n-spring

To the OP, the MID indicates oil life remaining, not oil usage. At 15%, it will start nagging you with "Maintenance due soon". Believe me, you'll want to bring the car in for an oil change once that starts to happen.

Mr Marco

...30, 20, 15, 10 percent.

alienstudio

what are some of the recommended brands for oil?
is acura's synthetic?

Teddybear

goes down to 5%, then 0.
after that it counts by mileage.

Teddybear

to clarify. it goes by ever 10%, then at 20% and lower it goes by 5%.

boss2k

thanks everyone ... so what would be the best time to change oil , below 30 % ?

Oswald Vater

I usually let mine get to 20% before I change it. However, if I am close to that percentage and making a longer trip I don't mind it going lower as long as I know it won't hit "0" before I return.

dwest1023

Unless you gonna keep the car for 20 years or more, Just use mobil 1, the defacto standard. I use mobile one in my year old Toyota pickup and its over 24 years old and my neighbor is still driven it. You cant do better than that. Having said that, I use Royal Purple in my cars, but Im hard on my rides. AT $9 a quart. aint worth putting that in a Acura TL. Our engines do not work very hard.

alienstudio

i have about 4000km on my tl and the oil is at 60%. when is the best time to change oil for the first time?

Teddybear

^follow the mid.

ATL126AM

Hey guys,

i currently have 1,100 miles on my car. What is the recommended milage to have your first oil change?

i was looking thru the owners manuel and i didn't seem to come across anything.

Thanks in advance for your help.

nj2pa2nc

follow the oil life (maintenance minder). When it gets to 15% it will start with service due soon with a code of what service needs to be done. A-1 is the first-oil change. At 5% it will be service due now. After 0%it will start with miles past due.

Bearcat94

There have been rumors that Acura uses a "break in" oil with a particular formulation. IIRC, it has a higher level of Mo to assist with machining asperities in the engine. Although I don't recall if a particular mileage was recommended, I seem to recall that you wanted it long enough to do it's job, but not too long.

ASSUMING that is true, I'd change around 4,000 miles (or by the MID, whichever is first) and then follow the MID with a GOOD quality oil and filter thereafter.


2 Ten-year old TL J32 engines, 105k and 195k miles respectively:

alienstudio

mobile 1 synthetic is the oil to go ?

MrDavros2U

I just picked my TL up but the dealer told me to hold off until the maintenance minder said service was due now. This was due to additives that they had in the oil for break in. It was late and the service dept was closed so I couldn't get any more details.

I used to have a initial oil-change at 2-3k but a friend of mine that owns his own garage says that is a little "old school". I will probably just follow the maintenance minder on this one.

jmps

Same quesitons... We just put a deposit down on a new TL. So when does the first oil change happen for most people? I am used to a maintenance schedule. After the first about how often does each change come up? I use synth for a turbo but I assume it isn't needed here. The manaul doesn't call for it.

Bearcat94

The MID is smarter than a fixed OCI schedule. It takes in to account time, mileage, RPMs, Temp, number of cold starts, etc.

This means it accounts for the way you drive between oil changes; much better than you or a fixed OCI can.


FWIW, for almost 5-years, our 3G MID has me changing the oil at very close to 4,500 miles each time. Our use conditions don't change much and the consistency of the MID recomended OCI reflects that. And I use synthetic for peace of mind.

n-spring

Acura dealership recommended changing oil at 15%, which is when the MID will start nagging you every time you start the car.

n-spring

Just stick with what the MID tells you to do. It will start nagging you at 15% oil life remaining, which is when my Acura dealer recommended I bring it in for service.

Linmk2

My 2011 TL has a little over 13,000 miles. The MID has come on twice. Both times around the 6000 mile mark.

potmilkz

im going to be doing my second oil change next few days..

im at 18400 miles right now.. with MID telling me i have 15% left..

my last oil change was 8800 miles ago. lol.. i sometimes doubt my MID about my oil life.. i will just have to wait and see how dark the oil comes out to be...


btw im going with mobile 1 extended performance 4.5 quarts with Fram Tough Guard.

