First oil change

[Strate L O S S]

Originally Posted by xGS

Because the motor oil (and filter along with, perhaps, the spark plugs and pcv valve) is the only item that could be adversely affected by extended operation in cylinder deactivation mode.

Nothing prevents you from second guessing any of the recommended maintenance intervals.

But how could the engineers overlook something so basic and crucial? And if they did what leads us to believe they accurately determined the service intervals on the other items?


Reality is these engines have been sold by the hundreds of thousands identically equipped, and failure due to oil has been in the 10's...

Evidence is anecdotal and far and few between. Personally I change all my oils earlier than recommended and I wont own the Pilot anywhere near the mileage that the belt will need replacing (leased), but I would change it earlier than 100k for good measure.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[xGS]

Originally Posted by Strate L O S S

But how could the engineers overlook something so basic and crucial? And if they did what leads us to believe they accurately determined the service intervals on the other items?


Reality is these engines have been sold by the hundreds of thousands identically equipped, and failure due to oil has been in the 10's...

Evidence is anecdotal and far and few between. Personally I change all my oils earlier than recommended and I wont own the Pilot anywhere near the mileage that the belt will need replacing (leased), but I would change it earlier than 100k for good measure.

Good questions.

Has Honda tested engines for at least 100K miles, operating mainly in cylinder deactivation mode and with oil changes only every 10K miles?
Who knows, but one would hope so.

The few and far between reports seem to correlate with long OCIs and driving conditions that would cause frequent operation in cylinder deactivation mode.
Maybe it depends, as well, on the particular brand and type of oil used.

[dr bob]

Follow-up:

Changed the oil last week for the first time, with maintenance monitor showing 50% life remaining. About 4k on the car at this point, 1k of which is mine.

The oil that came out was dark caramel color but no black. Black would be a telltale that there's possible misfire/blow-by, etc. I don't know what kind of oil that Honda installs as factory fill, so no clue what the original oil looked like when it went in. The "real test" is having a used-oil analysis done, but that's not in my plans at least for a while.

New oil is Mobil-1 0W-30. Installed a Fram filter but will probably order Honda filters for the next round. I was somewhat surprised at how tiny the filters are. So I opened the Fram online specs list for their oil filters, with an eye towards finding a filter with similar mounting and gasket dimensions, same relief pressure, anti-drainback valve, and maybe a larger canister. There are none shown that are exact, but... The other car in my side of the garage is a Porsche 928, for which I stock filters etc. The 928 oil filter has the same threads 20x1.5, 13 PSID bypass valve relief pressure, and has the anti-drainback valve. The mounting gasket is one gasket-width larger than the Honda filter. So at next oil change, I'll measure the mating face on the Honda and see if it's large enough to accept the other filter safely. The Mann filters we use on the Porsche V-8 hold just enough more oil so that the full 5qt jug can go in the Honda engine. The filter construction is a lot more industrial-strength than the Fram, with solid caps, an extra fabric layer (so 2 fabric, one cellulose), for better filtration down to 6 microns. I'll alert the group when I do that next oil change, likely late in this year.

[xGS]

Originally Posted by dr bob

Installed a Fram filter but will probably order Honda filters for the next round.

Which grade of Fram oil filter are you using - Extra guard, Tough guard or Ultra/Xtended guard?

[surfsup]

hit 10% @ 8500 miles and called for an appointment with Honda, then took it in a few days later... they changed the oil, rotated tires, topped off all fluids and checked for the recall. mine was fine.

with the 8yr/ 120k mile Honda warranty, that's all I plan (hope) to do for many years to come.

[Wisconsin]

Originally Posted by dr bob

Installed a Fram filter but will probably order Honda filters for the next round. I was somewhat surprised at how tiny the filters are. So I opened the Fram online specs list for their oil filters, with an eye towards finding a filter with similar mounting and gasket dimensions, same relief pressure, anti-drainback valve, and maybe a larger canister. There are none shown that are exact, but...

If you want a larger filter that fits get the Honda S2000 filter.

Royal Purple has one of the best filters around, number of the S2k filter is 10-2808.

[dr bob]

Originally Posted by xGS

Which grade of Fram oil filter are you using - Extra guard, Tough guard or Ultra/Xtended guard?

Went with the "Extra Guard" because that what was on the shelf. Differences between the versions is small, mostly in filter media area. That's important with older vehicles with combustion byproducts loading the filter. Not so big a deal with new engine and frequent oil changes. There are some differences in the end cap material (cardboard vs. plastic vs. metal) too. The factory filter 'only' has cardboard end caps. It's not a bad thing on its own, but did stimulate the look towards the bigger/better Mann premium filter I use on the Porsche.

Originally Posted by Wisconsin

If you want a larger filter that fits get the Honda S2000 filter.

