psteng19

1. I changed from dino to Mobil 1 synthetic on my last oil change. I used to follow the MID for oil change intervals and it seemed to average about 5000 miles between warnings.
What should I do now that I am using synthetic? I'm sure the car won't adjust for synth oil.
What interval do you synthetic guys use?

2. I made the mistake of going with 5w-20 as per the incorrect Honda bulletin. Should I take it easy on the engine until the next oil change and go back to 5w-30?
Or should I change it right away?

nbtx

1. Follow the MID - the system does not compensate for synthetic oil - no OLMs do.
2. Leave it in there - change back to 5W30 the next time. Drive it like you stole it.

psteng19

1. Why would I follow the MID if synthetic oil lasts longer than conventional oil?
Normally, synth offers twice the life of dino oil, 6000 vs 3000 miles, and in some cases synth can go 10,000.

If I can go 5000 on dino, then I was figuring about 7-8000 miles on synthetic.

2. Why should I drive it like I stole it? 5w-20 is thinner than 5w-30 which means less protection.

ThirdLane

I've been using M1 synthetic since my first oil change, and I usually go 5500-6500miles per oil change. You can run 10K miles as long as your oil filter is upto the challenge

juzam2002

I see no harm in using 5w-20. it is what the 09 TSX's call for. I don't think there is really anything drastically different between the 08 and 09's engines. Just my

1Louder

I change my synthetic oil at 5K regardless of the MID (but, it's usually at around 15% by then). I don't mess with it, the money you save extending to 6 or even 7K amounts to the cost of a cup of coffee.

I'd leave in the 5W-20 and let it ride - fix it on the next change.

keg1997

I use M1 andf go 10K btwn oil changes, as noted in my maintenance book. Almost 70K and no issues...purrs like a kitten

knakane

I have used M1 since my first oil change (04 MT 76,000miles) & have been changing every 5000 miles and using M1 oil filters only. I know it may be excessive, but nothing compares to the way the car runs w/clean oil. What's $40 every few months when the car is running good and also for peace of mind.

nbtx

Common myth - synthetic does not offer extended life because once the additives are used up and it's contaminated with acids and other junk, it's time to drain it. The only real advantage of synthetic is its low and high temperature stability. Synthetic can go above 300 degrees F without coking, and it pours easier at -40 degrees F.

The MID isn't smart enough to sense synthetic vs. conventional oil and compensate accordingly for any (perceived by the customer) additional mileage with synthetic. Honda added the MID in 2006 - the earlier cars had a 10,000 mile light duty change interval, and my 06 gets me about 5200 miles to 0% oil life with highway driving. I'm guessing the engineers found the 10,000 mile change interval being interpreted by customers as OK when they should have been using the 5000 mile extreme duty interval instead, thus leading to more warrantee repair claims. So by adding the MID, the dealer gets more business and your engine stay cleaner and is protected better
throughout the warrantee interval.

And if you intend to run synthetic beyond the MID interval, you'll be nagged by the OLM until you reset it. If you have the dealer change your oil, you'll get questioned.
If you do your own oil changes and reset the OLM in the middle of the interval ...
well, good luck documenting the correct maintenance if there is an engine failure.

Since I do my own oil changes, I keep receipts for the oil and filters and I log the mileage and date to back up when I reset the OLM. I do this because I'm pretty sure the ECM records the miles and date when the OLM is reset.

SodaLuvr