Oil Change Intervals for a 2005 Acura TSX

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LONG POST

I plan on getting a 2005 Acura TSX soon. This car has a 4.5 quart Sump capacity and the manufacturer recommends 5W-30 for all temperatures; the recommended OCI for severe conditions is 5,000 miles, ideal conditions is 10,000 miles. This car is going to be used for mostly city driving, with trips of 5-10 miles. Although I've always changed the oil for the first time for my past cars after 1000 miles, Acura recommends leaving the factory fill in for 5K. I've read several threads on this forum debating about that issue; I think that I'll just leave the factory fill in for the recommended time since I'm not willing to take the risk, and any slight additional wear I may put on the engine because of that won't be an issue with me in exchange for the peace of mind that I feel when I've followed the manufacturer's instructions. I'm planning on using GC 0W-30 with this car. I have made up three possible oil change schedules that I may follow, please give me your opinions on which one I should use, or if you have a better one, let me know. I want to adhere as closely to Acura's maintenance intervals as possible. (5K mark, 10K mark, etc. or 10K mark, 20K mark, etc.) My ultimate goal is to reach 10K intervals.

Here are my following plans:
Plan A:
5000 miles- first oil change; refill with GC and install new filter
12500 miles- second oil change; refill with GC and install new filter
20000 miles- third oil change; pull UOA, refill with GC and install new filter, aim for 10K on next interval

Plan B:
5000 miles- first oil change; refill with GC and install new filter
10000 miles- second oil change; refill with GC and install new filter
15000 miles- third oil change; refill with GC and install new filter
20000 miles- fourth oil change; pull UOA, refill with GC and install new filter, aim for 10K on next interval

Plan C:
5000 miles- first oil change; refill with GC and install new filter
10000 miles- second oil change; pull UOA report, refill with GC and install new filter and start 10K drains


My main concern is that I want to remove as much of the contaminates that I left behind after leaving the factory fill in for so long. I'm afraid that If I start 7.5K drains with my first oil change, any contaminates that were not removed at the first oil change will cause more wear on the engine. As always, I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks,
Michael
 
Since you asked, let suggest an alternative. Follow Plan C, but instead of sampling at the 10K mile change, get one of these (or something similar) Oil Sample Pump , and sample your 10K change oil at 15K miles, and send it in to Terry for a Dyson Analysis. He may also recommend a different oil and supplements based on his analysis. Enjoy your new ride.
cheers.gif
 
LONG POST AGAIN

Thanks everyone for their responses; I guess 10K drains with GC are not out of this world, even though the use of LC may be required. About the cars go, I'm pushing for the Acura TSX with my parents, but I think I might have to get a "lesser" car though, since the TSX has very high insurance costs for my age and does not deliver as good fuel economy, it also recommends premium. I might just go with a Mazda 3i, Toyota Corolla, or Honda Civic instead for better fuel economy and a smaller insurance bill. If I get a Honda Civic, I'll follow the same plans that I have written for the Acura TSX, except I'll be using M1 0W-20 instead. Will Mobil 1 0W-20 last 10K as well if I follow Plan C? (Honda Civic has 3.7 quart Sump)

If I do decide to get the Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3 though, I'll follow these set of plans instead. Both of these cars have manufacturer recommended OCIs of 5,000 miles for severe and 7,500 miles for "ideal" conditions. For warranty purposes on these cars, I'll stick with the 7.5K drains at least until the end of the warranty. The Toyota has a sump capacity of 3.9, the Mazda has a sump capacity of about 4.5. For the Toyota, I'll use the GC, for the Mazda, I"ll use M1 0W-20. Please give me your suggestions for these other three cars, and whether or not M1 0W-20 will last 7.5K in city driving. Please tell me which plan is the best for the Toyota, Honda, and Mazda. I appreciate all of your suggestions and I apologize that I did not include this in my original post. MIchael

Here are the possible plans:
For Toyota:

Plan A:
500- Oil/Filter Change with Dealer Dino 5W-30
5500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30
10500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30
15500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

Plan B:
500- Oil/Filter Change with Dealer Dino 5W-30
5500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30
10500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

Plan C:
500- Oil/Filter Change with Dealer Dino 5W-30
4000- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil Dyno 5W-30
7500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

