Maybe this has been discussed before, but has anyone here who owns a 6th gen (1998) or later Accord ever followed hondas' owners manual regarding 7,000 mile oil changes? Seems to me as if it's an insurance policy on Hondas' part to ensure that people come and buy another Honda at about 150,000 when some major work needs to be done to the car because of infrequent Oil changes. Anyone with over 150,000 on their 6th gen or later follow these guidelines without any problems? I'm just curious....

 

I changed my oil every 7K on my accord...SOS analisys indicated oil was still good at the end.

Honda uses all aluminum engines and this goes a long way towards extending oil life. Engines that are cast iron and aluminum are much harder on the oil.

When cars became FI, this was the biggest single reason for the increased longevity....

 

Engine Oil is getting better, so you can go for awhile without a change and be totally fine (7k plus, it depends on the situation). I change mine every 5k, because a little TLC to a honda = lasts forever. It all depends on what you put in it, how you drive it, and how well it has been maintained up to this point.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Defcon1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Engine Oil is getting better, so you can go for awhile without a change and be totally fine (7k plus, it depends on the situation). I change mine every 5k, because a little TLC to a honda = lasts forever. It all depends on what you put in it, how you drive it, and how well it has been maintained up to this point.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Well, Mine is a daily driver, no turbos, no NOS , so I don't rev the engine out too much, plus it's a V6. Now you guys did address the concern about the Oil, but what about the Oil filter??? Will it go the distance and still trap contaminants as well at 4500 miles after a oil change? I use the Fram Tough guard brand, because it's supposed to be a little better than the regular Fram. Any thoughts or suggestions on a good OEM replacement that doesn't command premium pricing?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by YeuEmMaiMai &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I changed my oil every 7K on my accord...SOS analisys indicated oil was still good at the end.

Honda uses all aluminum engines and this goes a long way towards extending oil life. Engines that are cast iron and aluminum are much harder on the oil.

When cars became FI, this was the biggest single reason for the increased longevity....</TD></TR></TABLE>

How many miles on your accord at the end?

 

got ride of it with 100K on it,,,,,transmission was the reason (1998 LX V6)

sold my 1994LX with 146K on it. My friend has it now and it is still running

 

3 k and 3 k only.

it's 7.5k for both of my newer honda, 5k for the 89 acura.

but i do all of them 3k.


why? too much stop and go, high rev, clutch dump, redline

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wiggler &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Any thoughts or suggestions on a good OEM replacement that doesn't command premium pricing?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

OEM Honda filter...about $7 bucks at the dealer

 

i do mine every 3k and sometimes 3500 when it slips my mind. Im pretty sure i dont have to, but i do it just because thats how i am, im a bit paranoid when it comes to my car b.c i love it

 

I do every 5k, got a stock 00 Honda accord coupe v6.
5k is plenty, just change the filter when you change the oil.
Especially if it is just a daily driver and you are never really pushing the car.
Its not gonna kill the car if you go a couple k over 5.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Defcon1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I do every 5k, got a stock 00 Honda accord coupe v6.
5k is plenty, just change the filter when you change the oil.
Especially if it is just a daily driver and you are never really pushing the car.
Its not gonna kill the car if you go a couple k over 5.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you think there's any truth to the fact that the all-aluminum engines Honda uses prolong the effectiveness of the oil itself? as was discussed earlier in this thread? What exactly does Iron do on a <U>chemical level </U>to wear out the Oil faster????

 

I don't honestly see what is the big deal in changing your oil every 3,000mi. My dealer only charges $9.99 for an oil and filter change if you bought the car there and to me that is dang cheap insurance to avoid paying thousands for a replacement engine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HondaF1Fanatic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't honestly see what is the big deal in changing your oil every 3,000mi. My dealer only charges $9.99 for an oil and filter change if you bought the car there and to me that is dang cheap insurance to avoid paying thousands for a replacement engine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, you kinda have a point, but we can't ALL go to YOUR freakin' dealer for a $
9.99 Oil change... and besides, some of us like to take as much care of our cars by ourselves The reason I'm asking is because if you live in a colder Climate, like me, there might be some validity to going 5,000 miles between oil changes, so those few of us that like to work on our cars ourselves don't have to get frostbite or worse...

 

The best way to determine this is a UOA. It's rather impractical for most of us though. On a strong and/or newer engine, I would stick to 3K for dino and 6K for full-synthetic. JMO.

 

If you think you can get away with 5k on oil changes on your V6 just pull off the rear valve cover and see how bad it looks. ALL the V6 honda engines favor the front bank. The rear bank get's a little oil starvation and hotter.

 

i work at a honda dealership. we recomend changing the oil every 6k for v6s, and 8k for the 4cyl. unless it's and older model, then 6k.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lil’ek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i work at a honda dealership. we recomend changing the oil every 6k for v6s, and 8k for the 4cyl. unless it's and older model, then 6k.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I work at a Honda dealer as well. And I still say if your an owner and go that long your crazy.

