cab13367

So I changed the oil in my new to me 2007 TL Type-S recently and reset the oil life gauge per the instructions in the manual. I have now driven 642 miles since the oil change, about 600 of them during one all highway highway road trip, and the oil life is still reading 100%. Is this normal?

Thanks,

Al

01tl4tl

It will take a little while to get it dropping- programmed to reach 0 at 7500 miles and time for an oil change again.

SouthernBoy

Yes, not at all unusual.

LoveMyTL-S

Awwww, you gotta love that MID.

Majofo

Mine goes in increments of 10%.. unless yours is vastly different or upgraded the next time you'll see it change will be at 90%

Morrissey25

iTrader: (4)

Mine is getting close to that 7,500 mile mark and my oil is at <5%. I was happy to get that many miles on her before making the change. Now its time to get a new filter and oil her up.

LoveMyTL-S

Great DIY. Did mine a couple of weeks ago.

Majofo

What!?.. you don't wait 'til <5%.. 15% no less. 7,500 miles!

csmeance

The gauges read in increments of 10 until 30% or 20%, then they start dropping by 5%. This calculation is not based on the mileage of the car, but various factors computed such as engine speed, temperature, throttle position, vehicle speeds, etc. I have had the oil in my MDX last nearly 10K before reaching 15%.

Red Voodoo

I have always changed my oil every 5k in all cars that I have owned over the years. 7k with today's motor oil (I'm speaking of regular "dino" oil) is quite acceptable IMO. I haven't jumped onto the synthetic bandwagon yet, so I can't speak for that formula. Acura's MID is nice as it takes the guesswork out of things.

cab13367

Thanks for the info everyone. I thought I read in the manual that the oil life counts down based on # of engine revolutions, not miles.

Al

Majofo

RP? I have an '03 MDX no MaintMinder so I religiously do oil change 5k, oil filter in between. I guess I can be less conservative since I baby it but dang 10k miles! What was the condition of the oil? Definite thumbs up on the calculation.. I don't trust it on the TL though..

Tripnbeats

Oh my god its broken!!!

Majofo

- did you go negative.. j.k... if you're for real then give us an update.. if not..

Tripnbeats

lol im just kidding dude..... it depends on ur style of driving and the amount of starts the car has throughout the life of the oil in the pan at that time.....i drive my car from ny to fl a lot and back and i do my changes before i leave for either state and the oil doesnt even go to 90% after my 1300 mile trip.... but once i get to shit york sorry... new york... it starts to go FAST!

Tripnbeats

i dont even go by the % on the MID I dump it out every month the computers always lie. i dont trust them.

Majofo

I can only imagine.. It seems like once the oil life starts to go down it starts to breakdown at a faster rate.. yeah.. I trust that it is computing the oil life correctly but something in me says: "you killed too many civics this month.. change oil" .. lol.. j.k... and I use synthetic.. well I figure it's a cheap & easy maintenance job.. one afternoon.. done.

DevilDogge

No reason to change every xxxx miles regardless of how much oil life is less... If you want to do that, then go get an '89 Geo Metro. With the advanced oil filtering in our cars, bimmers, and others, do what your car tells you. I think most people bought an Acura because it's an advanced car, but what's the point of having an "advanced" car if you don't use it's advantages?

Regardless of which type of oil you use, synthetic or non-synthetic, you shouldn't drive more miles of what your car is capable of filtering. Drive 10k miles with synthetic in a ford escort if you want, but you still have combustion by-products breaking down and turning into acid after your approximate 3k or 3 months (starts turning to acid after 3 months). I use Mobil 1 synthetic, and I change mine at about 5 -10% left. Not my car, do what you want... just a little advice.

Tripnbeats

yea i use synthetic as well. or semi synthetic mobil 1 i want to try amsoil I really didnt like the royalpurple when i tried it.

DevilDogge

Oh... sorry.. I'm assuming that your car is stock.... if heavily mod'ed (i.e. supercharged...) ... might be a little different.

Morrissey25

iTrader: (4)

It was at 20%, then I took a road trip now its at 5% I know, I know... won't happen again. I can feel the difference when I'm driving. I remember my first few cars... I don't think I changed the oil every 20K. Poor first cars
:shakehead

DMZ

I haven't even tried Royal Purple. At around $9 bucks a quart they can keep it.

Majofo

You have nice TL.. treat it well.. The engines are very rugged and reliable but they still need routine maintenance..

