Honda Odyssey 2011 dealer claims special oil req'd

[Arbie]

I had a 2000 Oddysey and had the dealer change the oil & filter every 5000 miles. The engine was doing fine at 190K mi when the vehicle was totalled.

I now have a 2011 Odyssey, and the same dealer claims that it and one or two other Honda / Accord vehicles require a newer or special oil. Fine, except this increases the cost of an oil change by $25.

I can't find anything on the internet (or here) regarding a change in the needs of these vehicles. Any knowledge or opinions on what's going on? I don't think this dealer would actually lie to me.

Thanks.

 

[bepperb]

Ask them what the "special" oil is, but I would assume it's 0w-20 and 25 bucks seems like below the average upcharge for a "synthetic" oil change.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: bepperb
Ask them what the "special" oil is, but I would assume it's 0w-20 and 25 bucks seems like below the average upcharge for a "synthetic" oil change.

Agreed.

Honda's 0w-20 is a synthetic oil, whereas the 5w-20 isn't. I'm not sure if your Odyssey "needs" it, but it's a great oil and I can see how it'd cost that much more per change.

On a side note,

to BITOG!

 

[dparm]

Unless synthetic is now required, there's nothing special about it. Honda's oil requirements are generally very lax, with the exception of the Acura RDX.

 

[chubbs1]

CHECK YOUR MANUAL! See exactly what it calls for, these dealerships will try anything to get an extra buck out of you. Any oil the MANUAL recommends is what can be used. I would use my own oil but it is up to you. You can get the oil much cheaper.

 

[2oldtommy]

The first reference I would check is the owner's manual. They probably specify a GF-5 or API "SN" in a 5w-20 or 0w-20 viscosity. This maybe what the dealer is refering to when he indicates that it's "a new oil". In reading other posts here Honda's own oil has a syn. blend available that is reasonably priced. I have used MC ( motorcraft ) syn. blend 5w-20 in my Hondas with good results. This would not be available at your Honda stealer. Follow the OLM and do some research in the Honda part dept. after you read the owners manual. FWIW--Oldtommy

 

[HBCALI]

Assuming you paid the average cost of a new, mid-trim Odessy, you probably just spent (or borrowed) around $30,000. Why then are you concerned about a few extra bucks for synthetic oil every 5 months? And yes, many new Honda models require synthetic.

 

[carwreck]

The only oil choice for 2011 Honda Odyssey is 0W20 per the owner's manual. It does not specify if it is synthetic.

http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/K81111/K81111OM.pdf

When you have oil changed at a dealer, they might charge you the MSRP price of "Genuine Honda oil 0W20" $10.35/quart.

Example at http://www.keenanhondaparts.com/servlet/the-532/GENUINE-HONDA-0W20-ENGINE/Detail

If you do no want to spend an extra $25, why don't you change the oil yourself ?


------------------------------------------------------

1999 OLDS GLS 3.4L

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: carwreck
The only oil choice for 2011 Honda Odyssey is 0W20 per the owner's manual. It does not specify if it is synthetic.

ALL 0w-20 is synthetic, whether or not it is listed as such.

Any oil thin enough to have 0w cold pumpability and SAE 20 viscosity has to be at least group III or it would evaporate away too quickly.

 

[Kaie]

Originally Posted By: HBCALI
Assuming you paid the average cost of a new, mid-trim Odessy, you probably just spent (or borrowed) around $30,000. Why then are you concerned about a few extra bucks for synthetic oil every 5 months? And yes, many new Honda models require synthetic.

 

[ottotheclown]

Yes they would lie. It is part of being a dealer. If they do not lie they are replaced. Call Irvine CA head office and speak to someone there.

Originally Posted By: Arbie
I had a 2000 Oddysey and had the dealer change the oil & filter every 5000 miles. The engine was doing fine at 190K mi when the vehicle was totalled.

I now have a 2011 Odyssey, and the same dealer claims that it and one or two other Honda / Accord vehicles require a newer or special oil. Fine, except this increases the cost of an oil change by $25.

I can't find anything on the internet (or here) regarding a change in the needs of these vehicles. Any knowledge or opinions on what's going on? I don't think this dealer would actually lie to me.

Thanks.

