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If I am correct, the 3.5-liter V6 engine known as the J35A3 was used in the 2005 - 2008 model year RL. What is the oil spec for those years? Was a 5W-20 called for or was it 5W-30?
Thanks. Does it explicitly say non-synthetic, or when you say that does that just mean it doesn't explicitly call for synthetic? I'm assuming the latter.
Do you have no manual? There is one in the garage after the instructions for searching before posting. The manual states 5-20, Honda oil. The Honda oil right now is non-synthetic as far as I am aware of. Plenty of us here use synthetic. We talked about it to ad nauseum in the thread, "Motor Oil?". Some use 0w-20 and some, like myself, us 5w-30.
Thanks. Does it explicitly say non-synthetic, or when you say that does that just mean it doesn't explicitly call for synthetic? I'm assuming the latter.
Nope! Synthetic is fine; and preferred by most experts.
The maker of the car IS an expert. However, there are generally two types of experts in production companies, technical experts (engineers) and business experts. From a business standpoint, the company is only concerned about keeping the car running through the warranty period, let's say 100k mi, while keeping cost of production as low as possible. The use of non-synthetic will easily achieve the warranty milage benchmark with no reliability issues within the near future. It makes since from a cost analysis view to use the cheapest product available that satisfies reliability requirements. Notice that the manual states "Honda Genuine Oil". This is the same used in a Civic DX, the cheapest car Honda makes (I believe). Across the entire Honda fleet, the factory has to fill up roughly 5 quarts of oil for every single car it makes. Take into account an increase in oil cost, and you are talking about millions if not billions of dollars.
Ask the engineers what they run in their cars. I would put money on more than half saying synthetic. Which expert do you want to ask, the one who cares about quarterly profits or the one who cares about residual impurities and mechanical wear across the life of the engine?
The local Acura dealership uses Quaker State 5-20 Synthetic Oil. I last had my oil changed July 13, 2010 and I still have 40% left before my next due date.
So am I. If that is so, you should know that the people who design/optimize the system and the people who market the system aren't the same people. Marketing and the executives get the final say so in a project even if though they don't understand it the way the engineers do.
JRock proves it right here too that synthetic is A-OK with Acura. If it weren't, Acura wouldn't let them use it.
Sorry 007 your out to lunch! I hope you know there is no real dealer in north America and if you think there going to fly in from Japan to help people your mistaken. I must laugh at how gullible some people are...use what you guys want to believe works no since talking when you don't really know what your talking about.
I am also an engineer and my computations concluded that when you use 2 12 inch subs driven by 1200 watts in an enclosure the size of an RL then you must breathe in sync with the bass notes otherwise your chest will compress to suffocation!
Sorry 007 your out to lunch! I hope you know there is no real dealer in north America and if you think there going to fly in from Japan to help people your mistaken. I must laugh at how gullible some people are...use what you guys want to believe works no since talking when you don't really know what your talking about.
rtr, what is your justification for concluding there is no "real dealer" in America? What is your source? Why would Acura pay for warranty repairs if their workers were doing work not approved by engineers? The Japanese are very adamant and particular about their business, and I am not gullible enough to believe they would allow just anyone to run their business. Since you think we are so gullible to fall for the false information we are so good at finding, I will ask you again what I did in the Motor Oil thread. Do you have any credible sources to back up your conclusions? Or are you as gullible as we are?
db, turning down the volume to catch a breath works just fine. :wink:
All I know is I need 1.21 gigawatts of power (from either plutonium, Mr. Fusion, or a lightning bolt), flux capacitor and drive 88 mph to go back or forward in time.
yes 007 i have many things to back up what i say! If you want to know anything in particular let me know other wise learn for your self the hard way. Not only Have i worked at Honda but i love them and want to help people that own and like them to. Next time your at the Acura dealer ask them the name of the guy who owns the place?? There is your first answer.
Okay, what exactly do you mean there is no "real" dealer in America? Could you please explain it to me b/c I don't understand. Also, if you would be so kind as to inform me where that information came from, I would appreciate it. I have done searches on the Internet, but I cannot find information supporting this idea. There aren't enough details in your statements for me to "learn it... the hard way".
I find it hard to believe you really want to help people learn about Hondas b/c your statements are generally rude, lack informative detail, and don't state what your basis for the information is. I'm not saying you don't know what you are talking about, but rather, I'm saying it is much more helpful to be detailed and polite when you explain something. Saying things like "get real" and "no since in talking to you" doesn't make someone think you want to help any more than you want to bash them.
