Hi everyone, I recently bought a 07 TL-S with 15,400 miles on it and the oil life is at 30%. I called the dealer and they told me the last time the car was serviced it had 11,200 miles on it and they used Quaker 5W-20 Synthetic Blend.

• 1. Does anyone one know what the recommended oil change interval is for a TL.
• 2. Where do you recommend getting an oil change? Dealer, Local Shop or just do it yourself?
• 3. What oil type gives you best value for the money, Synthetic, Regular or Synthetic Blend
• 4. Which brand do you use? Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker, etc.
• 5. Lastly, Can you go back to regular oil once you go full synthetic??

Please share your thoughts with this newbie!
Thanks,

 

1. Follow the MID; Check the Owners Manual for details. If the you change when the MID gets to >10%, should work out to around 4,500 - 5,000 mile interval (varies with driving conditions).

2. DIY is usually the preferred method around here. Anywhere competent and cost competitive is fine. Take your own Filter and/or Oil if want to *know* you're getting quality materials. It'll save a few $ too.

3. Opinions vary. Mobil1 is very popular as well as some of the "super premium" brands (Amsoil, Royal Purple, German Castrol, etc). Partly depends on how you treat the car and how long you plan to keep it. Conventional Wisdom: For the longest life use a "Synthetic" oil.

4. See above.

5. Yes. You can go either direction any time. Others may disagree (but they'd be wrong :lol: ).

 

^^^I agree with everything Bearcat stated. But, just to add to #3, don't ever waste your $ on a "synthetic blend" oil. Either get one or the other.

 

I personally used to use nothing but Mobil1. But even doing it myself , I was looking at around $40-50 per oil change and filter.

Then I checked with the only shop i nmy area that I trust to work on my cars (fair price, honest opinions, car enthusiests) - they give me a Mobil1 change for $55. Can't beat the price, so I let them do it.

But the last 2 oil changes, I have just been getting the cheapie $15.99 specials they run. I figure I am getting my oil changed roughly 3 times a summer, storing the car for winter. Why spend so much on oil changes with synth, when I make sure to keep the oil up to date.

I think synth = added protection. Personally, I know my car is safe in my hands.

anyone else have a similar change of opinion?

 

I got 5 qts of Mobil1 for $25 ish from Wal Mart.

 

Get Mobile 1 from Walmart $25.00

Rent lift to do oil change $4.00

Satisfaction of doing it yourself, priceless!

My MID usually puts me at around 7.5 K miles between oil changes. With synthetic that's not an issue. Some may disagree and call it over kill, but I also change my filter each time I change the oil.

 

I'm not sure if I should trust the MID, My oil life was 100% when I bought the car, then after I drove about 6000 kms my oil life was still at 50%, so I had it changed because I don't feel comfortable going more than 6000 kms without changing it. If it was at 50% at 6000 kms that means according to the MID I should change it every 12,000 kms which just doesn't seem right.

 

Where can you rent a lift?

 

If you read the manual it actually states to change the oil every 10 k miles. So 7.5k miles is well within the recommended interval. I'm retired Navy and I can rent a lift at the Auto Hobby shop at the nearby base. Great perk I actually do all my maintance there.

 

This is just for regular oil right? I'd figure Mobil1 Synthetic is more expensive than that.

 

^ Nope its synthetic

 

Nope, thats a great price for synthetic. Some great info here in Acurazine

 

I forgot to ask which oil filter is recommended. Do I have to stick with the Honda oil filter? Are there any better options? Fram..just kidding...

 

I wouldn't go with fram, or K&N, u could go with wix or honda. http://www.amsoil.com/a/nanofiber-synthetic-oil-filter

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/oil-filter-question-model-618843/


Best Oil filter thread on the site, IMHO. Opions vary (greatly). You'll have to make up your own mind.

 

Occasionally, Auto Advantage has a sale on Mobil 1 oil and filter. The last time I took advantage of it, I bought for both of my 3G TL's. Five quarts of Mobil one and a Mobil 1 filter for $26.38. Like I said.. this sale is occasional.

This is one of the most discussed topics on the forums. And like everything else in life, everyone has an opinion.. some bad, some Ok, and some good. Researching is your best friend, as well as watching the signs your engine will give you.