 

[FL-400S]

Originally Posted By: Arbie


I now have a 2011 Odyssey, and the same dealer claims that it and one or two other Honda / Accord vehicles require a newer or special oil. Fine, except this increases the cost of an oil change by $25.



Why not have them sell you a quart from the parts dept and see what the label says? At least then there would be less speculation. Let us know how the new van does mpg-wise. Do you like it better than the 2000?

 

[cheetahdriver]

the honda 0w20 is a Japanese oil, unlike the other oils in their factory line in the US (made by Mobil, i believe?). you can find a couple of UOAs in that section of this oil, it is a very very good high moly oil. i would be hard pressed to find a reason not to do the OC with the dealer, as any oil change place is going to hit you with a similar upcharge (if they even have the right oil). bringing your own M1 0w20 and Honda filter would be another option, but again, why bother?

 

[Arbie]

Thanks very much to all who replied, especially to "carwreck" with the link to the PDF owners manual.

The manual for the 2011 does say "0W-20" but - not yet having read the "basics" pages on this site - I didn't know that this necessarily meant synthetic. As several have noted, that pretty much explains the difference in price.

To "FL-400S" - My 2011 LX gets no better gas mileage than the 2000, highway or city. That disappoints me since the EPA ratings are at least 2 mpg better, and I thought those would be accurate in comparisons. I'm basing my numbers on an average of several cruise-control trips over the same highway routes, and several tankfuls of around-town driving. Also note that the in-dash mileage calculator on the 2011 reads about 1.5 mpg high (i.e. optimistic).

As for the driving experience, the 2011 is better. The seats are more countoured and comfortable, and the thing feels like a large car rather than a van. The tight steering and small turning radius help with this. The third-row seats are now even easier to put up and down but the trade-off is that the space beneath them has become inaccessible. I like the running lights since I no longer have to use my headlights for that function. Many more airbags, disk brakes on the rear, and 17" wheels.

Pure negatives: the outside mirrors are smaller, and the speedo is very poorly marked. It only has numerals at 20-mph increments, and idiotically goes up to 140 mph. So the area you're interested in around town (20-50 mph) is a small fraction of the dial. And all the markings are white on a light background. It's as if courses in automotive human factors didn't exist.

I could think of more but these are the main things.

Arbie

 

[moto94536]

synthetic oil doesn't increase avg mpg. You will get the same mpg whether you use dino or synthetic.

I am pretty sure odyssey required 5w20.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: carwreck
The only oil choice for 2011 Honda Odyssey is 0W20 per the owner's manual. It does not specify if it is synthetic.

ALL 0w-20 is synthetic, whether or not it is listed as such.

Any oil thin enough to have 0w cold pumpability and SAE 20 viscosity has to be at least group III or it would evaporate away too quickly.


Honda has a 0w-20 synthetic blend.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: cheetahdriver
the honda 0w20 is a Japanese oil, unlike the other oils in their factory line in the US (made by Mobil, i believe?). you can find a couple of UOAs in that section of this oil, it is a very very good high moly oil. i would be hard pressed to find a reason not to do the OC with the dealer, as any oil change place is going to hit you with a similar upcharge (if they even have the right oil). bringing your own M1 0w20 and Honda filter would be another option, but again, why bother?


Honda oil is all made by Conoco-Phillips now. Even the 0w-20 ultimate full synthetic.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: ottotheclown
Yes they would lie. It is part of being a dealer. If they do not lie they are replaced. Call Irvine CA head office and speak to someone there.

Originally Posted By: Arbie
I had a 2000 Oddysey and had the dealer change the oil & filter every 5000 miles. The engine was doing fine at 190K mi when the vehicle was totalled.

I now have a 2011 Odyssey, and the same dealer claims that it and one or two other Honda / Accord vehicles require a newer or special oil. Fine, except this increases the cost of an oil change by $25.

I can't find anything on the internet (or here) regarding a change in the needs of these vehicles. Any knowledge or opinions on what's going on? I don't think this dealer would actually lie to me.

Thanks.




+1 Otto! I guess that's the NY mentality anyway!

 

[FZ1]

0-20 is only available in synthetic,I think. Your old Van used conventional oil,so synthetic is gonna cost more. That's all that is happening here. Oh,the conspiracy theorys!