Hello all,

Just a quick question. On my new TL I have about 400 miles and I just notcied that the oil life gauge says 90%! Is that about normal usage? At that rate I'll be down to 0% oil life at 4000 miles, which according to posts here is a little too soon. What do you think?

-Steve

 

you are driving too aggressively.

 

its normal, modern engines can survive much longer than the 3K you are accustomed to. if you do a search you will notice that people perform their first oil change anywhere from 3-7 thousand miles depending on driving conditions.

 

iam at 3700 miles with 30% left.

 

He shouldn't be driving agressively since he is still in the break-in period, <600 miles.

I am at 90%, but I have 1050 miles. With a 600 mile trip in there. By translating that out, I won't need an oil change until the 10,000 mark (no way).

Do you make many short trips? How many starts of the engine everyday? Starting is the hardest on your engine.

 

i'mat 40% on 4000 mi... it really does depend on how you drive the vehicle, and some other external factors as well.. regardless, i'll take it in for an oil change after I hit 5000 mi..

 

50% at about 3400 miles on mine...about a 50-50 mix of city and highway driving.

 

80% @ 1400 miles on mine. I'm wondering if the heat has anything to do with that though. I admit, I do drive a little aggressive at times, but for short periods only. I avg about 23-24 MPG.

 

new car? change at 600 miles, 1500 miles, then every 3-5k depending on oil/filters used, how you drive, and environment. the early changes flush out the break-in particles.

 

Yeah, I've been trying to not drive aggressively, really. My RPMs rarely go into the 4k-5k range though I've had a couple 'oops!' and get into the mid-high 4k range (Hey, it's not my fault the engine's so quiet! ). I have the 6MT and it took me a while to get used to the clutch with stalls and jerks abound!

Most of my driving has been city-type driving too, since I haven't gone on any long trips yet. I would say that I start my car 5-6 times a day, on average (coffee, work, gym, errands). Still normal? Am I setting myself up for a problem 5-6 years from now with oil leakage, etc by being 'too aggressive'?

-Steve

 

I changed early like you said (same philosophy) now I am watching MID - I have put an additional 5500 miles since that first change and the MID is now reading 40%.

Normally I would be changing again, but many here say to follow the MID - so confusing. I suspect as with most things it is 6 this 1/2 dozen that (something like that) and we are splitting hairs. I don't know what to think. I know I will not let it go beyond 7000 miles regardless of what my MID says - cause it could be wrong!

 

2100 Miles, 50%, a mix of about 25% highway, 75% city

 

That's about on track with what mine will read at the current rate, and it's on track with about how my city/highway mileage breaks up. Are you driving 'too aggressively'? MT/AT?

-Steve

 

Acura says to follow the MID..... So, I get the oil changed at the dealer. Guess what they stick on my window- a little decal to remind me to change the oil after 3,000 miles. Too funny. I bet the dealer would like to reprogram the MID to read 0% at 3,000 miles. Regardless, I am over 5,500 miles since the last change and still at 30%. My conscious will not let me drive much more without changing the oil.

 

I'm still showing 90% at roughly 1,050 miles. There was one 400 mile day trip and a 200 mile highway/street day trip plus another 400 or so miles of mixed driving.

I'm NOT waiting for the MID to tell me when to do the first oil change. I'm doing the first change by 3,000 miles or earlier.

Regards,

 

There's different schools of thought on this. Some people want to hurry their first oil change and do it at 1000km's. Some people believe the manufacturer when they say they use a special additive and you should leave it for 6000km's.

I changed to synthetic at 10k and am just following the MID now. I might have my oil analyized to make sure it's doing it's job at my next drain.

 

If honda gives us a oil life calculator. they must done some research and testing on the oil life span in this engine. And proven to be a highly reasonable algorithm. Their engineers are better than any1 in this forum saying such and such. I trust Honda not to put the oil life calculator on just because, so all their customers will phuck up their engines.

