Scrib

What I mean is...

I've had my car for EXACTLY one year and it hasn't been back to the dealer yet for any issues, or maintanence work. I'm coming up on 7500 miles. Do I need to take the car in for an oil change there, or can I do it myself? I'm just concerned that since the car hasn't been back to the dealer yet, they might wonder if I've been keeping up on the maintanence, etc...

I know this may sound like a stupid question, but my dealer is 40+ miles away and I could save myself some time and some money if I don't need to go.

Thanks!

jimcol711

dude, do it yourself, why hassle it with that kind of drive? take it to the local jiffy lube or do it yourself.

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Kerep record of service and you are covered you are not required to do regular service at the dealer.

Slimey

Do it yourself or have a local person do it. Just keep the receipts for documentation of service and you'll be fine with warranty issues.

Make sure, if you remove the drain bolt, that you replace the crush washer with a new one. Honda/Acura claims they are for one time use only.

You can get them at any Honda dealer too (or online at AHMotorsports); for that matter, you can have your oil changed at a Honda dealer if that's more convenient.

dbox

only 7500 miles in 1 year! damn i have had mine since april and i have put 13000 on it.
about the oil change- buy the oil at cost-co. they have mobil 1 pretty cheap. then take the car to a oil change place and pay 20.00 for labor. i do that so i dont have to worry with dumping the old oil.

mattg

do it yourself.

it would be a waste of time and money to take it in.


this isn't the first oil change, right

JasonT

Shame on you. No oil change for a whole year!

Pappy

If I were you, I would change the oil every 90 days because of low use (unless you lease). You don't want the engine sludging up on you. Change the oil yourself if you want, but keep records.

Scrib

No

I changed it myself at 3750...


I guess I'll save myself a trip and do it myself. I've never heard of having to replce the "Crush" washer after every oil change... Anyone else care to verify this???

Scrib

Yeah, I do keep records of all maintanence including dates, what was done, etc...

I just called the local Honda dealer and asked them about the Crush washer. They said to just swing on by and they'll give me a bunch. I've always changed the oil in my other cars, and never changed them...

Thanks for the tip!

Redpaste

I agree with dbox, all I did was buy some mobil 1 and pureone filter, took it to a honda dealership(Acura is too far) they changed it for 8 bucks

KavexTrax

Does anyone else agree about changing oil more often for low use vehicles?

Nashua_Night_Hawk

7500 mile or each 6 months.

Scrib

I really don't consider 7500 miles/year low... And the whole change you oil every 90 days or 3000 miles is bologna. Just more money for the oil companies...

Now granted I'm no expert in this, but oil has come a long way. People go 3, 5, 10000 miles on motor oil with little harm at all...

Slimey

It's a Honda thing and it's real. There is a washer between the bolt and the pan that deforms when you torque the bolt. This supposedly forms a good seal and prevents too much trauma to the pan. Honda states that this washer is a single use item and needs to be changed every time you untorque the bolt. I've heard of people reusing these, but Honda doesn't recommend that.

You'll find the crush washer described in the manual.

I'm not sure if the Jiffylube-type place knows this. You may have to provide them with the washer.

As you found out, most dealerships either give them out or charge you a few cents. For that price, I'd go ahead and change it if I took off the bolt.

Personally, I don't change it because I don't take off the bolt. I extract the oil with an oil extractor through the dip stick chute and take off the filter through the wheel well when the wheel is turned to the right. No jacks, no mess.

Scrib

Can you get at the plug with this method? My Dad has some old school car ramps, which work well, but always scare me every time we put a car up on them. If we can get at the filter and drain the old with this method that would be great.

Or... Would it be to our advantage to remove the wheel to have more access??? Jack the car up???

Sypher

My local Jiffylube knew about and replaced my crush washer during my last oil change. It is a common thing in Hondas, so it is somewhat well-known at those places.

Definitely keep receipts. Some dealers like to deny warranty service if you haven't done all of your maintenance through them, but the paper trail will save you.

Slimey

You'd have more room to work if you jacked up the right front corner and removed the wheel. If your car is not lowered you can almost get under the car (depending on how thin you are), but I think your positioning would be too precarious to really drain the oil and not get it all over your face. It would also be hard to reach up with a rachet and torque correctly. When I was first checking out the undersurface of the car I used a large cardboard box flattened out as a creeper to carefully slide underneath

If you car is jacked up on the right corner only I wonder if all the oil would drain out. If you look at the pan you'll see that the plug is on the right side of it...if the car is tilted with the right side up and the left side on the ground I would think that a few milliliters of oil may go unchanged. Probably not a real issue to worry about though.

You don't need to jack up the car to get at the filter. Just turn the wheel all the way to the right and it's there.

The ramps sort of scare me too, and I heard they're harder to use on a FWD car.

fender4

Use synthetic ,,, in your case good for a year,,, use a GOOD Filter and REAL synthetic,,, no sludge possible because Mobil1 or Amsoil isn't hydrocarbon based...