Since 1957 I've changed my own non-synthetic oil and filters at 5,000 miles. With my '05 TL I follow the computer. Neither I nor anyone I know has ever had an oil-related engine problem. Considering the attention given to improving gas mileage It surprises me that frequent oil changes haven't gotten any bad publicity. On the other hand if I had money to burn and planned to keep a car for 200,000 miles, I would have one of my people put in synthetic every 2,000 miles.

 

Only use synthetic oil from day 1. It is proven to have better protection than conventional oil. Why does Corvette, Ferrari, Porche have synthetic coming out of the factory? Mobil Syntec.

But I use it mostly for convenience. You may pay twice as as much as conventional but it could last twice as long. Mobil fully synthetic guarentees 15,000 mile protection. I change my oil when the computer shows me 10% which is generally around 7500 miles. The oil still has that golden color when when I observe it on my hand.

I guarentee that you could easily get 5k - 7k out of conventional oil and not have a problem. The oil moniter is set up for conventional motor oil.

Stick with the conventional oil because it is free. That is what I would do.

 

these cars definitely don't break down oil the way older cars use to. so Im sure you can do the changes at higher intervals I just hate the chatter from the valves at higher mileage changes, so I change my oil at 50-25% depending on how busy my month is.

 

My personal rule of thumb:

Dino Oil (non-synthetic oil) = change oil and filter every 3k. I would use either Mobil 1 or Castrol GTX (not the long-life one).

Synthetic Oil = change oil and filter every 5k. I would use either AMSOIL or Mobil 1.


I used Castrol GTX 5W-30 on my first 97 Maxima. Never had any issues with oil or seals. Also used it on the current 99 Maxima for the first 4 months, then switched over to AMSOIL Synthetic after running the Auto-Rx treatment. Google Auto-Rx if you want more info.

My Maxima runs flawlessly, and I stand by Castrol GTX, AMSOIL, and Auto-Rx.

For coolants, I would ONLY use Nissan/Honda/Toyota OEM coolant. It is the same coolant just in different colors: Nissan = Green, Honda = Blue, Toyota = Red. It has no silicates and other additives that could be harmful to the cooling system. Expect to pay between $15-25 per gallon, as it is only available from the dealer.

When it comes to my car, even at the age of 20, I do not spare any expense on tested and proven maintenance products. If an oil change is going to cost me $50 each time, then $50 it is. Gallon of coolant = $20? So be it. My 99 Maxima, after I purchased it with 26k on the motor has never seen any octane other than 93. My car is my hobby and my pride possession (for now - I think my home would take it's place when I get a home lol).

 

I just got 1st oil change at Acura yesterday. It's free. But they put semi synthetic Quaker into my 07 TLS . I asked them why not full syn and the service advisor said it's better to use regular until 10k miles at least before swithing to full syn. It's to prevent blowby on the valves, rings. I thought if it's better to use regular first, then why put in semi syn. He also said that they put Mobil1 syn for RDX only since that vehicle has tighter tolerances, and it's from the first oil change. Is that true?

Anyone knows about this rule that we need to use dino oil first until at least 10k miles?

Thanks.

PS: I'll post pic of my cars hopefully this weekend.

 

I started buying Honda products in the late 70's from motorcycles to cars. The only oil I have ran is Castrol dino's, had 2 Accords one had 216 mi. and the other 180 mi. neither used any oil or smoked, oil was changed every 3,000 miles. At this time we have a 04 Pilot, 04 TL, 00 Accord 98 Accord all cars get the same 5w30 Castrol dino and a WIX 51334 (old honda big filter style). I have started changing oil around 3,500 to 4,000 miles thinking the newer engines burn cleaned and this is fine. Can't see a reason for running synthetic and I do all my own oil changes and most repaires. May seem kinda old fashion to the new generation, but I am old!

 

chas22 - Not so old fashion... I'm 1/2 your age and do the same thing!

 

How do you know you are 1/2 his age?

 

Haha! My bad. I didn't read carefully. I saw it said "Posts: 63" to the left of his post and assumed that was age like in yours and mine.

Oh well.

 

I have no worries about the stock oil filter doing its job during a normal oil change interval upwards of 10K miles. Prior to the MID, Honda's factory service manuals called for a oil change every 7.5K and a filter change every 15K. Our 2005 Pilot uses the same filter as the TL and that's what the manual says. I personally change the oil filter when I do my oil but it's nice to know that the filter is designed to go longer for those of you pushing the change interval past 10K.

Before the MID, my rule of thumb was changing the oil every 5K miles- this seemed like a good compromise between the realistic oil life and my time/$ changing the oil along with some attempt to be easier on the environment. I change our Pilot every 5-6K miles since it has no MID. I have never had an engine issue with this change interval for the 28 years doing my own car maintenance with a 5K interval. Most people aren't going to keep their cars for 20 years anyway where maybe a 3K change interval buys you some added time possibly. The engine might be the strongest component for a 20 yr car anyway- the electronics, pollution control, suspension will all be shot before a decently maintained motor.

