HokieAcura

With all the members on here I'm curious if anyone has been in a similar situation to me this past weekend...

Here in Virginia it was a nice 65 degree day, sunny and perfect for an oil change. I had been wanting to do one before it gets cold and snowy, plus our 2010 TSX was showing 30% oil life and it had been about 6 months and 7,000 miles since the last oil change.

I had purchased some Mobil 1 5w-20 synthetic and an Acura oil filter for the job. My father-in-law and brother-in-law "assisted" in helping me change the oil (basically they watched and helped drink beer). After we finished my FIL says, "how often you gonna change it". I told him my plan with this interval was to run the synthetic until 15% and at that point the car will notify me to change the oil, I estimated it would be about 8,500-9,000 miles based on my wifes commute.

Let me state that I'm pretty old school and have always changed the oil in my vehicles at 3,000 to 5,000 miles. It's taken some time to talk myself into using the MID and I've set myself at ease by using synthetic.

Well both my Father-in-law and brother thought I was crazy and said 5k at the most! I told them I was hesitant to but Acura recommends following the MID and that's with CONVENTIONAL oil, not to mention I've done research and plenty of people have UOAs to prove it's safe. They both still said I should change this oil at 5k because it will probably be toast by then.

I feel that Honda/Acura have designed the engine and MID program with engine longevity in mind. I mean the K24 is a very advanced engine that's proven to be easy on oil. I see plenty of 03 Accords and CRV's out there with well over 200,000 miles on them. I'm gonna try to leave the oil in until I see the message alerting me I only have 15% oil life (I haven't seen this message before in 20,000 miles of ownership). I'm sure I'll be sweating it out after 8k and wanting to change it but who am I to outwit Honda engineers?

Any similar stories or any one that doesn't trust Acura's MID system?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I believe its when you get to >15% or after 1 year; change the oil.

if your wife never touches vtec(4k-7k RPM) and drives highway, you're right to see 7k-8k mile intervals.

nj2pa2nc

I have followed the maintenance minder (oil life) from the beginning. I wait until the oil life gets to 15% to see the code of what service needs to be done. I have all the service done by a acura dealer. They use regular oil (my choice). My mom owns an 08 honda accord that is driven less than 8,000 miles a year. Get it serviced once a year.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I do synthetic every 5K. better to be sure,

HokieAcura

Thanks for the quick responses. And as for my wife, while she does brake last minute and stab at the throttle at times, I rarely see her take it past 4,000 RPM when she drives. It really does get babied, kept in a garage at night, 15 min commute of mostly highway. I expect to see 15% oil life left around 9,000 miles based on previous oil changes.

But honestly if I was single and finances weren't as much of an issue I'd use synthetic and dump it at 5k. Of course it would also probably have 18" V6 wheels, an Injen Intake, and possible a Cat delete. Oh and it would be the 6-spd....

Puppetmaster

I think you can rely on the MID. The K24, from what I've gathered, is very good to oil and just a robust engine in general. If you want to be on the safe side, get an oil sample whenever you feel it should be changed and then send it in to Blackstone or somewhere similar for an UOA. The next oil change, run it out until 15% or less on the MID and send another sample in and compare the results. I think you'll find that things will still be in good shape.

I didn't have time to look around for more, but here's a link to some results from another K24, and this car looks to be driven harder than yours, obviously, the oil used and OCIs are different, but it's to give you an idea of how the oil wears:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...66#Post2387166

ceb

Sigh.

Oil and engine technology have changed since the days of 3k oil changes.

Europe (UK) for the same engine has the following service intervals for the Honda Accord (our TSX) with the same engine:

12,500/12 monthsengine oil, oil filter, sump washer25,000/24 monthsengine oil, oil filter, sump washer, air filter, pollen filter, spark plugs Δ, fuel filter Δ37,500/36 monthsengine oil, oil filter, sump washer, brake fluid, fuel filter Δ50,000/48 monthsengine oil, oil filter, sump washer, air filter, pollen filter, spark plugs Δ, fuel filter Δ62,500/60 monthsengine oil, oil filter, sump washer, anti-freeze Δ

It should be noted that most Euro magazines complain about the "short" service intervals compared to other cars (BMW, for example, is 30k km [18k miles] or three years in Germany)

Quite frankly, my old German BMW dealer flat out refused to do an early oil change even though I was paying for it.

We need to get away from that old mindset of frequent OCIs - it doesn't help the car but it harms our wallets and the environment.

TampaJim

EXACTLY.

1) Honda/Acura 5w20 is a synthetic blend (Group II/Group II) not a conventional.

2) The MID is already set to conservative standards. It is not designed to squeeze every life ounce of life from the additive package within the oil. You are more than fine to follow it.

