slickrab

Hi all,

I have been finding answers about this all thrown around different threads and I am still unsure of the best thing to do in terms of getting an oil change. Here are my questions.

First 5k service due soon (30% Oil Life) - 1/2 NYC driving and 1/2 highway driving

1. Should I take the car to my dealer for the 5k service and get it changed with OEM oils or switch to Mobil 1 or Royal Purple?
2. Should I do the switch at 10k?
3. Which is better Mobil 1 or Royal Purple?
4. If I do the change to Mobil 1 or Royal Purple, is the correct oil filter size M1-110?
5. Do I still use the OEM Drain plug or are there aftermarkets for the change to synthetic oil and the change to a different oil filter?

My dealer's price for 5k service is $34.95 w/ coupon. Auto barn has a special on Royal Purple 5w30 for $5.99 p/qt and Mobil 1 @ $6.99 p/qt.

Any advice is appreciated.

ck123

1. dealer will just put regular oil in it, change to whatever you like
2. nah manual says change at 5k
3.royal purple
4.ask for the right size
5.use oem drain plug or even buy a magnetic drain plug but change the washer. oem filters are good. i like to use purolator oil filters. very good results(test proven) + very inexpensive.

acura uses regular 5w-30 mobile 1 oil.

mg7726

NYC driving i'd change my oil 5k - 7k, where do you buy mobil1 for $7/quart, that's a major ripp. go to costco or walmart and get it for $5/quart.

you keep the same drain plug. no idea about royal purple, if i ever change brands it'd be amsoil.

slickrab

I meant the "switch" to synthetic, not switching the oil.

I meant the dran plug washer.

Can anyone confirm the right Mobil 1 Filter size? Is it 110 or 105? Is the drain plug washer replaced each oil change or every other oil change when the filter is swapped?

BulldogHockey

1. Should I take the car to my dealer for the 5k service and get it changed with OEM oils or switch to Mobil 1 or Royal Purple? Can do as you wish. I did the first 10k on dino oil to make sure it was fully broken in prior to switching to synthetic.
2. Should I do the switch at 10k? I would, but again up to you
3. Which is better Mobil 1 or Royal Purple? Mobil 1 is now group III base stock, which means it is not 100% PAO synthetic anymore (after Katrina hit their production facility). It's due to a BS legal ruling that says you can label 100% synthetic even though its not. That being said I have M1 in both of my vehicles. Am considering switching to Amsoil as it's still 100% PAO. RP is Group V if I remember, which includes esters?
4. If I do the change to Mobil 1 or Royal Purple, is the correct oil filter size M1-110?Dunno, I use the Purolator Pure 1's
5. Do I still use the OEM Drain plug or are there aftermarkets for the change to synthetic oil and the change to a different oil filter?I use the OEM with new crush washers every change

Simba91102

I'd suggest leaving the oil in till you get closer to 0%. The first oil fill is break in oil (according to Honda anyway) and I'd leave it in as long as possible. I went to synthetic in both our 05 and 07 at the first change; I don't see any reason to wait. The oil choice thing seems to be kind of a debate here like extended warranties and tire choice; no clear cut winner but everyone has an opinion. I use whatever is cheapest at the time at Wal-Mart (and bring it when the dealer does the service). For a filter I'd suggest either Honda's replacement filter or K&N (I buy 6 at a time). Use a new crush washer every time if you're doing it yourself (the dealer will). I have the dealer do the service on the 07 whenever the MID tells us it's ready. I also have them do the regularly scheduled service on the 05 every 10K miles (the interval for that car). I change the oil in the 05 myself again at the 5K mile break between the dealer stops. Although I'm capable of doing pretty much all the service work myself, I decided years ago that it's worth it to me (my wife and I drive allot of miles) to maintain a close relationship with my dealer. It's cost a little more to have them do all the service work, but they've been there for me when I've had a problem.

pekkieboyz

what size is our washer?? I'm having trouble with finding a washer that fit our drain bolt. I'm still using my first OEM washer.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

can't remember the size, but you can easily purchase them from ebay from honda/acura dealerships.

acura of peoria

davidspalding

My . Do as per the manual. Wait until 0%. Put in what you want. You can have a dealer do it, but a local reputable service shop will do as well for less, the crush washer is an easily procured part, common to Acuras and Hondas (so I'm told). Check your manual for how to reset the MID oil life "timer."
Blue ribbon winner for longest page-bloating sigline.

club_euro2

i am at 20% oil life. it is a 2008 and i do mostly city driving. Current Mileage is about 3200 miles. got the car in August. Shall i get it changed at 15% oil life?
Thanks for the feedback.
umair

nj2pa2nc

you could but I would wait until it gets to 0%

npolite

You should leave the break in oil until it is at least down to 15%. If you can wait until it is down to 5, it is better. Honda/Acura dealers are only required to use Honda OEM oil filters, the oil itself could be the cheapest crud they can buy.

You should also replace the drain plug washer each time as it is a crush washer unless you want to risk oil dripping from it. This is very unlikely to occur but the risk is there. Make sure to torque the drain bolt to specifications in your owner’s manual. As far as oil filters go, Honda/Acura only has two kinds of oil filters, one for the SUVs which is a bit larger, and the regular size for all cars. Go to your local Honda dealer and get them as it will be about 50 cents cheaper then getting it at the Acura dealer.

Some people on the usenet groups have said that there is no added benefit in running synthetic in your car. One poster ran a test on his 1992 Civic using regular oil and after 120k miles there were no problems using dino oil. I run Mobil One in all of my Hondas but never noticed a difference in the performance of my cars.