I liked the earlier comment about why someone would change their own oil when they have free oil changes from a dealership. I concur completely- unless you live next door to your dealership it has to be faster and more convenenient to do the oil yourself assuming you have a place to work on your car. Plus you know you did the job right and didn't do bonehead things like strip oil drain bolts, forget to put oil in, over-fill oil, etc.

 

Honda did a test back in the late 90s and proved that there was no additional engine wear with a 0w-20 compared to higher viscosities. Fact is, for MOST drivers, 5w-20 is fine and provides sufficient engine protection. If engine wear was compromised, they would not do it. After all, there are SAE10 oils available too, but why don't you see them using it?

Conventional oil is fine. I would follow the Maintenance Minder for oil change intervals. I use conventional oil in my cars and rarely change more often than every 7500 miles. One has over 110,000 miles now with no engine problems. Even when I removed the valve cover to fix a leak back at 96,000 miles, there was only a very light coating of varnish on the valvetrain.

 

GM uses Mobil 1 because it allowed them to eliminate the expense/liability of installing an oil cooler on their "track ready" models, such as the Corvette, Cobalt SS, etc. I know one of the GM engineers that worked on these designs and he was one the who told me this.

Some vehicles have VVT designs that need the synthetic oil due to the importance of the oil's viscosity at very cold temperatures for correct VVT function. Other vehicles such as Porsche have specific oil specifications that Mobil 1 builds an approved product for in order to meet their extended service intervals.

The oil has the potential to last twice as long, depending on the product, the driving conditions and the particular engine design. You cannot install synthetic oil into a vehicle and automatically assume that a longer interval is now possible. Also it is perfectly normal (and a good thing) for the oil to darken.

 

Soda, you probably have the words "non synthetic oil" RSS'ed on your computer huh? LOL...I knew I would find you in this thread!

 

For those of you who change their oil when the MID hits 10% or 0%, is there a way to change when the MID alerts you? It's pretty annoying to have that warning message come up all the time, and have to turn it off. Then you have to deal with that I icon.

 

I plan to change the oil when my MID get's to zero. For my first oil change, that looks like it's going to be 6k miles. Is synthetic just a waste of money if I'm changing before 10k?

Thanks!

 

@RB - Yeah, I think so. Use a quality dino oil such as Castrol GTX and change it when the MID tells you to do so and you'll be fine. That said, synthetics are only 2x the cost of dino oil. We're only talkin' $24 vs. $11 here! Go ahead and use them if you want to. If you do the change every 7,000 miles, after the first 100,000 miles you put on the car, you're talking about an extra $182 in oil costs. I'm guessing you can afford to pay that if you bought a $30k+ car

 

It's $182 that you didn't have to spend.

 

For a new car- the first oil change should come due about 6000 miles
The way to eliminate the light is get the car serviced
It does have special oil in it for break in period, now you can run what you want
Longer interval on synthetics, also if you drive under Severe Service per the book....

 

It doesn't hurt to change it early. The break-in oil has a slightly higher moly content, nothing special. Similar oils can be found on the shelves in auto parts stores. If you change it at say 3K miles I'm sure any oil will be fine since the engine is pretty much broken in at 1,000 miles.

I'm a synthetic user just because it flows better in the cold months and will withstand high temps better. It usually withstands shear better since there usually are less VIIs required. Engines I've seen torn apart are usually cleaner too.

I said usually for you, Sodaluvr.

 

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No comment on the break in oil; it's one of those debates like oil change intervals and tire pressures, everyone seem to have an opinion. I have mine, but so what. I will second the comments on synthetic oil though. I've used it for a number of years in all of my cars, and it has nothing to do with trying to extend the life of the oil. It's just better at doing what oil does. I'm confident that anyone who uses it regularly will enjoy longer engine life in any car.

 

Agreed, but if he is losing sleep of the non-synthetic oil decision, and spending an extra 11 or 12 bucks gives him piece of mind, I say do it since it's not that much in the grand scheme given that he just dropped ~$30,000 on an 2007 TL

 

Isnt synthetic able to absorb more contaminants than dino and still retain sufficient viscosity?

 

Contaminants? No.

They do tend to use fewer viscosity index improvers than conventional oils, but by no means are they immune to viscosity reduction caused by fuel dilution.

The oils do tend to perform better in situations where oil temps go above 305 on a regular basis and in extreme cold.

Otherwise, as long as we are talking about starburst, API certified oils the drain interval doesn't change. The RDX proves that.

 

Is there anyone who uses K&N oil filters? The HP-1010.

 

I've used it. Good filter, looks like it has a silicone anti-drainback valve. It's supposed to flow very well and filter ok too.