csj0952

My car is 3000 miles old and it says it has %50 oil life left. I thought it was wise to change the oil every 3000 miles....am I wrong? Is it better to stick to the 3000 mile mark or wait till it gets to %10 or somewhere inbetween?


Also, what oil do you guys recommend? Synthetic? Brands? Do you recommend taking it to your dealer or an outside shop like a Midas or Monroe? Dealer will probably be alot more.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Well newer cars some will agure can go a lot longer then 3000 and others will say 3000. I say wait until it says a lower % I mean they designed the car they should know what they are talking about. I once again say synthetic but other people will also agure you dont need it. Most of this is just a matter of opinion. Also I always use my dealer becuase they are actually cheaper then anyone else around here believe it or not.

Brandon24pdx

Dont switch to synthetic until the 2nd oil change. For the 1st oil change you want to stick with the regular Honda stuff. The motor is still running in at that point and switching to synthetic that early would not be ideal.

You dont need to change the oil yet. the 2005 manual stated 5000 miles or 6/mo whichever came first if I recall. I would stick to this regardless of what the maintenence minder says.

junktionfet

The maintenance minder thing is reasonably reliable--I trust mine. It generally tells me to go in every 4000 to 5000 miles (depending on my driving habits). You are welcome to change the oil as frequently as you wish of course, but you may not be getting your money's worth from the oil if you stick to a rigid schedule like that. It sounds like you are pretty gentle on your oil

aaronng

Wait til 10%. It doesn't mean that you have no more oil in your car. It's a measure of oil LIFE, not oil LEVEL.

Ellas9

Change the oil at 5000 miles or so. We have a CRV - 07 and we've done 2000 kms and it says we have 90% life left - when its cold moisture builds into the oil and it needs to be changed faster. Don't use synthetic until the 3rd change - I've got it in for the first time in my 05 for the winter. I think the engine runs a little smoother at start up when its cold then before but when its hot, no difference. I'm going back to GTX on my next change.

CCColtsicehockey

I used honda oil for the first year and now I use Valvoline SynPower Full Synthetic.

junktionfet

Errr... I'm sure most people understand that.

TSXtravis

I have 4,010 miles on mine and still says 40% oil life. But then again, 90% of my driving is highway miles. If that matters.

jlukja

The maintenance minder is there for a reason. Why not follow it and wait till it says 10% left. As has been said here, and on tons of other threads, you can change it more often if you like but you're not going to see a benefit of more frequent changes. I also agree with Brandon24pdx that you should wait until your 2nd oil change to switch to synthetic. BTW, I use Mobil1.

Tsx6363

1000 miles and oils at 70%.. lol is that bad?

junktionfet

I wouldn't say that is particularly bad... You'll probably get around 3000 miles on the oil at that rate. You probably drive a lot harder than you realize.

ZhenyaF

iTrader: (6)

can i switch back to regular after synthetic?

The first 2 oil changes were regular, on the 3rd I put in synthetic, but didnt notice any differences in performance or length btwn oil changes.

Tsx6363

lol iono about mine.. at this rate i'll actually have to change my oil at 3000 miles...

jlukja

Question has been asked and answered. Since there are already existing threads on this topic I'm closing this thread. If you want to continue the discussion, do it in one of the following open threads:

Maintenance Minder:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34099

Synthetic:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32560

Switching back to regular from synthetic:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3800