I realize they're plenty of threads on this topic, but many I read today are several years old.

My question is how many miles are you getting (on MID equipped TSX) between oil changes. I ask because a coworker has has an '08 6MT TSX NAVI says she's barely seeing 4K before the oil life reaches 15%. I thought this was a bit low, especially compared to my '06 TL 5AT NAVI. I'm using Mobil 1 and I'm getting anywhere from 7-9K.

 

I believe the MID calculates oil life based off certain factors...ie; RPM's, city or highway driving, and some others.

since she has the six speed, she could be taking the RPM's all the way to redline multiple times a day.
I noticed in my six speed TL, the more often I engage vtec the faster the oil life comes down.

 

I average 600-650 miles per 10% of oil life-

 

I have never waitied on my '08 6MT nav for the MID to tell me to change oil. By 4000 miles I am changing no matter what the MID will say. My '10 RL had 50% left @ 4300 miles according to the MID - I change dit anyway.

 

I am getting right around 5000 miles before the MID lights up with a '07 TSX automatic.

 

About 5500 miles to zero with my 06 6-spd. And the oil type makes no difference.

 

Well, oil can operate within spec. for over several thousand miles but oil filters can't.

 

about 5500 miles between oil/filter changes.

06 AT - 95% city driving.

 

08' AT w/Navi. Approx 5K until 15%. Tested Oil @ Blackstone, said had about 10% left after test. So I trust the computer.

 

Interesting observations above, by several people. It all makes good sense and I've noticed the same thing with regard to driving habits.

There seems to be some agreement that engaging the VTEC regularly reduces oil life.

So here's a question; since Hondata effectively lowers the RPM level at which VTEC engages, does a car that has been reflashed need more frequent oil changes? (Just as far as the MID is concerned.) Anyone here who has had a car for a lengthy enough periods -- both before and after -- care to comment?

 

3k oil and filter, with a bottle of Techron for the fuel system.

 

Don't have the MM (I have a 2004), but I change every 5K, Mobil 1 Synthetic.

 

07 6spd/nav. Around 6k mile +/- a few hundred miles when it reaches 0miles. I do about 80% freeway miles and really easy on the car.

 

This was my policy with my 05 TSX, but after having the oil analyzed a few times (Blackstone), per their recommendation, I've lengthened my change interval to 7500 miles with no noticeable degradation. This is a blanket policy, though I can go shorter (when I go to 0W-30 for the winter for instance). How often we change our oil and filter is one of those no win debates that I would prefer to try and discourage as there seem to be as many theories or preferences as there are days in the year (though there seem to be many more here that change their oil way too often based on real world experience as opposed to not often enough). More to the point though, my wife's 07 TSX seems to average around 6500 to 7K miles to 0% on the MM. That's virtually all highway driving on synthetic oil (though I'm sure the MM has absolutely no idea what kind of oil is in there).

 

I change my oil about every 12,000 miles. I use synthetic oil with high quality filter. I reset my MM when it gets to 15% then let it go down to 15% the second time before oil change.

 

You're right Simba, I'm sure I'm changing it too frequently. I've read a lot of articles lately that indicate a 10,000 mile oil change using high quality full-synthetic oil is perfectly fine as well.

The one saving grace for me is I really don't drive that much - my daily commute to work is about 20-25 miles round trip, so even at 5K, I'm really only at the dealership (I really don't miss the experience of changing oil at all) twice a year. I actually like going in just to have them do the 25 point inspection just to give me some piece of mind that nothing else is materially wrong with the car that I wouldn't pick up on.

I guess I'm just old school - I had a hard enough time in my mind going from 3K (the old standard) to 5K. I'm sure in time I'll be comfortable with a 7.5K oil change. Baby steps...

I guess the one question I would have is what do you think is the max amount of time you could leave oil in your car. And when I say time, I mean months? If I go 7,500 miles between changes, I could be possibly looking at 9 months or so of using the same oil. Any issues with this?

 

In Europe, many cars have change intervals at 25k kilometers or 24 months.

I change mine every spring and fall, which for me is roughly 6000 miles / 9000km. I drive in enough dust and, in the winter, enough cold temps with cold starts, that this is cheap insurance for me. If I lived in a place where it rarely dipped well into the freezing temperatures, or well above 100*F, then I'd probably change it once a year with a high quality synthetic (which I use now - Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30).

 

The 2005 TSX Manual says the intervals for oil changes are 5,000 miles for severe driving conditions and 10,000 miles for normail driving conditions. 05's don't have the oil life indicator. I started to get mine change around 7,500 miles splitting the difference between the two.

 

TSX with 6MT. I drive it fairly hard, and rarely get over 4k miles before the MID reaches 0%.