Pete2010

"Dark" means nothing - if you want to know how much life is still in your oil you'll have to send it off to blackstone for analysis.

potmilkz

true, but im sure it ran its course.. its 8800 miles since i changed it..

Pete2010

Oh - most definitely. I think there is an old thread around here somewhere where someone sent out the oil after an oil change. I believe they found that the MID is pretty much spot on.

potmilkz

but i think i can find myself pushing it up to 10k... i still do have 15% oil life..

denvrfan

Our 2012 TL Tech got to 7400 miles before the display went to 15%. Performed the first change at this point. Went synthetic with Mobil One 0w-20. I have been running synthetic (nearly always Mobil One) in all of my vehicles for several years with zero engine issues.

russ0813

How many miles did you wait till 1st oil chane? And does anybody use Mobile 1. I purchased my 2012 not lease
Thanx

nj2pa2nc

just follow the oil life (maintenance minder). when it gets to 15% it will show you service due soon with a code of what service needs to be done.

ionian2k

You're lucky because on my 2012 TL SHAWD 6MT there is no oil on my dipstick by the time my oil life is at 30% according to maintenance minder around 5K and get this crap the dealer said it's fine. Acura Client relation aka Acura Client car said the car is operating as design. I have about 14k miles now and it is still doing it. Crazy stuff.

ejbrandt

I use Amsoil and have for 15 years on 4 different cars.

3rdGenHybrid

50% oil life MAX, is when i change my oil, thats roughly 3k miles, Oil has not improved much since pre-oil life indicators, so i dont trust going more than 3k miles on oil, even synthetic. Its not like bmw or audi that use about 8-10 quarts to go 6-10k miles on an oil change....most hondas/acura use 4-5 quarts max.

fsttyms1

Ever had it tested? If not, there is no reason to not trust it. I run 15k intervals on my 00 TL. Never an issue. (oh and there is 260k miles on the 6 speed swap motor now)

Edward'TLS

You should now check your oil more often. Running the car with the engine oil level below the dipstick is not good for the engine.

nj2pa2nc

I hope you got it in writing as verbal gets forgotten. How do you know if there is oil if it does not register on the dipstick. The oil has always been right-on on my tsx dipstick-never had to add any. I have all the service done by acura/honda dealers. I have almost 137K miles now.

3rdGenHybrid

Working on Hondas everyday, and checking oil levels before I even touch them is proof enough, not every Honda motor drinks oil, but it seems the newer motors burn oil like nobodys business. Obviously the accords are burning it faster than any other model out, but I rather change my oil early than trust an oil life system that takes me to 5k+ miles for an oil change that's cost you $20.... PREVENTative maitainence, not "Too late Ive burn 4 qts of oil by 20% oil life maintainence"

OpIv37

I just got an '09 TL Tech (not the SH-AWD).

Is it worth it to switch to synthetic?

I'm well aware that the necessity of a 3k oil change is a myth on modern cars. My last car was an Accord Coupe EX-L. I changed the oil every time the maintenance minder told me I had to, but that was maybe 6 times on 59k miles, without synthetic.

So, is it worth going to synthetic on my TL? Does the maint minder know how to deal with a switch if I do it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edward'TLS

All 2012 TL's are recommended by the factory to use synthetic engine oil; which means that dealerships will automatically put synthetic oil into all 2012 TL's being serviced there.

OpIv37

Thanks, but I have an 09, not a 12.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

I think it ultimately depends on where you live (climate), how you drive and how long do you plan to keep the car. I use synthetic on my 09' every time.

OpIv37

I live in Baltimore so the climate can be harsh- this winter was unusually mild but it's usually in the 20's for Jan and Feb and it's hot as hell in the summer- high 90's with 90+ percent humidity.

I don't race it or anything extreme like that but I am a lead-footed driver so I do drive it somewhat hard. And I plan on keeping it for a while- the car is amazing.