter how you drove an 06 V6, the maintenance minder would not light up that soon. So which is right? My manual, or the maintenance minder?

Will you wait until 100k+ miles to change your coolant? I'm not, but then I do all my own maintenance. I guess if I had to bring it somewhere to get the oil changed, I would wait a little longer.

YeuEmMaiMai

between 5-6K miles......I have access to a sos lab so they do it for me and even with mixed city highway at 35/65 i can easily go 8K+ on an oil change.

Kidnkorner

The techniques and technology for manufacturing and machining of drive train components have greatly advanced over the last 2 decades. Additionally petroleum products have also improved. Combine all that with the advancements of synthetics since the mid 70's and you'd be hard pressed to ignore the guidelines set forth by manufacturers.

Bottom line is NONE of you are experts and unless you are having your fluids analyzed by qualified laboratories all of you are trowing darts blind folded.

Something else I'd like to add is the average auto consumer keeps their vehicles an average of 41 months, by the time any lubricant issue arises the car will most likely be in the hand of its 2nd, 3rd or 4th owner.

It's YOUR car and YOUR money, do what you want with both!

Extended drain intervals with AMSOIL FTW!

George Knighton

Nope. I like to do my own shifting. It's a 6-6.

If it's an '06 or '07 then yes, I'd do what the computer said to do.

The later G7 cars had computers and sensors that better handled judging how you were driving the car. They can measure the maximum temperatures your oil has reached, they can measure the viscosity changes and failures, and they can tell how you're driving the car.

I'm not sure when this changed, but I know that it was a change that happened in the G7 series (2003-2007).

I would do what the manual says.

In the case of the G7A cars (2006-2007) the manual suggests 10,000 miles in normal service for the J30 motors.

I did this already, but mostly just because I know that my personal garage is having a hard time in this economy.

It's not really necessary to adjust the valves on the J30 motors, but I'm also going to have that done just to help them out.