How did we get her from an inquiry about what the oil spec was for the 2005 - 2008 model year RL? The first couple of replies answered the question and I appreciate those answers.
How did we get her from an inquiry about what the oil spec was for the 2005 - 2008 model year RL? The first couple of replies answered the question and I appreciate those answers.
just a debate that's fine as long as it stays civil.
Honda recommends 5W-20 and is allowing dealers to use 0W-20 if the customer wants it.
5W-20 is plenty fine for most consumers that aren't driving in the upper RPM range constantly. If that were the case I'd suggest 5W-30 oil.
Also as far as synthetic vs. non-synthetic, a REAL Synthetic such as Redline or Amsoil is far more stable and don't turn acidic after a while. As well their properties allow for more mileage with the same level of protection. If you run synthetic in the RL according to the MID you'll have a SUPERB level of protection. If you run regular oil you'll be fine as well if you follow the MID and change it when it tells you to.
And who are you the grammar police!
Everyone has something to say except stick to the real answer 5w20. Guess you guys just want to be cool and put oil that is not recommend then go ahead and we will see what happens! I'm not going to waste my time bla bla bla like I said if you want proof of something PM me and I will give you the answer personally in stead of this goofy shit.
If you had proof you would have posted it a long time ago. There is no proof for your oil claims. In every oil-related thread we have had, you just call everyone who uses synthetic oil a bunch of idiots.
I want proof, but I want you to post it here for everyone to see. If you refuse, I will PM you and then copy and paste it into a thread. Either way works for me, but I'm am believing less and less that you know what you are talking about since you refuse to answer my questions.
Thank you csmeance for your input. I don't feel comfortable enough with the 20 weight at the temperatures I run in and especially since I do regularly hit high RPMs. The 20 weight works fine for Japan and the northern half of the US with lower temps, but alot of people in Texas don't think it is thick enough for us. Same would go for AZ, NV, NM, and parts of Cali that regularly hit over 100.
Hey guys!
Couple of questions:
1) After driving about 1500K miles, is this normal color for the oil? The car should have Acura's 5w-20 Synthetic Blend motor oil in the engine.
2) If anyone changed oil at the dealer, do they fill oil up to the full mark or similar to my example in the image below?
They probably install 4.5 quarts.....just guessing.
Just trying to find out if vehicle is consuming oil or not. So I checked the oil level at 900 miles and it was about the same and then checked at 1500 and seems to be the same. So I don't know if dealership filled it like that or the car ate a bit when the oil was new, then stopped the at current mark. Yesterday, while driving at slow speed, I was testing steering components by turning steering wheel left/right rapidly which was rocking the car from side to side. At that moment for a split second, the car showed "check oil light" and immediately disappeared. No messages in the car's system or any lights. Maybe I need to add bit more oil OR rocking the car made the light to show app
Hey guys!
Couple of questions:
1) After driving about 1500K miles, is this normal color for the oil? The car should have Acura's 5w-20 Synthetic Blend motor oil in the engine.
2) If anyone changed oil at the dealer, do they fill oil up to the full mark or similar to my example in the image below?
Car had ~ 111K when I took the measurement
Looking at the condition of the dipstick and knowing that you have 09+ RL. Yes, it is consuming oil
Looking at the condition of the dipstick and knowing that you have 09+ RL. Yes, it is consuming oil
I took a reading today of the oil level and when car is warmed up it shows similar level as it did 1200k miles ago. When car is cold it shows lower level. In the second image I added almost 1/2 quart of 5w-20 synthetic blend oil and now it seems to be full. I guess will have to monitor and see what I get. The burnt oil mark on the stick got a bit cleaner, but the other side of the dipstick is clean.
The issue is that I don't know what oil(conventional/blend/synth) Acura uses for their oil change but I do know that before I bought the car it had 5w-20 synth blend put in by the dealer. Even if the car consumes some oil, it doesn't take more than half quart between oil changes. Today is the first time, I put some oil in 2700K miles, just to be on the safe side.
Before adding oil and car is warmed up Added some oil just in case
It starts to burn more oil after 3k miles, I do not recommend to go over 3k miles on j37 engines with low tension rings.
Keep in mind, burned oil will not just go out through the exhaust, carbon will attach it self to pistons and valves-heads.
It starts to burn more oil after 3k miles, I do not recommend to go over 3k miles on j37 engines with low tension rings.
Keep in mind, burned oil will not just go out through the exhaust, carbon will attach it self to pistons and valves-heads.