3) Full synthetic doesn't extend the interval, it simply offers additional protection for the engine components.

4) A 2010 TSX can accommodate 0w20 if you would care to move to a lighter product which offers reduced wear for cold starts. As a matter of fact, it shipped from Japan with 0w20 as the installed OEM product. The reason the cap states 5w20 is that it was what was available at that time in the US marketplace.

ceb

Back when we were doing 3k OCIs, we were using 20w50 or similar stuff. 0w anything was unheard of and engine tolerances were much looser.

While "father knew best" back then, I'd opine that the engineers know best now. Over the last few years, we've put about 200k on my wife's Civic following the OCI recommended by Honda. We certainly had no lubrication related issues at all - actually, the only issues were catalytic converter and O2 sensor issues.

Professor

I'm at 5500 miles, purchased in April, and still showing on the MID 60% oil life on the oil from the factory.

I won't change until 20% and only with Mobil 1 syn 0-20w or 5-20w.

My goal is three oil changes (first one is free) and 2 tire rotations, and see what Acura has in 2014.

briq456

I go by what the Maintenance Minder says. I had a 1993 Honda Accord which I put 364,000 miles on before I sold it still running just fine. I changed with normal oil (castrol gtx, valvoline,etc) whatever was on sale. The interval was 7,500. I was NOT easy on that car at all. It did burn a little oil between changes towards the end (like 3/4 of a quart every 7,500) but I don't think that's bad for a 300,000+ mile engine that was never rebuilt. Just my .02.

MrOtocinclus

On my 2009 I changed to synthetic following the MID and the car seemed to perform smoother and better over time. By the time I returned the car at the end of the lease it was running really well. I do occasional spirited driving.

Now I'm on the factory fill on my 2011, and it's not quite there yet. It doesn't feel as smooth. I'm at 70% life with less than 2000 miles on the engine.

tvac

You can't go wrong following the MID especially using synthetic with a high quality filter. The engineers that designed the engine know what they're doing and have calibrated the MID on the conservative side to avoid expensive warrantee claims due to catastrophic engine failures.

nj2pa2nc

had the oil changed at two acura dealers and one honda dealer that used the 5w20 oil. They told me it was a lighter weight conventional oil. Guess they were all wrong

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I'd love for IHC and 04tl01 to chime in on this. I have stuck with 5K on my synthetic and it DOES feel smoother when I change it. But maybe it's just placebo.

ceb

Just faking out your butt dyno. During any service a few small things will change, be it resetting the inside mirror to moving the seats - all of which will make the car "feel" slightly different. It isn't the oil.

Professor

My friend's masters thesis at RPI was on oil viscosity. Ordinary oil, even Quaker State, held up to 8,000 miles. But when the change of molecules started to breakdown, it was quick (within 500 miles).

He swears that syn is good for 12,000 to 15,000 miles. I pushed my RL once to 10K and had it analyzed. Still good.

Now getting the air changed in your tires to a winter blend is a must.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

no, no...my oil definitely increases my horsepower

10 to 12K, huh...shoot, maybe i SHOULD wait it out. It's hard to deprogram when you've been told to do things a certain way for so long.

HeavyDuty

Yup, like +/- a hammer handle.

Enough oil talk, let's all move on to politics or religion.

opboarding

Will my blinker fluid also last 12k miles since I've started using synthetic? I've been changing it around every 5k, but man that stuff is expensive.

TampaJim

IF the dealerships were using Honda/Acura 5w20, they were definitely incorrect. The OEM fluid is a synthetic blend and I am 100% positive of that fact.

PyroDave

the blinker fluid will be OK for 10k, don't push 12, it may be irreverably damaged. the power steering oil though, you gotta be careful of that. i've been changing mine every 2K just incase ;D

09TSXTech

Honda Acura 5W20 is Synthetic Blend.

HeavyDuty

FWIW, whether they're using the genuine stuff varies from dealer to dealer...believe it.

TampaJim

Yep ... nationally, the percentage of Honda/Acura dealerships on the OEM lubricant program is LESS than 50%. Don't assume, always ask. Most dealerships that use non-OEM bulk products will still have the OEM bottled products - request they be used IF that is your preference.

Professor

^ Yep, I've seen the oil hose with Kendall marks on it and they actually put a Kendall sticker on the top left corner of the windshield.

Mr Marco

Yep, I must agree also. I've noted that a full fluids change shortens my 0-60 times by as much as a half second(AWD).

TampaJim

ConocoPhillips flagship brand is Kendall. ConocoPhillips manufactures Honda/Acura OEM lubricant products (except for a few odd items that are produced by Idemitsu and distributed through the ConocoPhillips program). You are 100% fine in that respect, just be sure the viscosity being installed is correct.