irq

I've read the breakin threads here and they suggest changing the oil in your TSX at 500 miles, specifically because a lot of engine material will be in the oil from the initial breakin of the engine.

However, in the left column on page 184 of the manual, in the "Break-in Period" section, it is written: "Do not change the oil until the recommended time or mileage interval shown in the maintenance schedule."

In other words, the manual suggests that it is particularly bad to prematurely change the oil in your car during the breakin period.

What do you guys think?

iamhomin

No.

The oil that's currently in your car is formulated with different substance to help the engine break-in with ease.

TSX noob

IMO follow what the manual suggest so you won't have any problems with factory warranty

jimby

I really don't understand the reluctance to follow the manual recommendations. You can consider the manual a legal document that tells you what to do in order to maintain warranty coverage for your vehicle. It is in the car maker's best interest to give you good information as it affects their liability, consumer satisfaction ratings, bottom line, etc.

majin ssj eric

Always, always, ALWAYS go with what the manual says over anything you hear around here or anywhere else. You can bet that whoever said to change the oil at 500 miles does not work for Honda or build Acura TSX's and therefore does not know as much as Honda does about proper oil change intervals.

STL

Changing the oil that early is only a waste of time and oil.

irq

I'm not reluctant to do what the manual says. I am simply curious about the discrepency.

It's a little strange that no one said to ignore the "change oil at 500 miles" part of the breakin thread here, 'eh?

Either way, I'm glad you guys gave me this info, I will wait until 5000 miles to change it.

jimby

Ignore the "change oil at 500 miles" thread!

Corbon91

Follow the manual dude.

daddydliv

Also, a misconception that every car must have an oil change at 3,000 miles. The only cars that need a change every 3000 are police cars, taxis, or any other car that idles a lot, tows regularly, does strictly city driving or is in a particularly dusty area. Any change before that on an average car, which probably includes most of ours, is a waste of money. Of course changing early doesn't hurt your car but it is unneccessary.

One thing I found strange about the TSX, though. The manual says to change at 10,000 miles but the maintenance req'd light has started coming on at about 8,150. Seems kinda early based on my previous experience with Honda.

sauceman

I remember this being an issue last year, many members wanted to change their oil early as a precaution. But it's of no use. If Honda says it's okay to wait till 5000miles, then you can safely do it without running into problems.

fast1

daddydliv, you'll get the maintenance light on at the 8000 mark (from last reset) for 10 sec when you start the car- just a reminder. At 10,000 mark (from last reset), it is on constantly reminding you to get your ass in the shop!

I think some people ignore the manual because they are either suprised that the car can go 10,000 miles (or 5,000 in severe) before service or they are buying into what the local oil change places are telling them while having no intimate knowledge of our engine and how it works.

daddydliv

I remember that from my last car (98 Accord) and I guess it was about 2000 miles before it stayed on. I only let it go that far twice so I guess I just forgot how early it started blinking.

PWPTSXER

I will change my oil every 5000 miles.........and the first change will be getting SYNTHETIC OIL.

PWPTSXER

About that synthetic oil......how are the ACURA dealerships feelings about the oil?

are they really going to push regular oil...what kind of oil do they use?

blackjackman

no unless you are a

PWPTSXER

WHAT?

biker

Krazy_j604

don't change your oil at 500 miles you need to use that oil to help seat the piston rings and other parts... also don't use sythentic too early if anyone plans too because that will just be worse than good for the break in period since its so smooth and flows good it doesn't help seat the piston rings against the cylinder wall...

TSXEuphoria

Myth: You should break in your engine with conventional oil, then switch to Mobil 1.
Fact: You can start using Mobil 1 with SuperSyn?in new vehicles at any time, even in brand-new vehicles. In fact, Mobil 1 with SuperSyn?is original equipment (it is installed at the factory) in:


Chevrolet Corvette
All Porsche vehicles
Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles
Dodge Viper
Ford Mustang Cobra R
All Aston Martin cars

One of the myths that persists about Mobil 1 is that new engines require a break-in period with conventional oil. Current engine manufacturing technology does not require this break-in period. As indicated by the decisions of the engineers who design these high-performance cars, Mobil 1 with SuperSyn?can be used in an engine from the day you drive the car off the showroom floor.



quoted from mobile 1 webpage.

sauceman

Of course, Mobil1 has an interest in posting this type of stuff. So then, as far as credibility goes, I give it a less-than-average rating.

