aSPECtL06

Anybody change their own oil on their TL? Thinking about doing it myself from now on but I know on my father's MDX (2003), the car needs to be lifted to release the old oil from the car and to change the filter. Does this apply to the 3rd gen TLs as well?

01tl4tl

a set of ramps makes it really easy to get to the bolt and the oil filter
Everyone changes their own oil here!

aSPECtL06

A set of ramps???

aSPECtL06

And when releasing the old oil, how do you contain it and dispose of it?

datmrman

The 3G TL Garage definitely deserves a look.

DMZ

Not quite ..........

fish008

A couple of thoughts on this. The oil filter is just inside of the passengers side front wheel, if you remove that wheel you can easily get to the filter. As long as the car is lifted a bit (with a jack from taking off the wheel) the only pan is easy to access too. Are you planning to change to synthetic? If not, why are you changing your own oil? I have always changed my own oil but not in this car, the dealership does it for $30, which is about twice as much as it would cost you to do it yourself, but here is why I have them do it. Time is money and if I do it the entire process takes about an hour, if they do change the oil it takes about 40 minutes (no cleanup for them, during that time I am at the dealership I can work on something/read something. But the real reason I go there is because every 5th oil change is free and they give me a free oil change for Acura appreciation week and then count that toward the 5. So I pay about $90 for 5 oil changes plus they wash and vacuum my car. For those doing the math it is $18 an oil change plus the wash and vacuum. Doing an oil change yourself is almost that much plus washing and vacuuming takes time. Time is money.

fish008

Oh and the reason I ever started going to the dealership in the first place is because my lowered car will not drive onto my ramps, its not even close, even driving onto a piece of wood and then the ramps doesnt even get me close.

PiperG

Just changed mine yesterday. This is so easy, I don't know why people don't do it themselves. I just like the peace of mind that it's being done right. My father-in-law works at a toyota dealership and has told me many horror stories.

Just remember......it's the rookie 18 year olds that do most oil changes at dealerships. And synthetic oil changes at a dealership are well over $18.

You let the dealer wash your car?????

DMZ

When you eventually get beyond a certain age, you won't want to climb under the car any more either.

I had a friend who owned an Exxon station up until about 5 years ago where I had access to the lifts and tools. I'd still change my own oil under those conditions if I could, but my climbing under the car days are over. I'll still do basic under the hood stuff like changing my own air filter, adding fluids, etc., but that's as far as I go now.

As for those times I do go to the dealer, ya damn right I let them wash it. They do a decent job by hand saving me around $20.

fish008

I actually have talked to most of the techs where I go and they are real nice and experienced. I don't run synthetic...wont keep the car that long to care. And yes I let them was the car, they do an unreal job, it really is like a 5 star car wash. Tire shine, wipe all along the doorseal, hand dry with no streeks....its a good wash.

Chanrith

I was looking to change my own oil but for some reason I'm a bit hesitant. I think it's more of a convenience for me to have a shop do it simply because I don't have to get dirty and have to deal with the mess it leaves behind. Another part of me says I really should do my own changes because that way I can make sure it's done right and is using the best quality oil and filters. Costco has 12 quarts box of penzoil 5W-30 for around $20. I'm sure they sell synthetic as well but I'm not sure I'm ready to switch just yet. Throw in a K&N filter and I'll be good for 7.5k-10k miles. That means roughly 2 oil changes a year for me which would definitely be worth the "hassle"

I hate cars

If you saw what really goes on behind the scenes at a dealership or oil changing place you would change your own oil until you're not physically able to anymore.

I've seen them forget to put oil in.

Stip out the oil pan bolt hole and use JB weld to hold the plug in.

Not drain all the oil out.

Not fill the filter full of oil before installing it.

Not check the oil level after filling.

Put the wrong oil in if the correct stuff is out of stock

Not change the filter if out of stock.

Drop derbris in the oil filter and install it anyway.

Not wipe oil spillage off suspension parts

No one will take as good of care of your car as you and I can do an oil change faster than the dealer anyway.

ChrisQ1980

^^^^^ agreed.

I change my own oil, do my own BASIC maintence, and detail my car myself.

If I leased a car I wouldn't care at all who changed the oil and washed it. The bottom line is nobody is going to treat your car the way you do. I take pride in my car in all aspects. I want to be sure it's 100% properly maintained, clean, and so on.

As for not caring about synthetic because you won't own it that long to care think again. It's a huge selling point. I'd rather buy a car off of someone that did their own basic maintence/oil changes/detailing because I know that care went into it. Taking the time to make sure all the old oil drained out, prime the new filter and so on. If I saw 50 receipts from the dealer, jiffy lube I'd turn away.

Any car that I have sold in front of my house there was never a problem with the buyer. They saw me take care of it from driving up the street everyday. Never had a lowball price, just sign and drive away. It all comes down to how much you care, and how much pride you have in your car.

I understand some people physically can't get under the car to do it, thats fine, but I don't think there is a reason to justify that going to the dealer or having someone else clean your car over doing it on your own is necessary.

