NFTSX

Getting my winter tires put on, so I figured I'd get the first oil change done a little early... ~ 3500 miles (5700kms').

I am still showing 70% oil life, but I think it will drop to 60% any time now (been a while at 70 and it is getting cold here).

My dealer told me that to change it early would 'fool up' the maintenance minder, and to wait until the car said to get an oil change.

I thought they were just reset at every change and would start a 'fresh' tracking.

How does it work.. what do you think?

nj2pa2nc

I personally have followed the maintenance minder on my 06 tsx since new 11/17/06. When the oil life gets to 15% it will give a code what needs to be done. Maybe that is what the dealer is telling you-wait to get the proper code. The first is A-1 (oil change) My car is now at 66,000+miles with the oil life at 5%- code is A13 oil change, check transmission fluid.

AustinJay

On there first batch of oil, there are detergents in it that help break in the motor. You need to wait for the first 5000 miles. After that, it should be every 7500 to 10,000. Depending your driving conditions. Just go by the maintenance minder. It knows when it's time. (save money)

Colin

My recommendation is to follow the Maintenance Minder, you can't go wrong. The original factory fill has additives that Acura WANTS to stay in the engine till the recommended change. These are necessary for the proper break-in of the motor. Please remember to check your oil regularly and add if necessary, this is still your responsibility.

thunderbt3

I just did my first oil change last night. 5% and 8600 miles. Filled it up with conventional Mobile 1 clean 5000 and a new M1 oil filter. I know it says on the first service code that it says no need to change the filter but I changed it anyway. The bolts that hold the front undertray were a pain in the butt to get off along with the oil filter. Other than that, I'll be filling up with M1 full synthetic for the rest of my oil changes.

HeavyDuty

On the first change, I wait until 5k miles because 'they say' it's a special break-in oil. Then...two more changes with conventional and after that, time for M1 oil, filter, and redline synthetic MT lube.

thunderbt3

I've read up some used oil analysis's. Used factory fill Honda oil has high levels of molybenum (sp?) in it. It may not be in the oil, they may just dump an additive in along with the factory fill. It could also be in high levels in the assembly lube and it just ends up washing into the regular oil during operation.

npolite

You should wait as long as possible especially on your first oil change as others have said until your MM reaches at least 15% as it has a special break in oil for your engine. As far as resetting it earlier in the future, before the service reminder comes on, if you do this yes the oil will reset to 100% but the indicators will be screwed up and won't tell you when you need to change the air filter, transmission fluid etc as the only way the pattern changes is when the service reminder comes on with the codes. So it is best to let it always ride down to 15%

bellorusha

May be dump question but still.
I did not change the oil yet, but when I will need to change it, I do not want to go to Acura to change it, simply because they want more money, so the question #1 is how will my mechanic reset the minder? and question #2 how will I prove to Acura that reminder was showing to change an oil at for example at 7K miles (is something will goes wrong with the car and they will request the prove)?

Thank you.

HeavyDuty

Save your receipts in the service maintenance manual that show when the oil was changed and by whom. They *cannot* deny a claim if your oil was changed at a service facility outside the dealer network.

The guys at your oil place probably already know how to reset the maint minder.

bellorusha

I'm sorry, may be I wasn't clear enough. My concern is that you have to change oil every 3K-3.5K miles, but what if my minder will show me to change it at 4K miles, so how will I prove it that it wasnt' me who changed the oil late but the minder who showed me change it ONLY at 4K miles.

Thank again

LukeaTron

Modern motor oil lasts a hell of a lot longer than 3.5k miles unless it's in a tank driving around a dusty desert or something. That 3k number stopped being true at least 25 years ago but the people selling the oil are in no rush to explain that to the general populace. As long as you're not low on oil, in general you can be completely comfortable into the 10k range. A number of people have gone well over that and have done the chemical analysis to prove that the oil is still going strong. 3k is a ploy to sell more oil.

MMsTSX

I change my oil twice a year.
no matter what the mileage states.
I could care less about mileage, I only consider the
time elapsed. If I run 12,000 miles in those six months,
it doesn't bother me one bit.
I'm even starting to consider changing it once a year,
but I haven't justified that to myself yet.
twice a year is not very costly, and well within all guidelines.
so for now, that's what I'm sticking to.

bellorusha

This is insane. You have to change oil every 3K-3.5K and if the oil is synthetic then every 6K. I had many cars before and they all stated in the manual that you have to change oil every 3 month or 3K-3.5K (whatever comes first). The manufactures of the cars cannot lie, and they do know what is the best for their cars. They are not selling oil.. lol

Craig-D

Which cars have you owned that were manufactured within the last 20 years that stated oil was required every 3,000 miles? List them. My last two vehicles, both Fords (an '89 and a '96), required it every 7500 miles according to the manual. The TSX manual states that it should be done whenver the maintenance minder says to do it, or at least every 12 months - whichever occurs first. The only ones still telling people every 3,000 miles are the Jiffy Lube type places.

nj2pa2nc

How many miles do you drive in a year?
I average at least 5 oil changes a year

bellorusha

I leased Altima and then Maxima, both says the same.

HeavyDuty

Good question and no way I know of to appeal to the dealer about the MM reading. My Honda dealer stated "Yeah, well the MM says one thing, but we still recommend changing it at 3-5k depending on use." The Acura dealer says to follow the MM.

CybrRdr

Well I suggest you read the Acura manual. It tells you how to reset the MM.

Btw, My TSX has ~5850 miles on it and the MM states I have 30% oil life.

Craig-D

I stand corrected. I just checked the service manuals for both vehicles on the Nissan site, and you're right - Nissan does specify oil changes every 3,750 miles or so. So it appears that it can vary by manufacturer. My Ford manuals required it every 7500 miles for their cars and Acura manual says do it whenver the maint. minder tells you to do it, or no longer than 12 months, whichever first occurs. My TSX has 5200 miles on it and I'm at 60% oil life. So I'm projecting my first oil change at 10,000 miles or at my car's 12th month of operation, whichever occurs first.

LukeaTron

A big factor in the manufacturers recommendation is the oil capacity. More oil can dilute the junk that makes its way into the oil for longer. The european manufacturers for instance like to use huge freaking oil sumps that hold an extra 3 or 4 quarts of oil. Subsequently their recommended oil change intervals are really, really long.

I wonder how much of that is a marketing decision, i.e. "This car is so reliable it can go 20,000 miles between oil changes".

bellorusha

But now the questions is Does the reminder counts miles for regular oil or syntactic? because lifetime of the oil is double with syntactic oil.

Does anybody knows what kind of oil Acura dealer uses?

CybrRdr

Synthetic. I heard if you are using Sythetic you can't go backwards. So no Conventional.

LukeaTron

That's an urban legend/carry over from times of yore when synthetic oils were not chemically compatible with conventional oils. Clearly this problem has been solved as you can now buy conventional/synthetic blends in the same bottle. It's no big deal to switch between the two.

CybrRdr

Yes you are correct. As per Valvoline's website:

One urban myth surrounding synthetic oil is its compatibility with conventional oil. At one time, those who switched from conventional to synthetics had to stick with synthetics—there was no going back. Synthetics expanded the seals in the engine; then, when conventional motor oil was used, that engine sprang multiple leaks.