Looks like every buddy works at a dealer. O'well do what you wish its your car. If it starts to use oil or gets slugges I'll be the first to tell you I told you so.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lil’ek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i work at a honda dealership. we recomend changing the oil every 6k for v6s, and 8k for the 4cyl. unless it's and older model, then 6k.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i used to work at the dealer as well and we always reccomended oil and filter change every 3k and no later than 3.5k ...or every 3 -4 months ..
an oil change if you do it every 3 months is less than 30 cents a day ,, hell, one less soda a day ..

some people use synt oil and they let it go up to 7k hell i rather use regular oil and change it 2 times in the same interval.. Now you tell me would you rather change it once or 2 times for almost the same money in a 6 month span ??

 

I had a nice 1986 Nissan pickup. Changed the oil very 3000 miles, sold it at 95000 miles with about 95% original compression at the rings.

Next I had a 1992 Ford Ranger with the new 4.0 V6. Broke the engine in to 1000 mi with regular Valvoline, then changed to synthetic at about 4000 mi intervals. Sold the truck with 120,000 mi for top dollar with about 95% original compression at the rings.

In 1994 bought a new Accord, and in 2001 a new Avalon. Broke in both blocks to 1000 mi with Valvoline, then changed to synthetic. The Avalon has 50000 miles, and the engine runs as new. The Accord still has a very strong engine at 105000. I change the oil at 3000 to 4000, depends on the time of year and type of driving.

Rule of thumb- if you drive a lot in stop/go city traffic, or high-speed freeway use at summer temps, change the oil more often. Try to get where you can tell when the oil needs to be changed- it will start getting darker, run more easily on the dipstick, and you can actually smell the acids/contaminants in the oil. After a while you can tell if the oil needs changing by look/smell. I go by the condition of the oil-it breaks down faster in very hot summer weather and with stop/go traffic.

Auto manufacturers want their cars to be 'low maintenance', including oil-changes. Unfortunately, not getting your oil changed often enough causes more expensive wear/damage than almost any other neglected maintenance item.

Maybe I change my oil more often than most. 15 minutes of my time and $35-$45 for the oil and a good filter (synthetic/KN filters) every 3-4 months doesn't bother me- I plan to keep both cars a long, long time. And I have been changing oil for 30+ years- I do really think good quality synthetic is worth the money, but you can get hit hard for $$$ if you pay someone to do a synthetic oil change. But don't start using synthetic in an older block that has been running regular oil!

 

it is known that cast iron is harder on oil than aluminum...but as quality of the iron has improved and overall quality of engines themselves, this problem is not as bad as it used to be...

 

Honda engines don't favor one bank over the other.....lol

the front bank simply gets more cooling due to air flow than the rear bank........ I'd bet if you turned the engine around the rear bank would look better than the front one.......

the reason why oil only used to last 3K was simply due to the fact that you have a lot of fuel wash down on a cold start with a carburated engine...that would dillute the oil over time and make it ineffective.......fuel injected cars do not suffer from this problem nearly as much (unless there is something wrong) and therefore the oil lasts longer.......

also the maufacturing process for oil has improved considerably in the last 20 years.....

 

what do you guys think of Mobil's Drive Clean with the 15,000 mile change intervals? im currently using it in my 95 accord LX 4-cyl and i just changed it recently for, its been in for 9,000 and the oil was THICK not sludgy but real thick. its making me a little nervous so im going to change it at 12,000 instead of the 15,000.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by wrenchy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> But don't start using synthetic in an older block that has been running regular oil!</TD></TR></TABLE>

this is an old wive's tale. changing to synthetic oil will not hurt your high mileage engine. i have in fact done it on a few cars of my own over the 100k mile mark with no adverse effects.

for the original question, oil technology and engine technology has improved drastically over the last few years. oil is getting refined to higher levels, and engines aren't running wuite as hot as they used to - two reasons why manufacturers are lengthening their change intervals. porsche in fact now has a 20,000 mile change interval on all of their engines (excluding the v6 cayenne, which is at 10K).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pos_cd5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what do you guys think of Mobil's Drive Clean with the 15,000 mile change intervals? im currently using it in my 95 accord LX 4-cyl and i just changed it recently for, its been in for 9,000 and the oil was THICK not sludgy but real thick. its making me a little nervous so im going to change it at 12,000 instead of the 15,000.</TD></TR></TABLE>

if the oil is getting sludgy i would change it right away and monitor the next few thousand miles. it could be that, if this is the first time you are running full synthetic, the oil is essentially "cleaning out" sludge that has built up over the years from your old dino oil. or, like i mentioned before heat is an enemy of oil breakdown, and your older engine may not be as cool-running as some newer ones and your current oil is breaking down. i have no idea whay oil temps you might see in your engine. but even if the oil is advertized as 15K, take the car into consideration as well.

fyi i use mobil1 normally in both cars, and change it every 7Kish but at least twice per year.

 

i used Mobil 1 before switching to their drive clean 15,000