I just purchased a 2000 accord lx. It has 89871 miles on it. The previous owner always used Mobil 1 Synthetic Oil. I never used it and have always used pennzoil motor oil. My question is...can I safely switch to pennzoil from the mobil 1 synthetic oil next time I do an oil change? Is it better to stick with the synthetic?
Also, when should I do the timing belt? I was told at 105,000 or 7 years whichever's first. Oh...one more thing, the car says it's ULEV-VTECH. What is the difference between this and a regular VTECH engine? Thanks in advance!

 

1 thing about timing belt even though speedomet reads 89871, your timing belt has actually more miles than that especially if car has been driven in town a lot because when you are still at a stop lite odometer will not go up but timing belt still runs so 90k you are do for a t-belt and water pump ,,,
as for using mobil 1 versus regular oil if you live in a state where temp in winter drop sub zero i'd say use syntatic oil a lot better for engine to start in cold weather climate use 5-20 . .in warm climate states save your money and use regular oil as long as you replace oil + filter every 3k
as for ulev it stands for ultra low emission vehicle,,,

 

If you're going to keep the car change the timing belt and water pump at 90,000 the sooner the better why risk it? stick with Mobil synthetic its good stuff. Use 15400-pcx-004 oil filter OEM its for the s2000 its good stuff as well. any pics of your new car?

 

Why on earth would you use Penzoil? That is the crappiest parafin based stuff you can find! I'd stick with the Mobil Synthetic, that's what the seals are used to.

I second the timing belt.

 

yeah..what he said is rite...you wanna stick with what the car is used to...and definately do your timing belt soon

 

I use Castrol GTX in my Accord.

But if yours is already on Mobil 1, it isn't a bad idea to keep it on it. The cost of 5 quarts of Mobil 1 from Wal-Mart is ~ $21 or so after tax, add $5 for a Honda filter and you're pretty much set. Compare that to the $55 or $60 that an oil change place will charge you for a Mobil 1 oil change -- and even then you're not sure if they really did put in Mobil 1 or what quality of filter they used.

I use Mobil 1 in my '93 Volvo 940 Turbo.

 

So I have a question then, what should I switch to for oil. I just bought a 2001 v6 coupe with about 63k miles on it and the guy used penzoil!!! I don't like penzoil but not sure what to switch to? As for the timing belt can one not go to any Honda and give them the VIN and they can tell you what work has all been done to that car? As long as he got it serviced at a Haonda dealership so you can see if the timing belt has been done and when in the past.

 

Well if you want to change the motor oil and use some other brand then what the previous owner did. I would say flush the engine? But as for Mobil 1 Synthetic, that is 1 of the best oil out there and if your car has mileage I would suggest to stick with it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.Speed &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> As for the timing belt can one not go to any Honda and give them the VIN and they can tell you what work has all been done to that car? As long as he got it serviced at a Haonda dealership so you can see if the timing belt has been done and when in the past.</TD></TR></TABLE>


No, only the dealer it was serviced at can tell you what was done to it. The only thing they can tell you with the VIN is if it has had any warranty work done in the past or if there are any open recalls.

 

Ok I guess I will stay with Mobil Synthetic! I always had good luck with pennzoil who knew! The Honda dealership says I have time on the timing belt. They quoted me $650 plus tax for the belt and water pump. Guess a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 04accord94civic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Guess a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah...like save some money and do it yourself! It ain't that hard if you get the Helms dealor repair manual and a second car.

 

1) its vtec not vtech, vtech is a phone, be careful what you say cuz HT will ream u

2) ulev-vtec is for emissions and fuel economy, its not the same as say vtec on a prelude or similar, its to save gas not provide better performance in high rpms

3) yes you are definitely overdue for the timing belt, 90k is about right, but i would find a honda performance shop somewhere around there who can do it all for about $3-400 rather than the stealership

4) is your car a daily driver? do u race it? from what it sounds like no, theres no need for synthetic oil in your stock accord, and it is perfectly ok to switch back and forth from regular to synthetic all u want, and whatever oil u want is fine, u guys are telling me that just because u run penzoil even though u change oil/filter at 3k miles his honda wont get 300,000 miles, unless hes keeping it at 5k rpm all day long any oil/filter will be fine, some are better than others, but the oil will not be the reason the engine does not last 300000 miles....