If some1 ran 3000 miles and showing 90% oil life, that’s a computer malfunction.

 

It sounds like the people that have the lower percent *used* per mile are doing a lot more highway driving than I am. Seriously though, should I be concerned about this, especially if I'm still in my break-in period?

-Steve

 

Steve,
Your fine, don't worry about it. Your car is fine. Keep in mind it's summer so you will switch the oil out sooner then normal. Plus the city driver and starting the car 5 times a day contributes to it dropping sooner. I was worried at one point as well but then I went to the dealer and got to the bottom line.

 

The oil should not changed that early IMO. Supposedly, there are additives in the original oil intended to help break in the engine. This 'reasoning' goes against the MID and the manual. I wouldn't do that.

 

There are about 20 threads on this topic active at any given time:
Here are my 25 cents:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89702

 

heh I just read that before coming back to this thread Thanks for the info guys.. I think I'll wait it out until 3k miles and see what the MiD says. If it's low enough I'll just change it.. Especially since it's the *first* oil change anyway.

Thanks again!

-Steve

 

well, i elect not to rely on computer chips in the car to tell me how my oil is. as for additives in the oil for breakin (as another poster said), the components will all seat themselves with use using regular oil or synth oil (no additives needed). if additives are used i would sure like to know what additives they are.

engine component flak will shed off as the engine seats. changing oil twice within 1500 miles helps protect against getting small particles past the filter.

i did not notice what my MID said after i changed the oil, % should have gone up with ne oil.

 

My 2c on oil change interval vs MID % indictator... since wear and tear in the engineer is mostly due to friction and heat, therefor I change oil and filter between 3k-4k miles. The car not driven hard but alot to stop and go commuter traffic.

 

This post was edited and ended up like it did anyway?

Also, not much friction in stop and go traffic. However, 4K is probably a decent interval if you regularly are stuck in bumper to bumper situations - what has the Mid recommended to you by the way?

 

Hey a Wahoo!!! ....At 3k MID indicates 60% oil life

 

Actually city stop and go driving is considered "severe service".
I had 2400mi and was reading 70% oil life. Had to attend a funeral with alot of
slow driving on a 95 degree day. Oil life went down 10% in 20 miles as well as the
milage went down to 18 from 23mpg.
Craig

 

Certyainly it is - but it is not friction, it is the heat that degenerates mineral oils quickly, as they start to oxidize and thicken from volatile faction burn-off. From heat they were refined, and the proicess starts to work in reverse - left too long, they turn to varnishes and asphalts.

As i said before, many companies no longer define normal and severe, as it is confusing to most people. Ford went to 5K, which is the normal service life of a mineral oil - so when i see a used oil analysis (UOA) of most minoils, they are starting to go by 5K, so these much higher recs from the MiD make me nervous, and as i posted, I do not want to be the victim of a marketing guy's optimism that the quart is half full.

 

Let's see... My engine is thermostatically regulated to operate at about 210 degrees F. Summer or winter, the coolant is 210 degrees. My engine doesn't know if it is summer or winter. It's wearing a jacket. A water jacket.

If anything, my car warms up faster in the summer and gets the oil where it's needed faster than in winter.

So why would I switch the oil out faster in summer? Maybe because I drive more?

Road Rage? Comments?

Of course, I am in Florida so "winter" to me just means more snowbirds clogging the roads and making me drive slower.

Florida bumper sticker: "Welcome to Florida. Now go back to NY"

j/k I'm a transplanted New Yorker.

BTW, back on topic... I have 1000 miles and 90% oil life showing. About half suburban short spurts and half 25 mile runs up the Turnpike and back.

XP

 

The MID calculates the % based on # revolutions, among other things. So, if yer reving high, you'll have to change quicker. If yer crusing at lower RPMs, it'll last longer.

 

40% and have 5200 miles on the car. I do not drive aggressively.

 

I have 3800 miles and 50% oil life