dodgerblue

Hey Everyone:

Got a quick question, and was hoping you all can give me some good advice.

I bought a TL last November, and ever since then I have not driven it very much as I've been out of town quite often so the car has spent much time in the garage. Total mileage is around 1100 miles right now. As of the last time that I drove it, the MID shows 80% oil life left.

Question that I have is...since it has already been almost 5 months since I've bought the car, should I go ahead and bring the car in for its 1st oil change, or follow the MID and wait until it tells me it's time for an oil change? What's the recommended interval for oil changes?

I've read somewhere that Acura puts in some kind of special additive in its initial motor oil to help break in the engine, and that we should always just follow the MID religiously. However, I'm hesistant to wait that much longer since it could be a while before the MID alerts me for the first time, since I've still got 80% left. Obviously I don't want the oil to sit for too long and cause irreversible damage to my new car.

What do you all suggest that I do in this situation? Any help or expert advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hawhyen51

Hopefully, this thread will answer your question.

SodaLuvr

I’m going to tell you something “right off the bat,” and that is, the Acura dealer will NOT change your oil/filter for you until you have at least 3K, because of Honda’s recommendations.

Acura does not really have a “specified interval” for service on this car, since it’s dependent on the MID to determine intervals.

Honda/Acura started factory filling their cars with a motor oil that contains a higher molybdenum content than the average motor oil. (About 300-400ppm) Most motor oils contain less than 200ppm of Molybdenum; the actual reason why Honda/Acura does this is not known.

Below, are three Used Oil Analysis (UOA) reports of the factory fill from two 2004 Acura TLs and a 2005 Acura TL. Note that all three of those reports showed a high molybdenum level, around 300ppm.



This car belongs to JetJock.



This car belongs to XPDitor


This car belongs to JackSprat01.

Mark Mathys, an oil analysis lab manager for Butler-Machinery, is a site sponsorer for Bobistheoilguy.com. He volunteered to run a Virgin Oil Analysis (VOA) of the new SM/GF-4 Havoline 5w-20 as a contribution to the Bobistheoilguy.com VOA library. Below are the results of the VOA:



Note the molybdenum level in this oil. Its is much higher than the Honda factory fill, making it an ideal replacement of the factory fill. Many people on Bobistheoilguy.com have changed the factory fill early on their Hondas/Acuras, not necessarily with a high molybdenum oil, and have experienced no oil consumptions or other ill effects.

Another user on this forum (I think his name was Tim) changed the factory fill on his Acura at around 3000 miles, and then did two 3K intervals at the advice of a professional interpreter of oil analysis results, Terry Dyson, since this engine generates very high wear metals during the first 10K of its life. Below, are his results:



Note: The owner used Fuel Power (FP) and Neutra about every other tank, as well as an Auto-RX maintenance dose. The usage of the Fuel Power contributed to the lowered insolubles level.

Note how much lower the wear metals are after two short intervals with new oil, since the two short intervals had “flushed out” many of the wear metals leftover from the factory fill. The use of a synthetic during these two intervals are completely unnecessary, but the owner chose to do so for whatever reason. Thus, I recommend draining the factory fill from your vehicle immediately and replacing it with Havoline 5w-20 and a Purolator PureOne filter for (2) 3,000 mile intervals. After the two short intervals, your vehicle will have about 7,000 miles, then you can switch to a better oil at 5-7K with oil analysis to support your drain interval.

Please do not forget to use a quality oil filter. The Fram Extra Guard and Fram Tough Guard Oil Filters are both poorly constructed because of less filter media, thin gaskets, and flimsy cardboard end caps. Same with the low-end Champion Labs filters (STP and Supertech), they recently switched to a new “Ecore design,” which lower the quality across the board. The only oil filters that I recommend for the Acura TL are the Purolator PureOne Filters ($6) and the Amsoil oil filters (Baldwin produced, $12). Although both of these are high efficiency filters, the Purolator PureOne is sufficient for most users unless they plan on extending drains past 7,500 miles. I do not recommend the Honda OE filters unless you can find the excellent Filtech ones, since Honda OE filters nowadays are produced by Fram. The Mobil 1 and K&N oil filters (Champion Labs produced, but of a high-end model) are good, but the Amsoil has a higher capacity and sometimes seems to do a better job.

Hope this helps.

Michael

SodaLuvr

I'd like to add that the Amsoil XL-7500 5w-20 that was used was NOT of the new SM/GF-4 version, but of the older SL/GF-3 variety.

This oil performed very well in this vehicle and could go 7500 miles on its next use, perhaps 10,000 if Lube Control was used as well to control the oxidation. Although it isn't a "real synthetic" since it is a Group III, it performed just as well as, if not better than Mobil 1 in this application. I'd highly recommend this oil for all TL owners. This oil is about $4.65/quart shipped when purchased by the case from lubespecialists.com, who are willing to sell Amsoil products at dealer cost.

Michael

brooklynbob

Thanks for the great advice. I have always changed my own oil and in recent years have had a great deal of success with Amsoil products. I recently purchased a 2005 TL and plan to change the oil per your recomendation, but have been unable to locate the oil filter..

Pleas help me out on this

dodgerblue

Is there any harm in waiting until the MID alerts you for your 1st oil change, regardless of how long it has been since you first bought the car? As I mentioned in my original post, I've had the car for 5 months now and have only driven 1300 miles. I've received advice from Michael Wan to change it out ASAP to get out the break-in debris from the factory oil.

However, when I called my dealer to make an appointment just now, they said that it's probably way too early, and that I should consider bringing it in when it's around 2500 miles. So which is better? I still have the oil change appointment for next Friday...

JackSprat01

Dodger: I don't think anyone can tell you more clearly than what has already been said, but I'm going to try just once. Screw the dealer and GET THAT OIL OUT OF YOUR CAR! Why have the dealer do the oil anyway? Get the good Halvoline oil Michael recommends or Motorcraft synblend and flush the crap out of your crank case. One of those OAs up there is mine and I wish I had changed mine earlier. It was full of metal and there is no need for that. You do love your TL, don't you????

SodaLuvr

Just change it.

End of discussion.

This topic gets old after a while.

Michael