ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Where in the manual does it say that? If someone is driving their car hard/ in a very harsh climate/auto-x then I would tend to agree.

SHAWD10

I was told by a friend who is a Honda mechanic that to be safe and conservative, one should consider doing their oil change around the 20%-15% mark.

Ruby

I just checked the book and your right, I was wrong it says to go by the maintenance minder for your oil changes. I even called up the local Acura Dealer and they said to go by the maintenance minder but they recommend you change the oil when it gets down to 20-30%.

jasonwdp10

I just checked mines, 4300 miles, 30% remaining.

I drive mostly city. At this rate, my first change will be around 6000 miles. Which is normal for cars i drive. I might just change it at 5k intervals to make things easier.

Little Gator

I am like you. I drive it not nearly as often as I would like to. I am at 3300 miles on the car after one year of ownership (next week). At 5 months old and 2200 miles, I changed to full synthetic oil. But the rear AWD differential was not touched.
---Does differential lube break-down with age?

---Should it be changed every year, regardless of miles just like the motor oil?

I am going to guess the early first diff. lube change is to get the break-in metal particles out before they can cause any damage. That is completely opposite of Acura's motor oil change recommendations.
---So why any early diff. change, but not a early motor oil change?
---Is the great advancements in oil technology limited to motors?

Howard804

All due respect to those of you trying to help by relaying information you've read or heard (I certainly appreciate everyone's constructive contribution,) there are enormous amounts of misinformation on the internet and beyond regarding lubricants of all kinds. I know this to be true because I have worked as an Applications Engineer, Salesman and Senior Manager for major lubricant manufacturers and marketers and have worked in the Automotive Industry for the better part of 30 years. I am no longer working in the lubricant industry for those of you that might suggest that I just have something to sell (I am not endorsing or trashing any brand.) That out of the way let me attempt to offer a simplified explanation while covering some ground here. I will apologize in advance if this seems too long-winded:

- All oils, petroleum, synthetics, or blends, are hydrocarbons that are subject to aging, or oxidation. This is a type of chemical degradation that leads to acid generation in the oil resulting in among other things two by-products: Varnish and Sludge. The former is insoluble and tends to be abrasive while the latter is soluble and tends to thicken the oil over time, both scenarios to be avoided if possible. The acids generated also lead to corrosive attack of metals in addition to prematurely degrading polymer gaskets, o-rings and seals. You can see why all of this would be bad.

- All properly formulated motor oils are treated in a balanced way (with additives) with their preselected base-fluids to resist oxidation while enhancing other performance factors within the adverse environment of your car’s engine. They are designed to handle the extreme heat and absorb a certain amount of contamination while maintaining a certain level of performance. Over time all motor oils will eventually reach the end of their useful service life and need to be replaced. Years ago and before the use of balanced additive packages and the refined products of today, petroleum oils would need to be changed every 500 to 1,000 miles to avoid problems (all of my comments herein are in miles, not kilometers.) In recent years additive technology and refining processes have gradually improved, including the introduction of semi-synthetics and full synthetics to provide extended drain intervals and better performance characteristics. Generally speaking and in a properly maintained engine, synthetics tend to last longer than petroleum oils based on their oxidation stability, but may not always be the most cost-effective choice for various reasons.

- To correct an earlier statement, semi-synthetics (i.e., petroleum/synthetic “blends”) are basically formulated by balancing synthetic and petroleum oil mixtures to a point where the latter’s characteristics can be improved through the addition of the former and achieving a more cost-effective balance. Sometimes this can be achieved by adding a relatively small amount of synthetic base-fluid to a top quality petroleum base-fluid. As a result these blended products should not be summarily dismissed as an option. There are also some very good petroleum motor oils on the market to consider as well.

- Other than minimizing heat and abrasive/corrosive contamination, one of the most critical factors in determining engine oil life (assuming a good quality motor oil that meets OEM vehicle specs has been selected,) is reducing the amount of accumulated moisture contamination in the oil. The presence of moisture will eventually aggravate and accelerate the oxidative process described above regardless of your driving habits. This is especially when combined with elevated temperatures like in your vehicle’s engine, all of which will eventually shorten oil life.

- An internal combustion engine is nothing more than a positive displacement pump that ingests large volumes of ambient air over its life. Contained in air is a percentage of moisture that is unavoidable, but will vary based on your location and weather conditions. As an engine runs it draws in large amounts of air. Due to various cooling, compression, crankcase ventilation, etc., and unless you live in Death Valley, the ingested moisture accumulates in the crankcase oil over time. If you tend to drive more than 15 – 20 minutes at a time, your engine will generally heat up enough to volatize (evaporate) most of, if not all of the accumulated moisture when it is shut down. If you make shorter drives the engine does not fully heat up and when you shut it down the moisture condenses inside the engine and accumulates over time within the oil, futher accelerating oxidation. Hence the shorter oil change interval when driving habits are short, stop-and-go city drives, while longer intervals are suggested for extended highway driving. This has all been proven out over many millions of miles, simulated on dynamometers and in real-life vehicle testing. Of course if you go off-road and your car ingests a lot of dirt and dust (regardless of the filter you use,) or you like to stomp the gas pedal at every green light, as they like to say, “your results may vary.” Contrary to that, if you are driving highway distances most of the time without subjecting your vehicle to extreme conditions, don't let any dealer or service center convince you of shorter oil change intervals either. That's just a waste of money and time.

