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I have 3550 miles on my TL, an my MID say (Oil Change due now) or something like that, so i went to the dealer today and spoke with the service person who informed me that it's not due until 7500 and went ahead and reset my MID.
I don't feel comfortable at all, and want to know if everyone went throw the same thing

caball88

what mileage was it at the last oil change?

Teh Jatt

he said he got "3550 miles on my TL"

Bxscig

My dealer had told me to change it anyway when I got 3700 at the end of 3 months. So I got my first oil change at about 3700 miles.

princed

if i remember correctly, the manual says to change the oil when indicated by the MID, not at a predefined interval. most TL owners don't need to first change their oil until 5-7k miles b/c of their driving habits, so your dealer probably thought it odd your oil change indicator came on so early. i would definitely get the oil changed if I was you -- if you hit the upper rpms often and/or make frequent short trips, the last thing you want is to have the breakin oil used for two cycles of the MID...

Qatar

I'm driving my TL on a long trip to Portalnd, ME and I was just worried about the trip.
I don't want anything stupid to happen.

Teh Jatt

I got little over 4100 and it says 40% oil life, so I wont change it when it tells me too.

NOX 3.2

go by the MID, oil is cheap, engine is not.

JoganJani

Go by the MID as Nox said. I've 3300 and still have 60%. I'll wait till my baby tells me to.

caball88

does anyone know what kind of oil is used from the factory? i prefer synthetic so was just curious because 7K seems like a long time for regular oil.

TL_Daemon

correct me if im wrong
but it seems to me that a early oil change is recommended on a newly manufactured engine.

rets

Follow what your service manual says, and change your oil as MID has displayed... Oil Change Due is about 15%, right?

Most of dealers are stupid and never paying attention to instuctors/engineers saying. Unfortunately, your 04TL seemed to be the first group of 04TLs going back for "routine" oil change... I wonder why your brick dealer didn't want to earn this easy $$$... weird...

Due to varied driving conditions, mine had it changed around 5700 miles, my friend's had it changed around 8k miles.

Yours might probably only display Service A message...



Acura does say:

The Multi-Info Display (MID) located below the fuel and engine temperature gauges in the instrument cluster indicates the remaining percentage of engine oil life, and then shows service is due with a "wrench" icon. A percentage-based countdown to the next service is displayed when the car is within 15 percent of the end of the service interval. A letter and number code is displayed to indicate the specific type of service that is required.

If the service is missed, the MID indicates past-due mileage to express the urgency of the required service to the driver.

The system is designed to eliminate unnecessary maintenance procedures, environmental impact and expenses, while ensuring that important service issues are addressed.

In some cases, oil change intervals can extend to a maximum of 10,000 miles, which could spare the owner considerable money and inconvenience over the life of the car.

The owner-resettable system monitors all normal service parts and systems, including oil, oil filter, tire rotation, air-cleaner, automatic transmission fluid, spark plugs, timing belt, coolant, brake pads and more.



So, if MID says so, please have it changed. (tons of ppl are willing to change engine oil as early as possible... they would love to see this message popping up so early...)

rets

There are many of threads discussing this issue since September. MID system of 04TL has subverted some conventional ideas about when to change the engine oil. No one really knows what to say...

However, since lots of car makers do the same thing due to the newer tech into the engines, we kind of like to follow what Acura service manual has addressed.

You can have this topic searched... you will find a lot. There is a recent thread ever talking the similar info...

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=71004

rets

Most of dealers may provide you the Honda genuine engine oil, it's not Synthetic. If you insist on that idea, they may do so.

The dealer you're gonna buy 04TL would say they strongly recommand non-Synthetic oil to your car because the new engine still requires not-so-smooth/small-particle oil to continuingly break-in during the next 10-20k miles... maybe another B.S., you can judge it by yourself...


(P.S. if you like to have Syn oil changed, remember to bring your own to that dealer or DIY... your dearler would say they don't have there... you know who we talk about...)

PhiPsiTony

My first oil change was at 7200 miles, the MID reading was at 5%

EFlecha

-wait someone just called- ..oh whats that... Hurricanes = Kings of Florida..and yes the occasional National Championship.

Noles + Gators = what..what was that.. = Kings of Comedy...lol.


On a real note, my salesperson told me to change every oil change at 20% and was very adamant about it. He also said the car comes with a synthetic blend oil straight from the factory for break in. In addition, he said 100% full synthetics would be fine after the first oil change but then again stressed to not do the first oil change until the MID said so wether 3000 miles or 7000 miles...

thanks,
Eric and the KINGS OF FLORIDA

DMZ

I don't know if this still is the case nowadays, but new cars typically come with Non-Detergent motor oil for break-in. 7500 miles has always been Honda Motor Co's recommended 1st change interval. Whether or not you should follow that I think depends on your driving conditions.

As for synthetic (like Mobil 1), I've always used it, always will. Lubes better, lasts longer.

Get the largest oil filter available that will properly fit. And NEVER EVER use a filter brand called Group 7. I once knew a mechanic at a Cadillac dealer who claimed that all the cars that came in with blown engines mysteriously had this brand of filter installed.

The best filter brand I've had success with for keeping the oil cleanest the longest is Hastings.

KilroyR1

To answer your question, I would get the oil changed as your indicator recommended. The dealer must be an idiot to reset the indicator w/o changing the oil .

For myself, I still have a month to pickup my car. I plan to pull a sample of the oil once it reaches 50% of its useful life and have an analysis done. If it comes back fine, I'll wait till 90% or so and have another analysis performed.

I'll report my findings, plan on the first report around May/June based on my driving mileage.

Cheers,

Don

rets

Don, please do so. Thanks.

richard1225

i was told from my dealer that it depends on where you live. for instance if you live on the northeast where the climate is always changing then you are on the servere maintenance schedule and should change the oil every 3750 miles.

fender4

Here's a hint http://www.amsoil.com/products/tso.html

With their filter and oil analysis you can go 10k between changes. You have to prove it to yourself by using analysis. I don't know why so many people ask this high tech question but don't want to spend the time and simple low cost effort to verify it... This subject always comes up with many differents answers including the one I provided. Prove to yourself using basic science. Also the warrenty is not void if you use synthetic at 10k intervals, By analysis you will find that synthetic oil lasts a lot longer than you can imagine. The filter breaks down first.

Swat Dude

Read your manuals...

The oil change interval is based on mileage and rpm's. The harder you drive your motor, the faster you will need to change it. Why are you guys so worried about following what HONDA says????

My brother's Civic has 203,000 on it! Original Motor and transmission, one new clutch, new CV joints, and he was not anal about his oil changes.

msu79gt82

Driving under extreme conditions means change every 3750 miles; here in Houston w/ hot weather its extreme

casooner90

I have 4100 miles and the engine oil life is at 50%. I guess this is because I don't push my car hard and mainly on highway cruise speeds. This is somewhat nerve wrecking since I've always changed my oil in all of my past cars at every 3000 miles. That's it, I'm going in tomorrow to get it changed - it's a cheap insurance.