SodaLuvr

1. Use conventional oil. It's unlikely that you will gain any benefit from using synthetic oil under normal driving.
2. No, stick with conventional oil.
3. Again, use conventional oil. Probably Mobil 1 if I had to choose between the two.
4. M1-110 is the correct filter.
5. Use the same drain plug regardless of what oil you decide to pour in your car.

club_euro2

Thanks for the feedback. I will get the oil changed at 15%.
Umair

npolite

I don't know if it really matters but I would recommend getting the Mobil Syth-Blend since most cars will go over the 5k miles that the regular Mobil One is guaranteed for.

SodaLuvr

All of the ExxonMobil products are certified for latest API rating. They will last the full length of the interval that is recommended by the Maintenance Minder. Anything from the entry-level Mobil 5000 to the Mobil 1 EP will do the job fine. There's no advantage to using anything better than the entry level product unless you are taking the vehicle to the track.

davidspalding

Do it at 0%. 0% does not mean "OMFG, you must change the oil right friggin' now!" It means, "Time to change the oil, bub." 15% means you've got something like 250 or 500 miles to go. Why spend more money changing oil even more often than the ~5000 that the current manual recommends. (Bear in mind that the 2004 model, with roughly the same engine, recommended oil changes at 10,000 miles. It's the subject of many a debate, none of them really settling the issue.)

And, Yes, I know you're talking about the "break-in oil" in the powerplant.

club_euro2

Thank You . I am getting free oil changes for the next seven years
umair

nbtx

Any NAPA store has them.

Tex929rr

Good advice. I changed mine last month at 40 percent. There were 4212 miles from the previous (first) oil change, with only 9317 total miles on the engine. I would have gone a bit longer but it was convenient to do the change the same day as another car I keep in that garage. Here are the comments from the oil analysis:

"Another engine that's improving nicely. You can see this Honda maturing in wear in the lower metals we found in this sample. Silicon is dropping too, just like it should. Most engines get past wear-in by 10,000 miles or so, though sometimes it takes longer. You can expect your metals and silicon to read at average levels with the next couple of oil changes. The viscosity was fine for Mobil 1 5W/30 oil. The oil had a varnished tint to it, and that's common with synthetic oil. Even if you ran the next oil 5000 miles, we think wear and silicon would drop again. Looking good."

davidspalding

40% ... at 4212 miles since previous oil change?? Curious.

Tex929rr

Yes, I thought it was strange as well. We'll see what happens this go round.

slickrab

I checked my local costco and the don't carry motor oil. Im going to a nearby Walmart and checking the pricing theyre for Mobil 1.

bignoodleboi

i usually go to wal-mart and get those 5qt. mobile 1 its cheaper than buying each bottle and wal-mart sell those 5qt. mobile 1 for $22.00 compare to $5.69 each per bottle

slickrab

damn walmart closed early today! k-mart was still open at 8pm though but a qt there was 5.99. no 5qt bottles.

adc

Not trying to get into an argument here..its Christmas.
There is no evidence that Honda's "Break in Oil" is anything special. It just has lots of Molybdenum in it. I personally like to change it out earlier. I have done it on multiple cars. It won't hurt a thing. You might want to go with an oil that has a good shot of "Moly" like Havoline Dino Oil.

I personally don't care for Royal Purple bc its over priced and Shears down. (Its a Group IV) oil. Mobil 1 is overpriced as it is now a 'pretend' synthetic. Pennzoil Plat is at least as good and you can get it on sale for 2 forj one or normally under 4 bucks.

Do a used oil analysis after your next change. www.blackstone-labs.com

malish

i have 15% oil life left and my service light went on with 2200 miles on the motor. isnt that too low of miles for the light to go on? i really need your help guys, im really confused to as why the light went on so early

SodaLuvr

It is uncommon at all for NYC driving conditions. We've had people on the RDX forum need a service before 2000 miles.

This really proves that sometimes even the old school 3k interval isn't enough for some conditions.

Simba91102

I'm inclined to disagree here, but it's just my opinion. I can't imagine the conditions that would prompt the MID to call for an oil change so soon. I'm not saying the conditions don't exist (although I'd be real interested to know what it would take for a stock, street driven car to require a change at that mileage), it's just that I can't believe the oil life monitor is sophisticated enough to recognize it. My first step would be to quiz the dealer about this. And although the service requirements for the oil in an RDX are different due to that cars' turbocharged engine, I'd be mighty suspicious of it in that case too if an oil change was called for at 2000 miles.

davidspalding

I've noted that 15% oil service life translates to roughly 1000 miles on my 2006 model with 45,000 miles on it or so. I dislike that at 15% remaining (about month's driving) the car's annoyware maintenance minder blings and demands attention at each startup.

I'm with Simba, as it's a new car, ask the dealer about this. And as per this post, have analysis done as a precaution.

SodaLuvr

I talked to a GM engineer who worked on the oil life monitor project for GM, and he said that this is common for GM vehicles as well if the vehicle is operated under very severe service.

nj2pa2nc

With the driving I do I get about 600 miles for each 10% oil life. I get about 5,100 miles at 15% oil life. My tsx is catching up to you david spalding-it has almost 42,000 miles, going on 17 months.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

i think i took my car in too early for servicing for the 1st oil change. i was at 15% and probably had 3-4000k miles on it.

i recently had the second change at 7600, and i was down to 5% oil life.

i'm planning to switch over to synthetic when i do my next change, and i'll probably just do it myself and document it all. just going to use mobil1 5w-30 and the mobil1 filter for our car.
i already bought a few of those crush washers.