When to get oil change? Based on meter or mileage?

[Ph33zy]

I was wondering how often I should get an oil change. Should I be following the oil meter (change at 20%?) or should I be changing every 5000 miles or so?

I just recently changed my oil when the meter read 20% but I was at 6800 miles since my last change. I hope its okay.

Also, is synthetic oil necessary if I rarely drive on the freeway? The guy at the dealer said I didn't need it and he also just told me to follow the gauge, but I wanted to see everyone else's opinions. I have a 2011 EX-L 2WD.

[humanoid]

Let go of the past and follow the MM, Honda engineers put it there for a reason. Days of the 3K miles are long gone. Present day engine design and motor oil manufacturing have way surpassed technology of yonder. Embrace the technology and manufacturing processes of today.

[RSQ Pilot]

Originally Posted by Ph33zy

I was wondering how often I should get an oil change. Should I be following the oil meter (change at 20%?) or should I be changing every 5000 miles or so?

I just recently changed my oil when the meter read 20% but I was at 6800 miles since my last change. I hope its okay.

Also, is synthetic oil necessary if I rarely drive on the freeway? The guy at the dealer said I didn't need it and he also just told me to follow the gauge, but I wanted to see everyone else's opinions. I have a 2011 EX-L 2WD.

Opinions abound .....
use the search feature for "Oil Change" in the 2009-2011 forum and/or maintenance forum. There are several thousand posts on these topics.
IMHO...Best recommendation, follow the owners manual and MM codes...everything else is optional or a personal preference.

[Ph33zy]

Originally Posted by RSQ Pilot

Opinions abound .....
use the search feature for "Oil Change" in the 2009-2011 forum and/or maintenance forum. There are several thousand posts on these topics.
IMHO...Best recommendation, follow the owners manual and MM codes...everything else is optional or a personal preference.

That is so strange. I did a search before i posted and there were no results. I guess search was down. Anyway, search seems to be working now. Thanks all.

[Old Grey]

I use the MM as a reference. In some instances the MM would've had me go over 8k miles between changes with conventional oil... just don't seem right. Just watch out.. talking oil is like talking politics around forums like this!

[landar]

Originally Posted by Old Grey

I use the MM as a reference. In some instances the MM would've had me go over 8k miles between changes with conventional oil... just don't seem right. Just watch out.. talking oil is like talking politics around forums like this!

Well said, Old Grey. Trust the MM.....to a degree

[mmm666]

its ok man. My buddy have 2008 Honda accord with over 200,000 miles. He change oil according to the MM ( 10 % -5% ). He change oil at the local chevron which I am pretty sure he go with the dino oil.

So follow the MM, or once a year. synthetic oil are not cheap these days.

[rafael73]

MM usually at 10%

[mmm666]

HI I have 2010 Honda Pilot awd with 14k. This is getting crazy.

1st service: 8462 Miles: A1 code: Dec,9th, 2010.

I suppose to get B16 code coming soon. my car is 40% oil life.

according to honda, I should change oil once a year.

So I should change the oil. Leave the oil filter, and MM alone ?

[humanoid]

Originally Posted by mmm666

HI I have 2010 Honda Pilot awd with 14k. This is getting crazy.

1st service: 8462 Miles: A1 code: Dec,9th, 2010.

I suppose to get B16 code coming soon. my car is 40% oil life.

according to honda, I should change oil once a year.

So I should change the oil. Leave the oil filter, and MM alone ?

Do whatever makes you sleep better at night.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using AutoGuide.Com Free

[landar]

Originally Posted by humanoid

Do whatever makes you sleep better at night.

A couple shots of old Number 7 works for me. :-)

[humanoid]

Originally Posted by landar

A couple shots of old Number 7 works for me. :-)

A shot of Nyquil does it for me lol

Sent from my SCH-I500 using AutoGuide.Com Free

[Arizonaadam]

Originally Posted by humanoid

Do whatever makes you sleep better at night.

Good advice. It can't hurt.

However, if you change before the MM tells you to, you are very likely 1) wasting money, and 2) wasting good oil.

If 6,xxx mile or 7,xxx mile, oil changes concern you, you might want to consider a "used oil analysis" which will tell you how much life your oil really has left after a change by telling you how contaminated it is, and what percentage of good stuff remains. Try - Bob is the Oil Guy if you want to look at some UOA results.

I look at it this way. Some time long ago, people were told to change their oil every 3000 miles or 3 months (sometime in the 50's, I imagine), and that guideline STUCK.

Now, Honda itself, the king of reliablility, tells me very specifically to change the oil per the MM and very specifically NOT to change the oil before the MM says so (first change). Well, I'm going with Honda on this one! They have been using MM for 6 years, or so, and I don't beleive any harm has come of it.

And, even Honda has a one-year max, but I seem to be getting a little under 1,000 miles for each 10%.

[whizmo]

I think the question is not about sleeping or whether the MM-recommended mileage is good nor not, it is whether you should reset the MM when you do a one-year calendar-based oil change in lieu of a mileage-based one. Honda doesn't explicitly say, but I'd probably NOT reset the MM in this situation. You will end up doing your next oil change a little prematurely however, since you're only at 40% now - no big deal.

Most replace the filter on every oil change, but according to Honda you only need to do it on the B services, not the A. And you don't need to change the filter if you're just doing one of these calendar-based oil changes without a MM reset.

If you know you're driving at a rate that puts the calendar requirement at or near the 50% MM mileage recommendation, I'd probably try and time it so that I halve the MM mileage. But this isn't rocket science and anything reasonable will be fine. All Honda is saying is that if your driving style doesn't bring up the MM-recommended oil change every year or so, you probably should do one about at the year point. It is not very important whether it is 10 months or 14.

- Mark

[N_Jay]

I would just do the reset at each oil change (once a year).
If you are really driving that lightly a little extra service of the other fluids is probably in order also.