I have two 3G TL's. Mine is an '04 manual and my wife's is an '05 automatic. Her TL sees less traffic and stop-and-go situations, so I change her oil at 5000 mile intervals. Her MID generally shows 50% life then. I do mine at 4000 mile intervals and it usually shows 30-40% life. I change the filter every time and I use Mobil 1 5W/20 with the M1-104 filter. I do the work myself.. that way I know it was done right. Also, no one cares about your car like you do (assuming you care about your car).

While these mileage intervals might seem rather low to many people on this site, and they are certainly entitled to think as they wish, they're my cars and I will do as I see fit.

BTW, the best synthetic blend, according to one of our esteemed members, is Ford MotorCraft SynBlend (hope I have that marketing name right).

 

Thanks Bearcat94, that thread is really helpful!

 

I ended up buying Castrol 5w-20 Syntec. There's s special going on at Autozone, you get 5 quarts of Castrol syntec plus a K&N filter for just $29.99 I thought it was a pretty good deal

 

I just changed my oil with 4qts of royal purple synthetic (5w30 $7.99 per quart) and a mobil one filter ($9.99). There never sales on royal purple but its worth it, good stuff

 

I'VE ONLY HAD MY 2008 T.L. FOR 6 WEEKS, BUT HAVE ALREADY CHANGED THE OIL. IT WAS A DEALER'S LOANER, AND ALTHOUGH THEY HAD RECENTLY CHANGED THE OIL, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I STARTED WITH A CLEAN SLATE.

THE CAR HAD 7,000 miles on it, and i've now put on 1,400 MORE.

I WENT WITH THE LEAST EXPNSIVE FULL - SYNTHETIC, WHICH WAS PENNZOIL 5W-20 FULL-SYN,AT AUTOZONE AND A PURE ONE FILTER FROM ADVANCED AUTO PATS IN DETROIT, ALONG OBVIOUSLY WITH A NEW CRUSH WASHER. 40 CENTS.

I'M REAL EASY ON THE CAR, AND MAYBE BABY IT TOO MUCH, BUT I PLAN TO CHANGE WITH FULL-SYN. EVERY 5,000 miles.
NOT SURE HOW LONG I PLAN TO KEEP THE CAR, BUT WANT TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T LET ME DOWN. NICE CLEAN QUALITY FULL-SYN OIL AND FILTER, IS CHEAP INSURANCE.
ALL THE BEST WITH YOUR CAR. YOU WILL LOVE IT MORE AND MORE AS TIME GOES ON.

 

Honda has used several different manufacturers but for a while and possibly right now they are rebadged Frams. Nothing special about a Honda filter. The best filters are:

Amsoil EAO full synthetic media
Mobil1 Semi-syn media
K&N
PureOne
The rest.

IMO, you're not getting the full benefit of the Amsoil filter unless you run it to 20,000 miles. It was very hard for me to do but I change the EAO filter every third oil change.

I run the oversized S2000 filters no matter what the brand.

 

It amazes me the price they charge for that crap. RP would only be an ok value if it were priced with the regular $2 dino oil. It does not protect as good as a decent dino oil yet they charge more than my Amsoil premium synthetic.

 

* 1. Does anyone one know what the recommended oil change interval is for a TL.
* 2. Where do you recommend getting an oil change? Dealer, Local Shop or just do it yourself?
* 3. What oil type gives you best value for the money, Synthetic, Regular or Synthetic Blend
* 4. Which brand do you use? Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker, etc.
* 5. Lastly, Can you go back to regular oil once you go full synthetic??

Everyone has their own preferences in oil - but the top brands on the SITE: Mobil 1 Synthetic, Pennzoil Platinum, Royal Purple and Amsoil - the last two are expensive, but they're the best brands of oil out there by far; I use mobil 1

Oil changes are easy - I would recommend learning how to do it yourself! If not, I'd personally take it the dealership - I have personal friends that work for the dealership though - take it to a knowledgeable mechanic

Best value of money for oil? Really depends on the person! Personally for me, I like Mobil 1, but despite I'll be switching to Royal Purple Mobil 1 = get for 23 bucks at Walmart: 5 quarts.

I use synthetic Mobil 1 5W-20; I'll be switching over to Royal Purple within the next few months, or whenever I end up doing an oil change.