Plan D:
1000- Oil/Filter Change with Dealer Dino 5W-30
4000- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil Dyno 5W-30
7500- Oil/Filter Change with GC 0W-30, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

For Mazda:
Plan A:
600- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil 5W-20
5600- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20
10600- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20
15600- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

Plan B:
600- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil 5W-20
5600- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20
10600- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

Plan C:
600- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil 5W-20
4100- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil Dyno 5W-20
7600- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

Plan D:
1000- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil 5W-20
4000- Oil/Filter Change with Pennzoil Dyno 5W-20
7500- Oil/Filter Change with M1 0W-20, do UOA, start 7.5K drains

As a final note, please tell me if changing the oil at 500-600 miles for the first time is an overkill. I included Plan D, which is basically the same as Plan C but the first oil change is set at 1000 instead of at 500-600 miles.
 
CORRECTION:
For Plan C and Plan D for both the Mazda and the Toyota should say that I would do a UOA at the 15K mark, not the 7.5K mark. The Used Oil Analysis Report will be done for the first time after running the GC 0W-30 or M1 0W-20 for 7.5K miles. I do not plan to run an UOA on the dyno juice. Just to clarify.

Michael
 
Perhaps this may be over-analysis too soon. I think we need to know the exact engine to be able to state when you would need to drain the initial factory fill. Some have a clean maufacturing process and special break in oil, some do not.

Some Japanese engines like their American counterparts are very easy on engine oil. Some thrash it relentlessly due to engine design.

Personally I wouldn't do a 7.5K or 10K even with M1 or GC until I got an analysis at 5k or 6K to see how it's holding up.
 
If you get the Mazda 3i, make sure to get the MTX...the ATX's 4 gears make the car feel like its moving in slow motion. The 5spd MTX though gives it some nice pep, and much better mileage. Its also cheaper
smile.gif
.

Also realize that there are a number of features standard on the 3s, that aren't on the 3i...adding those features sometimes makes the 3i cost nearly as much as the 3s...if you had just paid the difference, you would have gotten those features + all the 3s ones, like the slightly more powerful engine.

Ex. AC is not standard on a Mazda 3i.
 
Haley- The Acura TSX has a 2.4L I-4 that puts out 200HP. It is basically the 160HP Accord Engine that was tuned to put out 200HP. It comes factory filled with a special break-in oil. The Honda Civic has the 1.7L (I think) VTEC Engine since I'm considering the EX. I'm not considering the LX since ABS is not avaliable). It also comes factory filled with a special break-in oil. As for the Toyota, it comes with the 1.8L Engine but there isn't any special break-in oil. Finally the Mazda comes with the 2.0L 148HP engine that comes factory filled with Motorcraft Semi-Synthetic 5W-20.

Crossbow- I don't know how to drive a stickshift. Saving $1000 and a little bit on gas is not worth the hassle to me. This is not a Corvette
 
quote:

Originally posted by Michael Wan:
I don't know how to drive a stickshift.

It's interesting that some people don't have the opportunity to learn a stick.
 
Michael,

I didn't know how to drive stick before my current car either. Its just a single week of crap, followed by a lifetime rationalization of "why didn't I do this soone!r". If I can do it, ANYONE can do it.

Remember that all cars carry a higher drivetrain loss with a ATX then an MTX. So even with equal drive skill and weight...the MTX's are always faster. Better mileage, better performance, better gearing...and ironically cheaper and more reliable.

The thing about the TSX too...is its supposedly to have one **** of a SWEET 6 speed...one of the best on the market in its class. Find a friend with an MTX to give you some pointers.
 
Aaahhh... the Honda dilemma
grin.gif
Should I throw another twist? Fuel dilution due short driving?

Anyway, I have a Honda Element. I had the exact same concern as you do. I decided to bite the bullet and go the 5k before my first OCI and forego that 1k drain. I have 380 miles to go before that 5k mark.

At that 5k mark (something to do on my Thanksgiving morning / week-end???), I'll be installing the Fumoto Valve. I'm pouring Mobil 1 instead of GC. After all the research I've done, I'm sold on this M1 0W20 for this engine -- I think the GC will be too thick for this Honda engine.

