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First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 2:37 pm
by gsaveit
Hey all,

I'v got a Honda Pilot that I bought last year. After ~8000km the oil now needs replacement. This oil which originally came with the car sustained a lot of km. Maybe it's just because the car is relatively new but my Honda civic needs oil change every ~3000km from walmart. I want to take care of the SUV and put quality oil in it but I'm not an expert in automotives. At the same time I want to avoid the dealer rip off. Is there a high quality brand of oil that will get me another 8000Km or more ?

For my case, is syntethic oil the way to go ? I practically have no clue about the pros/cons of the different classes of oil. Your insight would be helpful.

I would appreciate suggestions of any oil changing place, or is Walmart just fine ?

Lastly, could I buy the oil and take it Walmart or somewhere for changing ?

Thanks for any advise in what route to take

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 2:53 pm
by mehc
Follow the service instructions / type of oil of your vehicule's manual

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 3:35 pm
by chickenbones
First point, taking care of your car and getting it serviced at wal-mart is an oxymoron.

Second, get the oil that meets the specs on your owner's manual and change the oil according to the owner's manual's specification.

You can find a reputable garage to change your oil. Dealership oil changes are not that expensive either.

Don't waste money on synthetic.
gsaveit wrote: Hey all,

I'v got a Honda Pilot that I bought last year. After ~8000km the oil now needs replacement. This oil which originally came with the car sustained a lot of km. Maybe it's just because the car is relatively new but my Honda civic needs oil change every ~3000km from walmart. I want to take care of the SUV and put quality oil in it but I'm not an expert in automotives. At the same time I want to avoid the dealer rip off. Is there a high quality brand of oil that will get me another 8000Km or more ?

For my case, is syntethic oil the way to go ? I practically have no clue about the pros/cons of the different classes of oil. Your insight would be helpful.

I would appreciate suggestions of any oil changing place, or is Walmart just fine ?

Lastly, could I buy the oil and take it Walmart or somewhere for changing ?

Thanks for any advise in what route to take

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 4:18 pm
by r1lee
I know you want to be pro active in taking care of your car. But isn't the service interval for oil XXXX km's or 6 months? Whichever comes first.

You said you got your Pilot last year, so you have gone almost 9+ months without an oil change?

If anything, I would have done the first oil change halfway through the specified km's. So if the manual says every 8k km's, i would have done the first one in 4k km's. But keep the what the owners manual says.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 4:38 pm
by Swerny
chickenbones wrote: Don't waste money on synthetic.
:confused:

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 7:43 pm
by CompWizrd
r1lee wrote: I know you want to be pro active in taking care of your car. But isn't the service interval for oil XXXX km's or 6 months? Whichever comes first.

You said you got your Pilot last year, so you have gone almost 9+ months without an oil change?

If anything, I would have done the first oil change halfway through the specified km's. So if the manual says every 8k km's, i would have done the first one in 4k km's. But keep the what the owners manual says.
Depends on the car. Mine is "change it when the minder tells you to", which will make its first oil change somewhere around 15,000 to 16,000.. I'm at 11,500 after about 6 months.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 8:04 pm
by r1lee
CompWizrd wrote: Depends on the car. Mine is "change it when the minder tells you to", which will make its first oil change somewhere around 15,000 to 16,000.. I'm at 11,500 after about 6 months.
Yes but we're talking about a honda here. From previous ownership, I'm guessing 6-8k km's or 6 months, whichever comes first.


Are you driving an Audi?

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 8:10 pm
by 3bm12
I drive a 2007 Honda Fit and my maintenance minder has indicated an oil change just under every 10,000 km on average. The salesperson told me he had a customer who averaged more than 10,000 km between oil changes on his Civic.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 8:16 pm
by CompWizrd
r1lee wrote: Yes but we're talking about a honda here. From previous ownership, I'm guessing 6-8k km's or 6 months, whichever comes first.
Are you driving an Audi?
No, mine's a 2010 Honda Fit.. The computer counts down 10% every 1600 kms or so.

Just did my monthly oil level check, and it's still sitting at the same full mark it was when i picked it up.. Starting to turn a bit brown finally.

My Trans AM got oil changes twice a year, which turned out to be about 5000km each time, and I ran synth on it.. probably didn't need to be changed that often, but whatever :)

My wife changes the oil in her 2001 Malibu every 6 weeks... which is about 5000 km.. Again, really doesn't need to be changed that often, but when you've got a 9 year old car pushing nearly 400,000 kms on the original motor and transmission, why not?

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 9:11 pm
by quickinferno
I had a 2005 Mazda 6, dealer recommended 8000km between changes with regular cheapskate oil.


Also, the 2008 Kia Sedona recommends 8000km between changes with reg oil!