- Relative to the above I used to drive in excess of 50K miles per year, mostly in American-made company cars (I fly mostly now.) In the late 80’s and 90’s, and even with all those highway miles, I noticed that if I tried to get 6K miles out of an oil change like the manual said, I would consume a quart from 5K to 6K of that interval. I believe now that after conferring with drive-train engineers and petro-chemists that this was likely the VI Improver breaking down (a whole different explanation) allowing the oil to slowly bypass the rings and gradually burn off as it thinned out. In 2001 I bought a 2K1 Volvo S60 2.3L Twin Turbo. I changed the oil every 6K (petroleum oil,) never had to add anything in between and turned the car back in 4 years later with 66K on it (w/mostly highway, “spirited” driving.) I never had a problem with the vehicle. I then purchased a 2005 VW Touareg 4.2 V8 4WD and after the initial oil changes at 5K & 10K, I changed the oil every 10K (synthetic,) and again never had to add any oil in between. After 5-1/2 years and 96K miles of more spirited driving I never had a problem with this vehicle either. Some of this is no doubt due to improved technology in the manufacturing of engines in addition to improvements in lubricant technology. Also, synthetic oils can probably go longer than 10K, but I would be concerned for contamination that accumulates but is too small or soluable to be filtered out. But that's just me.

From everything I have read about Acura/Honda, I would suspect that extended drain intervals are more than possible. I am not an expert in the new maintenance interval monitoring systems so I cannot comment on specifics here. Everything I have read tells me that the system monitors driving habits, including the duration (time) that the vehicle runs between starts. I have about 800 miles on my 2010 TL SH-AWD after about two weeks of driving (it was parked at the airport for a week) and it is showing 90% oil life. I for one am hoping to see something approaching a 10K oil change interval.

Hope these comments are helpful as there is some logic to all of this - it's not all snake oil and double-talk.

pdd00

7500miles

Little Gator

Bravo for taking the time to explain all that you did. No one will mistake you for a texter type person who can't find a reason to spell out complete words in their comments.

I bought a 2010 Porsche last year also, and it came with the best owner's manual I have ever seen. It is 1/2 the thickness of my Acura manual but explains a whole lot more. It doesn't use 100 pages to explain the buckling up of child seats and another 100 pages on how to operate the radio. But when it came to explain the oil system, Porsche went into great detail of what happens during short drives versus long drives. Porsche explained that some drivers think that they burn a lot of oil when running at highway speeds. When in most cases, it is just that the car is cooking off all the accumulated moisture in the engine from all the previous short city trips.

Little Gator

My dealer just told me that Acura has no schedule requiring the rear differential fuild be changed at the first motor oil change. He said wait until 30K miles.

Glashub

Is there a way to set a timer on the reminder? So that it doesn't nag again until 5%? I looked in manual but so nothing...could've missed it though. Also, the maintenance booklet states thaty A1 can be done anywhere as long as the MID is reset and the service is recorded in the book. Any suggestions as to a place other than the dealership to get that done? Firestone? That sort of thing.

Thanks.

Glashub

^^^^^^
Figured it out. There is no way to reset the nag screen timer. Found a place that will use 76 synthetic blend and tire rotation for $39.00.

drivinginmy04tl

I just changed my factory fill on my 2011 tech tl to Mobil 1 5w20. This car is designed so easy to change the oil and filter on for anyone contemplating taking the task on. It was at 2620 miles and I have some long road trips coming up and did not want to continue driving on the factory fill as it has been hot lately and in a lot of stop and go wanted more protection. When I read the manual it said wait until the maintenance minder prompted the change or you reach 1 year since new or last oil change. I bought the car in April of 2011 but the car was manufactured in september of 2010 so I figured the oil was 8 months on the factory fill when I changed it and had sat on the dealer lot so could also have some moisture in it.

Stew4HD

FYI: The moisture in the oil was gone the first time you hit operating temp.

drivinginmy04tl

Good to know as I did not know that. I still feel good that I changed the oil to synthetic.

dethred

Changed mine today @ 4762 miles . MM was on 50% but the car was built in August 2010, and we've been driving the car for 8 months now. 25 dollar 5qt bottle of Mobile 1 synthetic, 6 dollar filter and a bit of my time. Waiting till 7500 miles to rotate tires, and for the rear differential oil change. Does anyone know about center and front diff intervals?

Was kind of ticked off that my torque wrench and socket wouldn't play nice with the J-pipe. Now I have to go spend money on a different wrench that will fit in there. At least it will have been paid for by doing it myself.

Glashub

Went with the Penzoil Full Synthetic. Top rated not because it is the abolute best (Amsoil is supposed to be) but because it is the best price/performance/availability blend. Glad I switched to full synthetic.

halls120

my first A1 service was at 6500 miles on my 2011 SHAWD 6MT

Glashub

Got about 5500. I say about because I'm projecting....I couldn't take the nag screen and got it changed at 15%. I drove it pretty hard for awhile cuz...well, it can be driven hard and it felt good to.

eluzion

3,738 miles, 50% oil life remaining - Mobile 1 Full Synthetic 5W-20 + Filter.

Forgot how much it sucks taking off the oil filter for the first time...

lji

7200 miles at first A1 service (oil change + tire rotation)