eyesnake02

Right now I have 1200 miles on my car and when do u think I should change my oil?

badazzTL

no

Tom Blasing

If it's the orginal oil and you travel short trips (under 5 miles from a cold engine) or if your in a reularly freezing climate, a taxi, ideling for a long time like a Police car etc. the you should do it at 3,750 (known as severe use). If you drive the highway 90% of the time or more then do it at 7,500 miles (known as normal driving).

Almost nobody does "Normal Driving" given these examples. This is from the owner's manual.

yield2s

unlemming

"When do you think I should change my oil?"

"No."

drcookie

Different people have different opinion. If you plan to move to synth. oil, I would suggest to change it every 5k miles. You could change the original oil in the engine after about 3k miles.

Cheers !!!

Big Rubber

I'm a little confused, Yield2S. The other day you posted some links to "accurate info" about engine break-in and oil changes:

http://www.corax.org/hotwater/oil/Oil-8.html

In this link it states that noone should leave their break-in oil in for longer than 1000 miles, yet it seems here that you are agreeing that the thread-starter should not change his oil at 1200.

Am I misunderstanding your response here?

Love my 99

Dude, change your oil as much as possible, but no more than every 1500 miles. I don't drive my TL as much as I did when I 1st got it, so changing the oil every 1500 isn't that often (like every other month) but every 3000 is the norm.

tejita

Ok, just for everyone's information concerning initial oil change. I was just at my dealer the other day and I asked him when should I do my first oil change, being it said in the manual to do it at 7500 miles.....I told him I had 5000 miles on it now, he said, no do not do it now, wait until 7500 miles. They put a special additive to the first oil to help with break in and if you change it too soon it negates the effects of it.

fsttyms1

^ i agree. follow the manual. the designers at honda know what they are talking about. they have the most reliable engines on the planet. i waited till around 7k for my first then i started to change it every 4-7k (depending ond severity of my driving) i know have 120k on my 2000 and i just switched to synthetic and will probably keep changing it at 4-7k. (oh and it doesnt use a drop of oil between changing intervals)

Bear2Day

I agree TOOOOO! Follow the manual! Switch to a good syn oil and oil filter and change it every 7500 MILES! What a slippery Subject!

yield2s

dont be confused dude, have you ever seen a wreck about to happen and you say nooooo? well is about the same thing.
Just following the manual is a mindless approach to the care of your car. Yes honda engineers are some of the best in the bus and there approach of function over form has always made me like there product.(the exact reason i dont like most american car, looks are #1 it seems and then they try to figure out how to make it run) but really how much input do you think they have into the making of the manual???my guess would be 50% or less. the manual is a marketing tool also, any big co has so many intrests to protect often the basic (weight of oil and matenance schedule) gets negativly influanced.

read some info on why honda want us to use less protection then that should really create some doubts with other questionable info "in the manual"

http://www.performanceoiltechnology.com/ford5w20.htm

Big Rubber

Yield2S, I suppose your bottom line is that perhaps it would be best for someone to research the validity of the manual's specified oil-change intervals, rather than just following it to a T without question. If that's correct, I agree. And that would be in contradiction to the other posts here in this thread.

Me, I just changed my oil at 1500 on the odometer, and replaced it with standard 5-20 oil. I will do the same at 3000 on the odo and replace it with either Amsoil synth, Mobil1, or Royal purple.

My confusion lies in my assumption that BadazzTL seemed to frown on the dude pondering an oil-change at 1200("No"), backed up by you("werd"), which contradicts what you posted elsewhere.

My position about the break-in period has always been this:
Get that metal-laden oil out of your car asap. Replace it with standard oil again, continue with the break-in, then convert to synth.

Wondering, what schedule did you adhere to?

yield2s

my bad, your confusion is absolutly warrented

in this case its obvious (now) that "no" ment "don't change it at 1200 miles". as apposed to "no, not this beat down subject again" which happen to be running through my mind as i read.

You've got my "bottom line" dead on, thanx

And I'm sorry(In a way) to say that i didnt partake in the very expensive luxury of breaking in my car,as i got it pre-owned(yes used) just was never in the market for a 34-35k $ auto even though i had my eye on it since mid-late 01. Wasn't really in the market at all as i owned a very reliable accord, but then when i realized i could get into one that look, drove,and smelled like new for 22k i rewarded myself (and how Please dont take this as a knock to all who bought new, I know that peace of mind is well worth it, as long as it dosnt make the purchase itself out of range,as in my case.

But PMI has always been a biggy with me so thats why i enjoy conversing about it. Thanx for participating.




to get this back on track. eyesnake02k I think it's time

garticus

I'd change the oil about every 4000 to 5000 miles or every 3 to 4 months if your car sits alot. In very hot\humid climates you could change it about every 3500 to 4500 miles...anything less and your making the oil company rich, anything more your trying to make the car makers rich (by having to buy engine parts or a new car)

Big Rubber

Thanks, Yield2S.

And Garticus, that's cool, but the dude only has 1200 miles on his new car, so the long-term schedule isn't even part of the scene yet.

To Eyesnake: Yes, the manual says change it later, but you gotta change it to clear out the metal filings that are there from the machining of the engine parts(when I changed at 1500 there was definitely metal in the drain pan...glad I did it). Changing it more frequently in the beginning isn't going to hurt, as long as you choose the right oil and filter. Your car will thank you, and when you finally change to synth, your car will thank you even more

Then I think garticus' schedule is a good one to adhere to. Some synth oils say you can change at 10 large(surprising), but I'd get antsy at 5 myself.

Chet03TL-S

IMO I would change at 3750miles (manual suggested for severe conditions) and put in natural oil again. Replace that oil at 7500 miles and go synthetic with a good filter for every 7500 miles after. That is what I decided on.