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 10:07 pm
by Dilton
r1lee wrote: If anything, I would have done the first oil change halfway through the specified km's. So if the manual says every 8k km's, i would have done the first one in 4k km's.
Actually the first oil change is exactly the oil change you DON"T want to do ahead of schedule, because some cars come off the assembly line with a special "break-in" oil intended to better allow the engine to break in, it's beneficial to let it stay in the engine a little longer than normal.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 10:25 pm
by poedua
3bm12 wrote: I drive a 2007 Honda Fit and my maintenance minder has indicated an oil change just under every 10,000 km on average. The salesperson told me he had a customer who averaged more than 10,000 km between oil changes on his Civic.
Seems to me, when it comes to your car's fluids, there is no significiant downside to being agressive and changing fluids a bit ahead of schedule.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 11:43 pm
by a-chan
Go to the dealer. You want to take care of it, therefore the dealership would probably do that better. They use Honda filters, check all fluid levels, etc.
If you want syn. oil, you can go to WalMart and get the Mobil 1 stuff, I believe 2010 Pilots take 5W20, and tell your dealer you bought your own oil.

See them put the Syn. oil into your car. If you dont, you will never know. They could of took your syn. oil, and put in reg. stuff. They look the same on the dip stick.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 19th, 2010 11:51 pm
by r1lee
Dilton wrote: Actually the first oil change is exactly the oil change you DON"T want to do ahead of schedule, because some cars come off the assembly line with a special "break-in" oil intended to better allow the engine to break in, it's beneficial to let it stay in the engine a little longer than normal.
You actually believe this? I thought this was a myth, and that sales people use it as a pitch.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 20th, 2010 12:40 am
by bembol
Oil Change Interval and Regular vs Synthetic


It all depends how/where you drive your car.

*Short/Long Trips
*City/Highway
*Weather
*Granny/Enthusiast :twisted:

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 20th, 2010 12:51 am
by nsx817
Dilton wrote: Actually the first oil change is exactly the oil change you DON"T want to do ahead of schedule, because some cars come off the assembly line with a special "break-in" oil intended to better allow the engine to break in, it's beneficial to let it stay in the engine a little longer than normal.
This rule probably apply to vehicles in the past, nowadays newer engines require minimal to break in. I have my 1st oil change for my 2009 car at 5000 Km with synthetic oil, the factory dino oil was already more than 6 mths old in my car, and with synthetic I can push the oil change interval up a bit higher like 10000 Km/oil change due to the fact that synthetic has a higher resistance to break down than conventional oil.

I heard in the old days people only put synthetic after 10000 Km because back then engine needed a longer period to break in.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 20th, 2010 12:09 pm
by gsaveit
a-chan wrote: Go to the dealer. You want to take care of it, therefore the dealership would probably do that better. They use Honda filters, check all fluid levels, etc.
If you want syn. oil, you can go to WalMart and get the Mobil 1 stuff, I believe 2010 Pilots take 5W20, and tell your dealer you bought your own oil.

See them put the Syn. oil into your car. If you dont, you will never know. They could of took your syn. oil, and put in reg. stuff. They look the same on the dip stick.
Thanks for your input: the only post out of 15 that contained some valuable info relavent to my question... Which brings the RFD community support efficiency down to a measly 6.7%.

Anyway..

I confirmed and the car takes 5W20 so I will buy the Mobil 1. I called the dealer and I'm told the oil change and rotation will still be more than $70 if I bring my own oil. Walmart does it for less than half that. Is the dealer service that much better to justify paying over twice more? Or maybe I should just go to some other 3rd party oil change like Mr. Lube, Midas...etc?

Thanks again

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 23rd, 2010 2:01 am
by vtec260
I just followed my 09 MDX's MID to change oil.

I changed first oil/filter/tire rotation using synthetic oil and OEM filter at 8500km when MID showed 15% oil life left. Dealer wanted $69 for this service using dino oil.

Second oil/filter change, rear diff. fluid change/tire rotation at 18500km when MID showed 5% left (we drove 7500km to SoCal and back mostly on the highway thus slightly longer interval) again using synthetic oil and OEM filter. Dealer wanted well over $300 for this service.

Did all DIY way to make sure that I changed them using oil/filter of my choice, when I had spare time, and made sure I did everything properly while saving a few bucks. I bought a jack from Costco to help with tire rotation along with changing out winter/all season tires. Savings from DIY more than paid for tools I needed for a few basic maintenance service. Getting to know my vehicles' underside along with satisfaction of job well done is priceless. Having my little son help out is also very rewarding.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 23rd, 2010 7:09 am
by starchland
Dont assume just because its a Honda dealership, they know what they are doing. I suggest doing it yourself. Its a great way to learn the car, watch for any trouble signs, really let the oil drain out as long as you want. Take your time, save some money and the gratification.

There was a news tech article from Acura/Honda talking about break in additives, so its not a myth...wish I could find it now.

Re: First Oil change for a new Honda

Posted: Aug 23rd, 2010 7:21 am
by poedua
starchland wrote: Dont assume just because its a Honda dealership, they know what they are doing..
Perhaps not, but I suspect they know a bit more than the folks at Mr. Lube, Walmart and Canadian Tire. :lol: