tm86it

According to the computer, I just went from 60% oil life to 50%, and I'm at 5,100 miles. Unless the oil gage functions like the gas gauge, I'll be getting my 1st change around 10,000 miles.

Does this seem right? Tempted to take it in earlier, but I've heard to wait till the car says to.

Cheers...

TSX1138

On the advice of a porsche owner and car crazed nut and family member, for the first one and all others I took mine in at 30%. Same advice told me to use Mobile 1 or Royal Purple Synthetic. Been running on Royal Purple.

jshoe

I have 21,600 miles on my TL, and the computer hit 15% at about 8500 miles both times. That's when I changed mine. I use Mobil 1. I always changed my oil at 3000 miles in the past, I'm not excited about this but it is what Acura claims is correct, also did a lot of reading on the Mobil web page, and they say follow the manufacture. I guess I'll know more when I hit 150K miles or not.

Oswald Vater

I finally hit 30% at 4800 miles. I figure I can go to about 5500 before it hits zero. Oh yea, my car is 1 1/2 years old (It's an 08). I know its a little unnerving to wait so long but I believe the 3k mile oil change interval, while it can't hurt anything, is premature by today's oil standards especially if you use a good, brand-name oil (synth or dyno). Go by the MID recommendation.

pokin

???
I don't have a 4G... but, I thought the OEM oil is specially-formulated for break-in and should extend close to the full oil life.

Eli

I'm at 50% oil life at 4000 miles and I've had the car since October. Per the manual, I'm going to probably change it at the 1 year mark instead of what the computer says.

dshahs420

Yes this is true. Some people say its just assembly grease that makes the oil more robust than regular oil but my personal opinion is that it is indeed a specially formulated oil that has more zincdithiophosphate(ZDDP), an anti wear additive and also a LOT of molybdenum, a anti-friction additive. I don't drive the TL a whole lot, I bought the car on May 22nd and have just over 300 miles and dealer gas but I plan to keep this oil in the crankcase for 1 year. When I change it next year I will be getting a used oil analysis and post it here!

dshahs420

Honestly, from my experience, people who own high end sports cars usually don't know anything about motor oil and their chemistry and how they work. They tend to reguritate information fed to them while hanging out with other car crazed nuts. I would never ask a race car driver or automotive enthusiasts advise on motor oil. Heck, I know mechanics who work on high end cars who look at me funny when I ask them to take a sample of used oil for me so I can send it out to be analysed.

PGSberg

I always change oil for the first time at 3k to remove any break-in debris. I then work my way back to every 5k. This has worked for me for 30+ years and the 5k interval has worked especially good for both of my daughters. They have done a great job taking thier cars in just by looking at the odometer. Pretty close to idiot-proof.

NYSH-AWD

My 4G TL asked for an oil chage at around 3500. Throughout my experiences with different vehicles it has always been normal for an oil chage at around 3500 miles. In addition I think that an oil change at 5000 miles or higher is some what abnormal unless your driving habits are extremely moderate.

I like to feel the torque when I drive, perhaps that's why I get to change the oil every 3500 miles or so.

Mike_TX

Old habits die hard, but I changed my opinion a few years ago when I owned a string of BMW's. Their computers didn't call for an oil change until around 15,000 miles and I couldn't stand it.

But when I took my first one in to the dealer, they told me I was just wasting my money and good oil to change it sooner. The car's computer evaluates oil condition based on number of starts, outside and engine temperature, engine speeds, and a number of other factors, and it knows when to change the oil. (BTW, they used synthetic oil, which has a longer life.)

In short, changing oil based on miles driven is dumb. People drive all different ways and under different conditions. For instance, 5,000 highway miles is a LOT easier on oil than a lot of stop and go driving in cold weather. So the best thing to do is to let the car's computer tell you when it's time. And you'll never run afoul of the warranty as long as you used Acura's own oil change instructions.

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nkgnito

I'm at 10% at 5844 miles. I'm guessing that I'll probably be getting an oil change within the next couple of weeks. I've had the car since December.

PetesTL

Same here...I'm at 10% at 5K....going in tomorrow to get the oil change. I wish Acura offered a similar no-charge maintenance program for leases like BMW offers. When I had my 545i, BMW did oil changes, fluid replacements, rotated tires, changed brake pads, changed wipers, and winterized the car all for free.

JD23

I'm assuming the "free" maintenance is included in the initial cost of the vehicle and is not actually free.

