polosport

I'm debating whether to do it on my first or wait until second.

TLover

What mileage are you doing your first oil change?

Nukeman

I'm planning it at around the 10,000 mile mark.

TLover

Yeah. My indicator says I'm at 50% oil life at 4550 miles. So I'm going to change to Redline at my first change.

superballs

not doing first change till 10k?!?!? i did mine on my 03 at 3k. am i crazy?

rets

You might already know 04TL has its own system to inform the driver of the proper time to change your oil/filter, and the owner manual of Acura suggests you to follow MID...

However, you absolutely could change it anytime you want.

kosh2258

I'm going to put in Mobil 1 at the first oil change, primarily because of the long drain interval my MID is predicting, so far.

Because my MID is showing 60% at 3300+ miles, I'm going to change the filter when the MID hits 50% and top up with the 1/3 to 1/2 quart of oil for the new filter. I'm only going to do the filter since the manual recommends running the factory fill oil until the MID says it's time to change it.

Based on the results obtained so far from this test -

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html

and other references, I'm going to follow the MID, but also change the filter and top up the oil at the 50% point between full changes. According to the above test, doing that keeps the oil relatively fresh and makes the extended drain intervals workable.

jjsC5

I don't have a TL (yet), but will say that I typically change to synthetic in every vehicle I buy somewhere between 1500 and 2000 miles. No science to that time period, it's just what I feel good about. I think it's enough time to be well broken in, and I don't like to go any further to get the "break-in" oil out of the engine.

Aegir

Yes, I used synthetic at my first oil change - 4800 miles.

caball88

i was going to use synthetic on my first oil change but the service guy said wait till next change. doesn't really bother me, but it stuck in the back of my mind that it was bullshit and just old rumors of not using synthetic too early. i have 60% on my mid now and will definitely use synthetic this time.

pedalermike

i used Mobil 1 0w20 with Mobil 1 filter at 6700 miles.

Stewie

I think Mobil 1 is overkill on this car.
If you change the oil on a regular basis you'll be fine.

I used it with great success in a turbo car but not in regular cars. In turbos the engine gets extremely hot so I think its a good idea but I've driven way too many cars for 150k-200k miles with regular oil changed frequently.

Just my two cents.

Pug

I agree the M1 is overkill, but for a few extra bucks I'm using it for the peace of mind.

I did my first change at 5200 miles (oil life <5% on MID). I put in M1 0w-20 with a KN filter.

There is another thread here that references some syn oil testing - it's a good read.

Tedanddenise

Most mechanics don't recommend changing to synthetic oil until the engine is fully "broken-in" (hate that term). There's no harm in waiting 5-10K if you're bent on going to synthetic oil. Personally, I think that regular oil changed at regular intervals is just fine. I change my oil and filter every 5K - btw, I am placing an order for a new 2004 TL today despite all the negative posts on this web site. I also own a BMW R1100RT motorcycle and would have never bought one if I'd have looked on their forum first! I take all the negative reports here with a large grain of NaCl. I think all of us have made a great decision buying the TL.

Pug

Good for you ! Despite the carping you hear on this forum, it's a great car.

caball88

don't get too scared away from the negative remarks you read here. you will always see more threads about complaints than praises. the number of cars that actually have problems is very few percentage wise and the problems itself are minor..

TBone2004

Nope. I did mine way before that. Just old habits I guess. Like to get the first change early - remove any crap in there. Any additives in the first oil (assuming there are some) will have easily done all they are going to do by then. Personal preference really. Important thing is you change the oil and the filter - whether it is by MID, every 5k, 7K or every 1k - whatever works for ya. I went early on the first one, and I will probably go by MID and mileage - probably no more than 5k tho. Just what I have always done.

Bear2Day

Redline at 6000.

dcarlinf1

Yep, I did at 6800 miles and <5% oil life.