Majofo

Why? the price.. lol.. I'd go longer on RP.. Amazon has it on sale for 12 qts $90 shipped.. not bad but still more than Mobil 1.. haven't heard much about amsoil.

Tripnbeats

amsoil is 100% synthetic...so is RP.... mobil 1 isnt its like 75% syntec and 25% regular oil.... there was a thread on that a few weeks ago.

01tl4tl

mobil1 high mileage is the old pure syth mobil1

Oils are made with additives designed to wear out at about 8000 miles
They have decided 7500 is the standard so why make a product that last longer than that?

Filter change halfway thru can extend oil service, but full oil change is a simple DIY
do it early if you commute- read the owner book on severe duty service

DevilDogge

+1... on the Mobil 1 I get, it says "full synthetic" right on the front label...

Mobil 1 FTW!

ballerjai

Woah, 5%? I've gone to 10% and was already scared to death. I usually have it at 15% too.

BTW, yes it's normal, and it usually does go down by increments of 10, so you could possibly be like at 93% right now.

LaCostaRacer

The MID is very smart so highway miles (lower RPMs) take longer to decrement the MID than city miles with lots of idling and stop & go. My guess is you'll see it go down to 90 before you hit 900 miles. My MID took a long time to get down to 30% (today)- seemed like it was at 40% for 4 or more tanks of gas and that was with city miles even.

I imagine there is a formula in the MID that factors average RPM, miles, time duration, and startups that play into the calculation- just a hunch. Perhaps somebody who has stored a car for a long duration could shed some light on the time theory? I'm thinking if you store a car with MID=90% and don't drive the car for a few months that the MID may go down the next time the car is started.

T Ho

I'm currently at 240 miles overdue. Oh, the humanity!

It's too f'in cold and snowy outside to be doing an oil change... in my garage.

Tripnbeats

i do the oil at 40% I really dont trust the compputer when the oil is black it bothers me.....call me OCD but it still bugs me out

Majofo

Eww.. what mileage does it turn black? yeah that would bother me too. When I drain mine it still has some ember in it, which makes me at ease. I do change the filter in between though b/w 2-3k miles on a fresh fill and then top off a little, not overfill.

Tripnbeats

3000-4000k oils done....the MID makes u change it at 5000 or so....im not into that. to me...oil is done after 4000k i dont care how much u put in a car or what the cars computer says synthetic or not its done.

DevilDogge

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

I always let the MID go down to <5%. It's fine with me.

DevilDogge

Not too sure where you get your information... but "full synthetic" means.. full synthetic to me. Mobil 1 IS full synthetic... and I'm pretty sure it always has been.

csmeance

If that's your theory, just don't get an RDX, the oil turns green-> black after about 100 miles.

Rob RiL

iTrader: (5)

Agreed. Transmission oil will stay reddish for most of its useful life. Engine oil, however, turns black shortly after it is put in. It isn't that the oil is burnt, it just mixes with old oil left over. Unless you flush your motor every oil change, you'll always have leftovers.


I've always changed oil every 3000 miles but only used regular oil. Sometimes high mileage Castrol if the car was over 100k. High mileage is determined to be 75k by most automotive shops.

My pre-owned TL has no mileage indicator letting me know when it was last changed. MID says 60% left but I haven't seen any actual documentation regarding how the MID calculates this indication. When I do, then I might trust it more.
I'm considering using Royal Purple but it isn't cheap if I plan to do it every 3000 miles. A Royal Purple filter is around 16.99 before tax. Oil is around 8.99 before tax. I know with synthetic you can wait until around 5K miles so I might do that.

TLTrance

I change it whenever its convenient after I'm <10%. No issues whatsoever. I usually get 7500-8000 miles using Mobil 1 5W-20 syn with a M1-110 filter.

I tried RP and it didn't make a difference in terms of how many miles I got out of it.

Majofo

You guys may not notice a difference but the particulates and metal content in lab tests have proved that RP is the best and for the real analysis you have to flush your engine out before using it to get the maximum efficiency.

I tried looking up the SAE score sheet for their test that put up against Mobil 1 but I couldn't find it. I did find this gem:

http://www.animegame.com/cars/Oil%20Tests.pdf

Kinda interesting.. well I'll try to find the score sheet / analysis.. my buddy emailed it to me but I can't locate it. I'll post it when I locate it.