PetesTL

I don't recall being charged anything extra for my lease term. If anything, I was able to negotiate about $2K off the sticker price off my 545i when I took delivery....and at that time, it was almost impossible to get a substantial discount on a new 5 series, let alone on any BMW.

danimal1968

When they set the pricing, they have to take into account the costs, and the 4 years of free maintenance, from what the BMW dealer told me, is in the $1500-2000 range. Even if that is the retail price, there is a real cost included there. The guys at BMW are pretty smart, and I promise you that they're not ignoring that cost when they set the MSRP. It's not an additional item on the invoice but it is built into the cost to some extent. And the problem is that it creates no incentive to keep maintenance prices under control, making BMWs very expensive to own once they're 4 years old. There's a reason BMW has had to offer extremely low interest rates on 2006 CPO BMWs.

Dizave

Good info!

SmallBucket

I have always changed the oil in a new car at 1000 miles. Then switch to Synthetic and change every 5k.

PaulNY

I changed mine at 3500 miles the first time, then the past two oil changes have been around 4000 intervals...Its one of the cheapest forms of maintenance, and never hurts to change oil "too early" and at my dealership, gets me a nice hand car wash too haha..

venom550pm

My salesman threw in 1 year of oil changes for free, but at the rate i'm going (70% left after 3000 miles) i will probably only get 2 oil changes out of him

couch257

Just had my 1st oil change at 6160 miles. They also took care of my rattling sunroof.

shakedown

i would change oil every 3k or 6 months i would not wait for that oil percent thing. at times it is not correct. i am in the business, recommened all my clients 3k or 6 months it all depends on how you drive the car..

guytdt

Change it at 5000K miles or 6 months whichever comes earlier. Change it today (4,9xx miles) and it only shows 50%.

3rdTL

With a new engine it's always best to let the little pieces of metal that accumulate from initial wear run through the engine for as long as possible. This helps to polish the components of your engine to a nice smooth finish. So try and stretch that first oil change out to 10K or 15K. Be sure to hit that rev limiter too. You'll want to make sure it works and the high RPMs rubbing the metal flecks against the cylinder walls will put on a nice finish. Bwahahahahaha!

jzacuto

It's all in the manual, folks:

Help assure your vehicle’s future reliability and performance by paying extra attention to how you drive during the first 600 miles (1,000 km).

During this period:
Do not change the oil until the multi-information display indicates it is needed.
Avoid hard braking for the first 200 miles (300 km).
Avoid full-throttle starts and rapid acceleration.

Leave the oil there until the MID tells you to do otherwise.

I realize many of you claim to have been driving since the dawn of the modern automobile and that plenty of you "have a guy" that "knows a lot" about cars, but really... there are reasons these manuals are printed and that the manufacturer takes the time to validate what they publish.

Every car is different, every manual has different information. Before making assumptions or taking the word of some trusted automotive "advisor", it's really best to consult with the information that came from the horses mouth, not the other end.

venom550pm

lol

bw5556

I tried to have my first oil change at 20% on my Accord but I was turned away and told to come back when the MM hit 0%. I think I'll try it on my TL too just to see what happens.

jzacuto

Rattling sunroof? You too? can you describe the problem and the fix?

chaiwala

If anyone feels uncomfortable about going so long on the oil life monitor(OLM)between changes, I urge you to change to a quality synthetic oil(mobil 1, amsoil, pennzoil platinum, castrol syntec or Valvoline Synpower) and forget about it till the OLM tells you to or 1 year which ever comes first to keep the warranty intact.

jzacuto

If anyone is uncomfortable with how long they're going on their original fill of oil and may be afraid that the monitor might be less than accurate, I would urge those people to seek the professional advice of their trained Acura service team at their local dealership. Ultimately, these are the professionals most familiar with this product and who, undoubtedly, have the most knowledge about what is essentially an entirely new product (4G TL) with new technology and new advances in computer-aided monitoring.

chaiwala

From some of the digging I have done about the Honda OLM, I have found out that they are very accurate. From my google searches, I came across bobistheoilguy website and there are a lot of people on there with Honda's and Acura's that have an OLM and talking to one long time member on there that has an 2006 TL with 77K miles, he said that he has not seen one oil analysis of a honda/Acura where the owner took the OLM down to 0 to 15% and the OA came back saying otherwise and this is on mineral oil. Lots of OA with 7-9K miles on plain ol dino oil with some life still left in the oil. So I have good reason to believe him. I feel like I might just have a new hobby/addiction.....lol

For those who may want to change their own oil, this is by far the easiest car to change the oil in. If you have a torque wrench or just a plain ol wrench, a strap tool for the filter and a set of rhino ramps, you are good to go. Took me less than a half hour to change my oil and that is because i have ocd about letting the oil drain for a while so I get the last bit out. Easiest change ever, hands down!