TL Rower

I have a 2012 SH-AWD Manual with Tech

As far as i can find, or not find, any recommended MILEAGE interval for oil changes in the owners manual or on this list. As far as i can tell, you must rely on the reminders the car sends you or the notice of what percentage of the oil life is left per the car.

I've never owned a car that did this and simply changed my oil every 5k miles. I always change my oil myself and keep all the records. I have not owned the car long enough but i bought it with 7K miles on it and i don't trust dealers. The car now has about 9K miles on it and i will change it at 10K with the "oil life" indicator probably showing about 50% life left.

My question is this: without a straight up mile interval provided by the company, how is one to know the life expectancy of the oil with daily, normal commute driving?

As a hypothetical situation for someone who does their own maintenance, who can tell that i changed my oil when it was appropriate to what the car tells me? who's to say that even though i changed my oil at 5k miles from the last change that i didn't do said change after the car told me it was time to change it?

Does my question make sense?

Yes, i know, it's a honda and others have told me that i'm thinking too much about this but i plan on keeping this car "forever".

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

you're over thinking it.

Acura did not go through all the R&D to create the MID. the MID calculates engine revs, start ups, environmental conditions aand how you drive the car into coming up with the oil ife indicator. newer Hondas have the same system in place.

you have a couple of choices, follow the MID as indicated by the owner's manual OR follow your own schedule making sure you log your maintenance and more than likely lighten your wallet among other things.

as you own the car, you will find that the OCI will have a trend based on YOUR driving habits. my TL would go about 4000-4500 mi between OCI based on following the MID (now it's on a 1 yr OCI b/c i'm not accuumulating miles like i was before). this has been the trend for the life of the car based on MY driving style, commute and habits. my MDX will go about 5500-6000 mi between OCI based on the factors unique to me.

if you drive more hwy your intervals will be longer 7500 mi+. mixed driving will be lower at 5-6000 mi intervals.

as far as your hypotheticals...most people who DIY, will lean more on the anal side of things and log all of their maintenance. plus you reset the MID after each OCI.

i hope this sheds some light on your oil change issue.

TL Rower

Thanks TL trigirl. as I thought and as i usually do, I overthink. It hasn't been wrong for me in the past but perhaps on this matter i'd have to listen.

so you don't see a problem following the MID as far as OCI is concerned when doing it myself? my only worry is that if i don't go to them, they'll say i did not follow the interim correctly and i'll have no way to prove, if things go wrong, what my MID said when i changed my oil...

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

spreadsheet and receipts....it's really the only way to have some sort of paper trail for DIY.

i have a spreadsheet with EVERYTHING i've had done to the cars (dealer service, DIY, Mods) and receipts if applicable for any parts. when it comes time to sell it will be shown that the car was well taken care of. when and if a warranty issue pops up...dealer will have to take your word for it. this is the one thing about having them do yoru maintenance for you (building that relationship for the what if crap hits the fan with the car and you're just outside your warranty period). you can buy your own oil and pay the dealer to change it (you pay labor, $24).

just a thought....i have the know how, but not the facilities nor time to hassle with it. not to mention disposing of the oil. i get the DIY part...again for said reasons above...i just impose my anal meticulousness on my service advisor. oh...and no wash.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

right? if you have the receipts showing you bought oil every X amount of months; its enough evidence to show that you did do your oil changes diligently.

it wouldnt hurt to do the spreadsheet idea, either.