rizwan789

hey guys,
quick question.
how often do u change your oil? how often is it recommended by the owner;s manual?
I know the first oil change is not due until 7500 miles.
I noticed that my service light comes on every 7500 miles, does that mean acura recommends an oil change every 7500 miles?
i change my oil every 3000 miles, just wondering if any are doing differently.
If you're changing your oil 7500 miles, does it effect the car's performance?

gohawks63

I was told that the first oil change is due at 3,700 miles. Not before since Honda uses a special additive to help the engine break in. I've always changed my oil at 3K mile intervals. Oil changes are relatively cheap (or free in some cases) to not take a chance. I religously changed the oil in my Vigor and when I traded it in it had 111,000 miles and it did burn a drop.

The transmission now is another story. I'll save it for another post.

rizwan789

if i am correct, the first oil change is not due till 7500 miles according to the manufacturer (not the dealership)
I am not worried about saving the $25, i just want to know if this is correct.
Can anyone verify?

rizwan789

anybody?

gohawks63

You will never do any harm in changing the oil sooner than 7500 miles. My personal opinion and articles I've read in Car and Driver, Motor Trend and other magazines is that 3k miles is still a good rule of thumb. The reason why you change oil is not because the oil will no longer lubricate, in fact it will continue to do so for many thousands of miles after that. It's the detergents in the oil that begin to break down around 3K miles (depending on driving conditions i.e. normal vs. severe driving) and the "dirt" that begins to collect in your oil pan. My uncle owns his own garage and I worked there during my high school years and I saw my share of cars that went through "extended" periods between oil changes. The oil comes out like sludge and that's from all of the deposits that accumulated over the thousands of miles. Now to be fair, oil has improved over the years so that you can go longer between changes.

If you mainly do highway driving, you might be fine at 7,500 miles. If you do mainly do "stop and go" and short trips, I wouldn't stray beyond 3K. I just choose to be conservative and change it sooner than what the manual says. All that it really impacts is my wallet since it possibly means that I paid for a few extra oil changes over the period of ownership.

Just my 2 cents.

genghis

So what's the deal with the "three months or 3,000 miles" mantra?

I can understand that some cars, especially those like my Integra that are driven almost exclusively on local streets and never on the highway these days (lots of stop-and-go), need the oil changed more often than the manual suggests -- about every 3,000 miles. But why the "3 months" thing? If I've only driven it maybe 750-800 miles in 3 months why should I change the oil?

songoku

I change my oil every 3k Mile.....
Mobil1

dbox

the 7500 crap is for NORMAL driving. in the real world we live in that doesnt exist. 3000 is for severe driving which is normal 2 us. get it ?always do 3000 mile oil changes. fuk that book

rizwan789

my car is leased. i am goin to give it back in few years. that is why i am hesitant on upgrades to my car
so why should i change the oil 3000 miles when the book tells me 7500?
if the car messes up, its covered under the warranty.

i still change my oil 3000 miles tho. i know the few extra bucks aint killing me.

RUF87

The owners manual has a section for "normal" and for "severe" conditions.

For normal they recommend 7500 miles or 12 months.

For severe they recommend 3750 or 6 months.

Most of the automotive service folks and oil companies recommend 3000 mile or 3 months. Why, because they make more money.

Anyway, many people probably fall into the severe range. Daily stop and go driving, air pollution, hot and or dusty conditions, short trips or cold weather driving and regular high RPM driving are extreme to me.

As for me, hot, polluted and regular high RPM driving are my situation so I change mine every 3-4 months or 3000-4000 miles. It depends on when I get it for service.

AIMO -
RUF