Just like you, I subject this car to a lot of short trips, and fuel dilution COULD be an issue. Currently, I'm planning on a 6-9 month OCI -- which could be anywhere from 5-10k miles. I think a 9 month / 7.5k OCI with synthetic is reasonable (splitting the normal / severe).

If you are considering doing a UOA at all, consider the Fumoto Valve. That way, you can do a UOA at anytime without draining all your oil.

Hopefully, fuel dilution will not be an issue -- if it does, then it'll be Motorcraft @ 3-4k oci.
 
welcome.gif
and nice car
grin.gif
. Since you're willing to leave the factory fill in for 5,000 miles anyway I like plan C. You most likely got the vast majority of breakin contaminants out with the first oil drain. So the second 5,000 miles oil change with a UOA and diagnosis by Terry Dyson will determine whether you can get to 10,000 mile OCI's from then on. They might suggest trying 7,500 mile OCI and another UOA before going directly to 10,000 mi OCI's. If they do talk with Terry and see if he thinks with using using Lube Control (LC) you can go directly to 10,000 mi OCI's. Although most likely Terry will recommend the use LC anyway.

Whimsey
 
Go with the new Corolla XRS,6spd transmission and 180 horses
grin.gif
.Insurance shouldn't be much
rolleyes.gif
.

M1 5W30 is perfect for most Toyotas.
 
You are over analyzing. Keep the first oil change in for how long you feel comfortable. I'd keep in for a thousand miles or so-no matter what the car. Next interval I would pull an analysis somewhere in the range of 4 to 5K miles. Make a decision on OCI from there.


The TSX is a great vehicle. My son just bought one and does 5K oil changes. My son comutes80 miles per day in heavy traffic and gets 29 to 30 mpg. He does 5K oil changes. We have been using Schaeffers Blend with a quart of Redline.

This is an analysis of oil when the vehicle had around 10K miles on with 5000 miles on the OCI
TSX Lead is 4

[ November 12, 2004, 08:17 AM: Message edited by: Al ]
 
Hi,

Toyota has gone in 2005 to Oil Changes every 5,000 miles/ 6 months. Period.. They don't show or talk about if you drive in this matter, go to 3k/ 3months etc... This is in the Passport to Performance manual that I have in front of me for every Toyota model. (It lists them in the booklet)

My Corolla (2005) got its first oil change at 1k, 3k and I'll see if I can go a full 5k miles on this oil change.

I used Castrol Syntec Blend 5w/30 for this fill...

I can recommend the Corolla highly. IMPRESSIVE is the only thing I can say. Built well, very good power, everything is tight and my *worst* gas mileage to date is 39.23mpg.
smile.gif


Best? 41.79!
grin.gif


My Dad who owns a 2001 Honda Civic said honda really needs to step up and both improve the build quailty and better the basic warrenty (3year 36k vs Toyotas 3 year/36k on bumper to bumper and 5year / 60k miles drivetrain)

I do like the TSX. But too much $$ for this guy...

Take care, Bill
 
Thanks for all the decisions on the car purchases. I think I've narrowed it down to either the Toyota Corolla LE, Mazda 3s, or the Hondas. The Acura is out since it is too expensive initially and in the long run as far as insurance goes, but the Hondas its down to either the Honda Civic EX, Honda Accord LX, or Honda Accord LX-V6. The ABS is only avaliable on the EX version of the Civic, and it is a must have. But I'm not too fond of moonroofs, so I might just go w/the Honda Accord LX 4 cylinder. However, once I look at the Accords, the Electronic BrakeForce distribution interests me. Let me know the importance of that feature, since I might end up getting the LX-V6 over the LX 4 cylinder Accord solely because of that. Or my dad and I may just give in and get a 4-cylinder Honda Civic EX w/the mandatory sunroof.

But nevertheless, it would be great if we can get this discussion back on topic about the OCIs. Please recommend which course of action I should take (which plan) or recommend your own. I might consider changing the Honda oil out early now after seeing a UOA report of Redline w/LC in the UOA section that contains over 500ppm of moly. I think thats how much the Honda Oil Contains. Please let me know where all of that moly comes from because I think its from the LC, correct me if I'm wrong; let me know also if the 1000 miles is too early for syn. If the moly is really from LC, I might just use dyno and add the LC in.

Michael
 
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