Hapa DC5

A lot of people wouldn't. In most cases they see it as properly maintaining the vehicle.

I do agree though, the owner would take the best care of the car if they are capable of doing the maintenance and have the time to.

Not all dealers or fast lubes are bad; it all boils down to the individual.

avs007

You should see what jiffy lube did to my brother's Subaru... His Forester has a tranny filter that looks a lot like an oil filter... Anyways, Jiffy lube removed the tranny filter thinking it was the oil filter.... They never refilled the tranny, becuase they didn't know they drained several quarts from it... His car was only 3 months old at the time... Anways a few days later the drivetrain seized.

Jiffy lube tried to deny any responsibilty, but they chose to mess with the wrong family... (Did I mention that every male in my family tree going back 3 generations are lawyers, except for my immediate family members? )

Anyways, they never went to court, and just settled on private terms. He ended up trading in the car, and got a WRX.

PPLAPW

^ Nice ending....

I hate cars

I agree... Nice ending.

My friend went in to Jiffy Lube for a transmission flush on his Typhoon. They pulled the oil cooler lines instead of the transmission and ended up filling the motor with transmission fluid. A week later it had a rod bearing knock and seized turbo. He didn't pursue the matter for some reason.

PiperG

I'm not trying to start an argument or anything, but anytime you want to compare swirls in your car compared to mine, let's do it. Wash by hand? I doubt it. You know what happens to the expensive fluids that the techs 'forget' to put in your car? Yep they take it home and use on their cars. Trust me, I used to get dealer service all the time....but with this car, it's just too darn easy not to do it.

bmaczo6

iTrader: (1)

No matter how old I will get I will always change my own oil. The problem with taking it in for oil changes is the lowest paid, most inexperienced person is the one doing them and mistakes happen far too often. It is not worth rolling the dice on something that is vital to the health of the car. My son decided he no longer wanted to have dad change his oil and he would just take it in instead. The first time he took it to Tire's Plus for an oil change they forgot to put oil in it despite a corporate policy that 2 people check and sign off that it was completed.

KeithL

DIY oil on TL is not bad, but tight. I used to do it with out ramps or lifting car. Problem is usually when dropping the filter you will have dripping oil. I finally got sick of doing it myself. My dealer charges $15 if I bring all my own stuff. So I bring my Mobil1 0W20 and Mobil1 filter and when MID gets down aroun 30% I let them do it. They have express service so i am in and out usually in under 15 minutes. And I pass them every day on way home form work and they are open until midnight.

avs007

With my air-assisted jack, I can change the oil on our TL in under 5 minutes, especially since Wal-Mart now carries Mobil-1 5W-20 in 5 quart jugs. (I pour 1/2 quart into an empty bottle for later)

Heck, with my air tools and jack, I once did my brakes in like 15 minutes.

SouthernBoy

NO ONE touches my car. I'm so anal, last year when I got new tires, I jacked my TL up in my garage, put the car on stands, removed the wheels, and carried them to the tire dealer in my pickup to have the tires mounted. Then I installed them on my car myself.. after washing the wheels, inside and out, and cooling down the tires to do an accurate pressure fill, also in my garage.

So you KNOW, there ain't no way some God-knows-what-or-who is going to change my oil.

avs007

I did that too when I got tires the last time... I watched the guys like a hawk when they installed the tires... I think that since I rolled the wheels in by hand, they knew to take extra care... I watched as they rolled the wheels into the shop one at a time. I watched as they installed rubber feet on their mounting machine, to insure my forged wheels don't get scratched. I watched as they took triple the amount of time to put the wheel on the machine. Normally they toss the wheel on the machine... I watched as they spent at least a minute to put the wheel on the machine. I watched to make sure they used vinyl coated stick on weights....

Kudos to America's Tire Company, for taking extra special care of my wheels..

Unlike Les Schwab. Those dingbats gouged my other wheels when they "threw" my wheels on the machine and missed.... Then to add insult to injury, they cross threaded one of the studs.

I hate cars

I was walking in to Discount Tire to have my tires installed and saw a "mechanic" throw a rim onto a Camry and hit one lugnut with an impact with no torque bar and run it all the way up. The rim actually bound and he kept hammering on it until it popped and went flush with the hub. I kept walking and told the service manager what happened and that they better use a torque wrench on my lugs.

I made sure they saw me watching through the window as they used a torque wrench to tighten the lugs. I don't want to be a pain in the ass but the same place snapped one of my ARP extended studs on the GN and I had to pull the axle to replace it.

I should add that I told them to fill the tires with 40psi of nitrogen and then I let the car sit overnight and aired them down to the right pressure.

shooter

Huh ... minus me ... not that handy with cars ...

S PAW 1

C'Mon Tony, you old fart!
Every time I get the urge to have someone else change my oil, I remember the time my brother had Jiffy change his oil in his T-Bird......they left the old oil in it, and just added 5 more quarts! Hell of a way to treat your +$30K investment.