From what I can understand, it isn't recommended to go from synthetic blend to regular blend - if you use synthetic, stick with it

Hope that helps Good luck!

 

If you're interested in engine protection, I would not use RP. Stick with any good synthetic and save some money. RP is good for that extra 1-2hp at the expense of engine wear. It has been shown in many UOAs. Even the best UOAs show RP as very average in wear.

 

Like ihatecars said, your Honda oil filter is just a rebadged fram. Mobil or PureOne would be my choices. You can find the PureOne on Amazon for <$9 for 2. Throw in a K&N air filter and you get yourself free shipping!

I'm interested in knowing what the part number is for the larger capacity (S2000) oil filter is. Thanks.

 

I'm not sure on other brands. For Amsoil it's EAO20. Stock is EAO13. When you order it, just ask for the S2000 filter. I believe there are only two sizes of filters available for all Honda/Acuras.

 

4qts isnt enough....the car calls for 4.5qts with an oil filter.....

 

My acura stealership told me if i do my own oil changes it will void the warranty. Is this true or total BS?

 

Not true. The only way they can force you to get it done by them and void the warranty if you don't is if they offer the service free of charge like BMW does.

 

Sorry, but I've seen this twice in this thread and it is simply not true.

Honda Filters that fit the TL:

15400-PLM-A01 Made by Filtech
15400-PLM-A02 Likely Made by Fram
15400-PCX-004 Made by Toyo Roki and/or Filtech

READ the thread link I posted earlier. There are SIGNIFICANT differences between the 15400-PLM-A01 and A02 - the A02 inspiring MUCH less confidence.

PLM-A01 is the original TL/TL-S spec, but it is hard to find since being superceded by the A02. The PCX-004 is the filter spec'd for the S2000 and is very close in size, volume and construction to the PLM-A01.

 

The Owners Manual says you can change your own oil, just save the reciepts and follow the MID = no warranty problem.

 

Correct, some are Fram, some aren't. As far as I know, they can change the manufacturer at any time. Some of the Mopar guys have found Chrysler has switched quarterly.

 

Don't go with K&N I was 12 miles over my oil change driving normal and the part where the wrench part is blew a hole. Stay away from K&N for oil filters. The air filters great though

 

The K&N air filter allows more sand through filter so for long engine life this is not the way to go. If you have doubts run UOA before and after using K&N air filter and you will see increased silicone in the oil analysis.

 

Total BS. I've run a K&N air filter for about 180K miles/ 11 years with numerous UOA's and the Si was always at or below average. In addition, I lived on a dirt road for 7 of those years.

 

Getting back on topic in this 7 year old thread...

Penzoil Platinum 5w-20 every 7500 miles. Oil level never moves off the full line and never turns completely black. 185,500 miles on the original engine.

 

It honestly won't make a lick of difference if you spend $20on an oil change, or $200. As long as you change the oil as per the maintenance minder, you'll be fine.

There is a perception that using expensive filters and oils is better for your car. Makes sense. Car guys like to take care of their pride and joy. However, oil is so advanced these days, even from when the TL was originally released in 04, it doesnt really matter.

I have yet to hear of a case where someones vehicle, regardless of what it was, has shit the bed because of brand X oil or filter.

Buy what you can afford, or whatever makes you happy!

 

^^^^Yup, really. With today's oil, whatever is on sale and meets spec will be fine as long as you follow the MID and aren't tracking your car.

Going above and beyond doesn't hurt anything but your wallet

But still, there's usually some kind of rebate or sale on major name brand semi-synthetic oil every 3 months, so you should be able find it at a very decent price between oil changes if that's the route you choose vs dino oil.

 

I have my oil and filter changed at the local Honda service center. My 2006 TSX only holds a few qts. and I don't trust that little oil to hold up for 10K no matter what it is, so I have it changed at 5K (usually at about 20%) with regular oil. Honda does all the checks and scheduled services at a fraction of the cost of the Acura garage - usually under $35 for oil and filter, plus inspection, etc.

Frequent oil changes are the most cost effective way to long engine life.

 

I use NAPA's own brand of 5W-20 and their own brand of oil filter. They're Valvoline SynPower and Wix filters with NAPA's name on them. At 224K miles, I continue to chug right along.
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