My 2010 RL doesn't seem to be burning a lot of oil which is good. I rarely hit over 5K RPM but will try not to for a month to see if VTEC has something to do with oil consumption.
1) It seem that you recommend to change oil every 3k miles with the type of oil I use. If I go this route then I won't be resetting the MID in between oil changes.
2) What if I go with full synthetic, will it allow me to wait for the MID and then change oil?
My 2010 RL doesn't seem to be burning a lot of oil which is good. I rarely hit over 5K RPM but will try not to for a month to see if VTEC has something to do with oil consumption.
1) It seem that you recommend to change oil every 3k miles with the type of oil I use. If I go this route then I won't be resetting the MID in between oil changes.
2) What if I go with full synthetic, will it allow me to wait for the MID and then change oil?
Vtec have nothing to do with oil consumption. There is nothing wrong to hit vtec, keep in mind, high rpms is the best lubrication for your engine.
09-12 RL's burn oil due to low tension compression rings and small openings in oil return rings. Mid Calibration for these engines is failure on Honda's side. This is main and first cause of oil consumption (piston design and oil return rings too) .
It doesn't really matter what oil you chose at this point, oil return rings is getting clogged, prolonged oil changes will speed up this process.
Last edited by dzionny_dzionassi; Jan 4, 2021 at 09:08 PM.
Vtec have nothing to do with oil consumption. There is nothing wrong to hit vtec, keep in mind, high rpms is the best lubrication for your engine.
09-12 RL's burn oil due to low tension compression rings and small openings in oil return rings. Mid Calibration for these engines is failure on Honda's side. This is main and first cause of oil consumption (piston design and oil return rings too) .
It doesn't really matter what oil you chose at this point, oil return rings is getting clogged, prolonged oil changes will speed up this process.
- If that is the case, oil isn't expensive and can easily be changed. Since I don't drive long distances, it may take me about 5 months to get to 3000k, so I won't be bothered with monthly oil changes I wonder if a good quality oil may help in cleaning some engine deposits.
- The first(previous) owner of the car changed oil by MID which was about 7K mile interval at the dealership and in 10 years of his ownership, car never ran out of oil(below low mark)
- When I checked oil today at cold, the level was about 20% above the low mark. After driving for 30 minutes and then checking, oil level went up to 60% as in the first image. I wonder why does it expend that much?
- Does anyone here check oil on cold engine or after driving some time to get correct level?
- If that is the case, oil isn't expensive and can easily be changed. Since I don't drive long distances, it may take me about 5 months to get to 3000k, so I won't be bothered with monthly oil changes I wonder if a good quality oil may help in cleaning some engine deposits.
- The first(previous) owner of the car changed oil by MID which was about 7K mile interval at the dealership and in 10 years of his ownership, car never ran out of oil(below low mark)
- When I checked oil today at cold, the level was about 20% above the low mark. After driving for 30 minutes and then checking, oil level went up to 60% as in the first image. I wonder why does it expend that much?
- Does anyone here check oil on cold engine or after driving some time to get correct level?
it doesn't matter if engine cold or warm, car must be parked on flat surface. Transmission fluid expands when it is hot, engine oil not so much.
I made a thread some time ago about j37 engine problems related to oil consumption: https://www.mdxers.org/threads/my-fi...ild-up.171408/
it doesn't matter if engine cold or warm, car must be parked on flat surface. Transmission fluid expands when it is hot, engine oil not so much.
I made a thread some time ago about j37 engine problems related to oil consumption: https://www.mdxers.org/threads/my-fi...ild-up.171408/
Thanks I have read the thread about oil consumption you provided.
I am really starting to think about going to a good full synthetic oil instead.(Pennzoil/Amsoil) I just don't know if that change will result in more oil consumption, any idea?
Thanks I have read the thread about oil consumption you provided.
I am really starting to think about going to a good full synthetic oil instead.(Pennzoil/Amsoil) I just don't know if that change will result in more oil consumption, any idea?
I am sorry, but switching oil will not change outcome. Pennzoil is ok oil, and Amsoil... nothing special and overpriced. Do not waste money on top shelf oil, like Redline.
Any "full synthetic" oil ( although most of them are not) and frequent changes is your best option.
So am I. If that is so, you should know that the people who design/optimize the system and the people who market the system aren't the same people. Marketing and the executives get the final say so in a project even if though they don't understand it the way the engineers do.
I wonder if a good quality oil may help in cleaning some engine deposits.