jim_RENAMED

I want to do my own oil changes. Is it really necessary to get a special tool from Acura to remove the oil filter and how much does the oil filter wrench cost? Also is the filter located underneath the maintenance cover? I havent been able to locate it. And is it easy to take off that cover and get to the filter without raising the car?
Even though the owers manual says to not change the oil before the scheduled interval I am of old school and believe a new or rebuilt engine should get an oil change after the first 1000 miles.
Is this not the case anymore with newer engines?
Thanks for any help.

LeeLee

*DO NOT* change your oil until the first recommended oil change interval. Most of us agree 5000 miles is a good mark for the first oil change.

I don't have a TSX so I have no idea where the oil filter sits, but it is most likely accessed from under the car, thus requiring the car to be raised.

There is no maintenance cover to remove to access the oil filter. It should be in plain sight.

Any small metal-band type oil filter wrench should work on the Honda/Acura oil filter. Acura may sell a special tool that fits the OEM filter, but you should simply buy a good quality metal-band type filter wrench.

MSB128

Naptown reporting....

Everyone seems to say not to change the oil prior to the first scheduled maintenance. I don't remember reading about that in the manual, but it is in the Owner Link FAQ for Acura owners. Just sign up at acura.com on the right is a link to Owners. It has some FAQs and all that good info if you want to read up on it.

Here's a snippet from that FAQ:

Why should I wait to change the oil the first time?
Your Acura engine was delivered with an oil that is specially formulated for new engines that have not yet developed their "natural" wear patterns and may contain minute particles from the manufacturing process.
American Honda strongly recommends this special oil be left in the engine long enough for these wear patterns to develop, usually until the first maintenance interval specified in your Owner's Manual, based on your specific driving conditions.
Why should I wait to change the oil the first time?

Naptown out.

DEVO

Do not put on the filter with an oil wrench, chances are you will over tighten it. Use your hand only. Make sure to put oil on the seal of the filter first, also make sure the seal of the older filter came off with the filter and is not stuck on the engine.

The cover is probably held on with plastic snap in plugs... make sure the plastic is warm or you will snap them off.

nuke

The access cover for the drain plug is held on with one bolt. The oil filter looks like a similar location to my old integra; no access cover and just reach up behind the engine. The mechanic used a cap that fit over the end of the filter attached to his wrench. On my integra, I used a cap over the filter to reach it and just tightened it without the wrench.
You have to jack up the car at least on one side unless you are really skinny.

moda_way

1. Filter wrench is not necessary, but even in the manual it says to turn filter with wrench after hand tight. Also, Honda is moving to smaller filters, so the wrench offered currently, which I have, will be obsolete in the new year. I will definitely be buying the new filter wrench when it comes out... IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD to have this simple yet PERFECT tool.

2. Waiting until 5000 miles is fine, but changing the oil sooner is fine too. I've researched this "special break-in oil" and if you want the real skinny, it makes no difference in the long run.

3. The access point for the drain plug is held on with one bolt. I will caution on taking the filter off... let the car cool down because if the filter is loaded with oil, it will spill all over the plastic underbody tray.

I'm not trying to de-value anyone's opinion, but it sounds as if most of the people giving you advice haven't changed their oil on their TSX. Click on my link in my sig and you'll see that I've got A LOT of experience on working with the TSX bits and pieces.

rb1

Thank goodness for some sanity here...

So, is the "special break-in oil" just something from off the shelf as I have always suspected?

moda_way

I've posted many times before, but no, the oil isn't special. As a matter of fact, I believe it is Mobil oil (not the synthetic obviously). Analysis was done on the oil by someone and found high amounts of moly (high grade gear oil) and boron (a stabilizer). The moly is simply part of the assembly of the engine and the boron is to balance acidity.

Hell, I don't care if someone wants to buy straight Honda oil, but I know it won't be any better than Mobil 1 straight off of Walmart's shelf.

1killercls

why change your own oil?? My dealer changes mine...$32.00. I get the car back vacumed and washed too!!!
No worries about oil disposal or any of the mess or fuss.

Brad

Why change my own oil? I change my oil every 2500 miles. I can save a good deal of money, especially given my frequency.

I will heed Acura's advice and await the 5,000 mile marker before changing my oil for the first time. Errrrr, wellllllllllll, there's a technical difficulty in achieving that, however. I haven't take delivery of my TSX yet. It's sooo funny to read about everyone else on this forum taking delivery on their cars--well after I ordered mine!

moda_way

Well, for $19 I get 5 qt jug of Mobil 1 5W-30 and for $4 I get a Honda oil filter. So after 100k miles, I shave about $222 off the cost of maintenance... THAT'S 1 REASON amongst many, albeit small.

As for oil disposal, most Walmarts recycle oil if you drop it off, so I'm so not worried about that.

Finally, they only one fussing about the oil is you, I'm just offering a suggestion.


P.S. I take care of the vacuuming and washing (um... Zaino??) myself. I don't dare let anyone else take care of my precious car.

1killercls

$222.00 BAH..Pocket change. I will let the dealer do it and stay clean. Have fun under your car...:pfawk:

Also...you $220.00 firgure does not include YOUR TIME.

MY TIME is way to valuble to be spent with such tasks as changing my own oil.

35kcdn

rb4580

I agree w/1 killer.... I could save 500$ a year and I still wouldn't do my own oil.... plus when I sell my car it always looks nice to have all those DEALER records for things like oil changes, ect!

Roadrunner_RENAMED

I'm with Moda on this.
Maybe you are close to a dealer killer but I'm not. I can be done on my own way before I could even get to my dealer who is an hour away.
I also use Mobil 1 and never trust a dealer to actually put it in even though they charge you for it.
My time is important to me but I can save more and do it right
myself in less time.
It's also good to get into your own car maintenance since I have yet to have a dealer tell me they see a warranty maintenance
issue while they were servicing my vehicle. They don't tend to volunteer this type of information.
Keep all your receipts of your oil change items and you will not have much issue with any claims. Also fill out your maintenance log book. As they say, document, document, etc.

1killercls

Road..In your case being an hour away...sure..change your own.

moda_way

killer, I've seen how much you post on the forums and I wonder about how valuable your time is.

Personally, I take a lot of pride in doing maintenance on my car. For me, I spend about a 1/2 hour on changing my own oil. You'll sit at a dealer for at least that long.

I also took some time to create a little MS Access database to store ALL my maintenance records. Now, I can just give a simple report printout and receipts as my documentation. Sure, a dealer stamp LOOKS good, but then again, I have every piece of information filed on my car. That's as good as gold to buyer of a used car.