It's not like Oil and additive companies haven't been spreading myths around themselves...

jlukja

If Mobil 1 comes already installed in my engine then great. If not, and the manual says to leave the oil in until 5000 miles then thats what I'm going to do. I'm not surprised that the mobile 1 webpage would encourage you to change over to mobil 1 asap.

fast1

Agreed- if Mobil One came standard, that's one thing... but it didn't. Acura does put a special blend in new engines just for the break-in; which is a whopping 600 miles according to the book.

I think the cars that are on their list as OEM syn cars probably have an extensive break-in done by the manufacturer and require none by the new owner- and rightfully so. Do you think the owner who just plucked down $80K for a Porsche is going to dog around town under 3K RPMs to break in the engine? That guy (or gal) will be lighting the tires up on the way out of the parking lot (at least if they are an enthusiast!)

I think you should be good to go and switch to synthetic at your first oil change (5K/10K) since your engine will be officially broken in at that point though. I'm religious on the car maintenance however so I am keeping to high quality dino oil at the recommended intervals. When in doubt, read the book and follow the directions.

mickey513

sauceman

Actually, it shouldn't even be in case of doubt, you should follow what the manual says, period.

goose25

Bladerunner

I had a CLK500 that came with Mobil 1, all Mercedes now come out of the factory with Mobil 1, not just AMG style. First oil change was 10,000-12,000, which was when the dash computer told you to change it. As for the TSX do what the manual says. Adding Mobil 1 to your TSX rather than non-synthentic oil is a waste of money if you change your oil regularly as required. Todays engines are built a lot differently (different oil distributing systems) and will last just as long whether you use synthetic or non-synthetic oil. Just make sure you change your oil as required by the manual according to your driving conditions. Yes, oil stops and Mobil 1 do push there product recommending unneeded oil changes. But, that's business and advertising.

DEI99662

Follow what the manual says.

biker

Yeah, but now that MB is doing away with the free maintenance the interval has come down to 7,500 miles.

VeniceBeachTSX

There are a lot of these rumors that still persist from much older engine technology. They're meaningless today, but still people will tell you that you'll do something horrible to your engines if they're not followed.

I work a lot with piston airplane engines which are definitely old tech, as the FAA makes it prohibitive to introduce new designs. On those engines you have to be pretty rigorous about break in. You need to go for the first 25 hours at steady, 60-70% power settings (exclusing take off and landing) with no rapid power changes and a light no-additive mineral oil that's designed to allow the rings to work their way against the etchings on the inside of the cylinder walls and slowly seat themselves. Then you need to drain the oil flush the engine and replace with standard single-weight oil. and resume normal use. If you stay with the mineral oil for normal use, you'll hurt the engine.

Cars used to be like that too, but they haven't for a couple of decades. The difference is that modern car engines are so well machined and finished that there is little to no break-in needed and very little material will rub off the cylinder walls during the process. The manufacturers put a special formulation in the first batch of oil, but there's nothing about it that will harm the engine if you keep it in there beyond break in. And the filters are fine enough to remove anything that might cause a problem.

gfxdave99

NO.. wait till at least 3500-4000

sauceman

gfx, what's the point of posting this when the manual says 5000 miles? Or do you have access to special insight that even the builder doesn't have?

VeniceBeachTSX

One of the "Old Wives Tales" that still circulates among some mechanics and car people is that you need to do this. 20-30 years ago, you did. 10 years ago, on some cars you "sort of" did. (A couple of Audis I had in the 1990's specified a change at 1000-1500 miles.) For reasons I've explained above, this is really not necessary on modern engines.

At some point I'm going to put together an "Old Wives Tales" thread, listing all the things people say that are simply not true, were true at one time but no longer are, or are true only in such limited situations so as to be silly to even discuss. I think it would be interesting discussion.

gfxdave99

My oil was getting super dark and was low almost half a quart by 5000.

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&highlight=oil

I'd do it at 3500-4000 depending on the condition of the oil. If your oil still looks transparent and happy then keep on driving to 5000 but mine wasnt.

Unless its good that the oil looks murky and practically black