Royal Purple has one of the best filters around, number of the S2k filter is 10-2808.

I'll have to take a look at those. I haven't been able to stomach much of the Royal Purple or Lucas Oil Products Kool-Aid yet, so that look will be with a slightly jaundiced eye. Perhaps a mainstream filter manufacturer's premium version? Or the Genuine Honda version of same? Anybody using the Honda version?

-----

I had to add a little extra tightening torque to the Fram filter after noticing a little dribble of oil from it. I used the basic "contact plus 3/4 turn" strategy originally, but it needed just a little more than that. I'll be monitoring that some more I guess. The factory filter was on there a lot tighter than I expected, so maybe it's a function of thread pitch. I'll get a better look at the mounting face next oil change I do. Plan now is to let the dealer do the "scheduled" changes to maintain an 'official' maintenance record. I'll do the tweener services myself.

Thanks for all the tips!

[Strate L O S S]

The Royal Purple filter is a Mobil1 filter, with the nut end on the corner.

If you want a great quality built filter the Bosch Distance+ I purchased last time was top notch.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[xGS]

Originally Posted by dr bob

Went with the "Extra Guard" because that what was on the shelf. There are some differences in the end cap material (cardboard vs. plastic vs. metal) too. The factory filter 'only' has cardboard end caps. It's not a bad thing on its own, but did stimulate the look towards the bigger/better Mann premium filter I use on the Porsche.

...Perhaps a mainstream filter manufacturer's premium version?

...Plan now is to let the dealer do the "scheduled" changes to maintain an 'official' maintenance record. I'll do the tweener services myself.

The Extra guard and Tough guard have the same media, but that in the Ultra/Xtended guard is different and supposedly better.
The Tough guard also has a (supposedly superior) silicone rubber anti-drainback valve compared to the nitrile rubber valve in the Extra guard.
The Honda by Fram filter looks very similar to a Tough guard.

Before you buy the Mann fitment for a Pilot, see if appears to be as well constructed as the 'Porsche-grade" model.

If the dealer will be performing the scheduled oil changes, ask them to use the S2000 filter.
The P/N is 15400-PCX-004 and it's still made by Filtech (Honda's Japanese OEM supplier).
It doesn't use the cardboard endcaps like the Honda/Fram filter and seems to have superior construction, based upon cutaway views. FWIW, it's also significantly heavier.
Pick up an extra one (and a crush washer) for your "tweener services" when you're at the dealer for scheduled maintenance.

[Wisconsin]

Originally Posted by dr bob

I'll have to take a look at those. I haven't been able to stomach much of the Royal Purple or Lucas Oil Products Kool-Aid yet, so that look will be with a slightly jaundiced eye.

I don't use Royal Purple oil, just the filters.

Originally Posted by Strate L O S S

The Royal Purple filter is a Mobil1 filter, with the nut end on the corner.

If you want a great quality built filter the Bosch Distance+ I purchased last time was top notch.

Think you might be confusing royal purple with K&N, K&N have the nut on the end.

Champion labs makes both the mobil1 filter & the royal purple one and K&N as well, but I think the royal purple is a step up.
It uses 100% synthetic media where the others are just a blend.

[Strate L O S S]

possibly, thanks for the correction.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

[JonJo]

Originally Posted by xGS

If the dealer will be performing the scheduled oil changes, ask them to use the S2000 filter.
The P/N is 15400-PCX-004 and it's still made by Filtech (Honda's Japanese OEM supplier).

Is it OK to use the S2000 filter on the Pilot? Looking at this filter on Bernardi's site, it is stated "This oil filter may only be used in the Honda S2000."

Does this mean it may not fit on the Pilot, or could cause problems if used?
I'm getting ready to order the Honda synthetic oil and a filter, and I like what some folks here have written about the S2000 filter, but the Bernardi comments have me worried. Thanks.

[xGS]

Originally Posted by JonJo

Is it OK to use the S2000 filter on the Pilot? Looking at this filter on Bernardi's site, it is stated "This oil filter may only be used in the Honda S2000."

Does this mean it may not fit on the Pilot, or could cause problems if used?
I'm getting ready to order the Honda synthetic oil and a filter, and I like what some folks here have written about the S2000 filter, but the Bernardi comments have me worried.

Tell Bernardi to check their back issues of Honda Service News, wherein it was stated that the 15400-PCX-004 filter can be used on all models that specify the 15400-PLM-A02 filter.

[G007]

What is the benifit of using the S2K Oil Filter?

Size ? Construction?

Also if I want to switch to Synthetic, what oil grade should I use?

I currently own a 2012 Pilot EX-L

[Yahooligan]

Originally Posted by G007

Also If want to switch to Synthetic, what oil grade should I use?

Same as if you were running conventional. Stick with 0w20.