New 2015 Honda Fit, oil/OCI recommendations?

[Danh]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
I own 3 2014 Hondas, two civics and an accord.

There's a huge thread started by me a while back about Honda and their Oil Life Indicator (OLI) system. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3498755/1

Since your new to BITOG (welcome!) I'll sum up the major camps here for you:
1) Do whatever the manufacturer says - trust the OLI systems and only change it when it says to.
2) Don't trust the OLI's completely and just use them as a guide. (I'm in this camp)
3) Don't trust OLI's at all.

Camp 1 seems to want to squeak every last mile they can from the oil before changing it.
Camp 2 wants to strike some balance between camp 1 and 2.

My neighbor is the head mechanic at a Honda dealership. From conversations with him, threads here on BITOG and my own common sense, here's what I'm doing with my new Honda's:
1) Factory fill - drive it to 20% on the OLI
2) From then on running Mobil 1 extended 0W-20 and a Mobil 1 filter and running it to 30% on the OLI.

Oh, one other thing, I use the "dip stick/smell/feel" method also. Regardless of the OLI, if the oil feels like crud or smells of too much fuel I'm changing the oil.

I know this post will get a lot of heat, but to me oil is cheap, engines are not.

Edited: one Civic is at 12K, changed oil at 40%/6.5K and did a UOA. Lot's of life left on the oil. The two other cars are still on factory fill, one is 30% and the other 40%.


sasilverbullet is on the $$$$.

Here is the problem with Hondas, the fuel dilution kills the oil, the OLM will not measure that.
This is my experience, hence I go 5k with full syn, sometimes I do filter every other oil change.


Well, Honda is presumably aware that this engine has direct injection and that direct injected engines can suffer from fuel dilution and so has programmed the IOLM accordingly.

I wouldn't ignore the IOLM, but if it's a real worry maybe change when it gets to 30% or 40% oil life remaining if it makes for a better night's sleep. This approach will surely lead to a more rational change interval than 6 months/5k regardless of driving conditions.

 

[fourside]

Oh, thanks for the heads-up! I'll keep an eye on it. I've heard a few odd sounds that I'm still trying to figure out. Maybe it won't be a big deal in the long run, but I've noticed more initial quality problems with this car than previous new cars I've had. Oh well.

 

[Boatowner]

I have a 2015 Civic LX and I am trying to decide when to do the first oil change. The oil will be Mobil 1 0w-20 with an oem filter. I will NOT go down to 10 % on the MM. I do have concerns about any crud, shards, metal bits, etc. that may be left in the engine, even though I know they are very clean inside and have been for well over a decade. This car is driven by my wife and runs shorter trips in town. I know the MM tracks this.

I think "just follow the owner's manual" is about the most useless recommendation there is. No one comes to BITOG to do what is just good enough. Okay, amend that, there are a few who do and I know one will have to post in reply.

My TDI will be ten year old on Tuesday and just coming up on 180K miles. I have been changing the oil at 5 to 6,000 miles and it runs just about perfect. Oil is cheap, even synthetic.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: Boatowner
I have a 2015 Civic LX and I am trying to decide when to do the first oil change. The oil will be Mobil 1 0w-20 with an oem filter. I will NOT go down to 10 % on the MM. I do have concerns about any crud, shards, metal bits, etc. that may be left in the engine, even though I know they are very clean inside and have been for well over a decade. This car is driven by my wife and runs shorter trips in town. I know the MM tracks this.

I think "just follow the owner's manual" is about the most useless recommendation there is. No one comes to BITOG to do what is just good enough. Okay, amend that, there are a few who do and I know one will have to post in reply.

My TDI will be ten year old on Tuesday and just coming up on 180K miles. I have been changing the oil at 5 to 6,000 miles and it runs just about perfect. Oil is cheap, even synthetic.


I'm probably not the guy you're talking about but I follow the mfg recommendations. My understanding is that Honda fills the crankcase with a special break-in oil from the factory and really wants you to run it until 10%.

I will disagree as to why people come to BITOG. A lot of folks on here do less than the mfg recommends by using fancy oils and longer OCI. This is testing theories in the real world. Taking oils that are good for 10,000 miles and changing them out every 5000 miles because you don't want your MM oil to be down to 10% is your prerogative, but I don't agree that's it's in the spirit of BITOG.

 

[CrawfishTails]

Originally Posted By: fourside
Hey guys. Just bought my first new car in a few years, and it's got one of these "Maintenance Minder" things rather than a solid recommendation for the oil change interval. Should I trust this thing - which seems to calculate when you should change your oil based on your driving habits and stuff - or what?

Also, I was thinking I might just use regular Eneos 0w20 but any suggestions as to what might be better/best would be appreciated. Thanks!


Here is why you can really trust the Minder to tell you when to change the oil: Notice your choice of a full-synthetic is actually a better oil than what Honda Genuine Brand part-synthetic dealer oil is. Therefore, you're being conservative to go with the Minder, which of course assumes you're using a synthetic blend.

I'd choose the Mazda dealer oil in your Honda, since the Mazda 0w-20 is a full synthetic and has more molybdenum in it than any other oil, blended right in, no aftermarket additive required. That extra moly results in less wear cold.