Best oil/filters for 2013 Accord and Toyota Yaris?

[Zoomschwortz]

I have a 2013 Honda Accord Sport w/CVT and my wife has a 2013 Toyota Yaris w/automatic.

Both cars have less than 500 miles and because of the factory breakin oil, I plan on doing the first oil change on the Accord when the meter hits 15%. My wife gets her first 5 changes from the dealer for free, so that will get her to 30,000 miles before we buy oil and filters for her.

Both cars will be driven with little or no abuse and will rarely ever see full throttle.

Our main goals for the cars are a very long life, good gas mileage and quiet operation (ie. very little engine noise).

What oils and filters would best meet our goals and when should we switch to 100% synthetic?

Thanks
Ken

 

[randomhero439]

For your wife's car: Do the first 5 oil changes at 5,000 miles or 6 months, That should get you to 25,000 for the 5 oil changes. Then go the full 10,000 miles or 1 year if using synthetic oil. You could check out Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30 or Mobil 1 5w-30. As for filters, change it every time. And look at the filters i specify for your car

For your car: Do your first oil change at 40%, refill with Honda syn-blend. Change that at 40% and fill with Pennzoil Platinum 0w-20 for your synthetics with a Bosch DistancePlus, Purolator Synthetic, Fram Ultra, Mobil 1 EP, or K&N oil filter. Change the filter every oil change despite what the manual says. I speak for my Hondas, both run flawlessly, burning no oil.

Also give each car some wide open throttle pulls to help seat the rings correctly. Floor it occasionally isnt really bad for the car, probably good in the long run.


As a small maintenance note, i change all my fluids (other an oil) at 30k miles or 3 years.

 

[DevilsRule]

Read and follow your owners manuals.

 

[stephen9666]

Buy whatever name-brand oil is on sale that meets the required specs. Be sensible about your oil change interval. Use a decent filter. Worry about other things instead of your oil/filter.

Just my opinion.

Of course, you should do your research to see if either vehicle has issues with a specific brand/construction of oil filter. my Hyundai, for example, can knock badly with some aftermarket filters, so I mostly use dealer filters.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: DevilsRule
Read and follow your owners manuals.


Very correct, as if they have alternate oil only changes listed that is because the filter works better when dirty and the last UOA series I saw showed the wear metals were lower in the second interval.
If the factory fill oil (Might be the same as normal) is still in the engine, DON'T change it until the listed % figure as the engine is still running in to some extent and some extra friction might be good for final seating and polishing of the bearings.
The owners manuals are the most widely printed but least read types of book in history.

The OP should check the major brand oil finder sites for recommended oils, as a top quality 0/20 is often slightly better than a cheap 5/20 if you are pushing the OCI boundaries, it is also worth finding out which oil is used in the EU for the exact engine types (Just use .co.uk after Castrol, Mobil, Shell or Liqui Moly sites) and think about changing to an 0 or 5/30 if you drive hard or the oil consumption starts to increase. Stick to using OEM filters unless you want to extend the change interval, then look at the Mobil 1 EP or Bosch EP filters to see if one matches up in distance terms.
An annual UOA is a great insurance policy, as although one UOA with TBN is good enough to confirm the OCI is OK, they can detect air filter, coolant or fuel contamination early enough for you to prevent serious main block damage resulting.

 

[cathy]

When you say factory oil is break-in oil, do you mean it is "special"/different from ordinary oils, or just used for break-in?

 

[pbm]

Originally Posted By: cathy
When you say factory oil is break-in oil, do you mean it is "special"/different from ordinary oils, or just used for break-in?


Honda FF is a very high moly oil which Honda recommends you leave in for the full OCI.
I changed the FF in my Honda at 2K with no future ill effects. Either way you should be fine and the 40% recommendation seems like a good compromise.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: skyship

Very correct, as if they have alternate oil only changes listed that is because the filter works better when dirty and the last UOA series I saw showed the wear metals were lower in the second interval.


Are there UOAs from multiple people/engines that show alternating changing of the oil filter is a good idea? If that was the case then maybe getting a Amsoil Ea filter and changing it every 3 oil change would even be better?

 

[cookieman214]

Originally Posted By: Zoomschwortz
I have a 2013 Honda Accord Sport w/CVT and my wife has a 2013 Toyota Yaris w/automatic.

Both cars have less than 500 miles and because of the factory breakin oil, I plan on doing the first oil change on the Accord when the meter hits 15%. My wife gets her first 5 changes from the dealer for free, so that will get her to 30,000 miles before we buy oil and filters for her.

Thanks
Ken


Actually, your ToyotaCare 2yr/25000 mile free service includes tire rotation every 5K, and oil and filter change every 10K. So, after 25000 miles,you will have received 2 oil and filter changes at the dealer.

http://www.toyota.com/toyota-care/

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: skyship

Very correct, as if they have alternate oil only changes listed that is because the filter works better when dirty and the last UOA series I saw showed the wear metals were lower in the second interval.


Are there UOAs from multiple people/engines that show alternating changing of the oil filter is a good idea? If that was the case then maybe getting a Amsoil Ea filter and changing it every 3 oil change would even be better?


There are some on this site, but it's only worth doing if you can find an oil filter that will last twice as long as the oil.
What confuses many folks is the oil filter advertising, as they list the final filtration efficiency which might be 99%, but to get that high figure the filter needs to be nearly full. What is of more interest is the efficiency of a new filter, which might be 97%, so if you do the sums a new filter is passing 3 times the debris through it as an old one.
Lots of folks spend far too much time figuring out if oil X might be better than oil Y, when the gurus of engine long life spend their time reading about some new long life oil filter and trying to figure out an OCI that avoids changing it too early based on their UOA results. Changing air filters too early is the same as changing oil filters too early, although it's much safer to push a good quality air filter to the limits.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

I want to thank everyone for their input and help.

Since my wife's Yaris won't be seeing 25000 miles for nearly 3 years, maybe it is best for me to focus on the Accord at this time.

The owners manual for the Accord recommends "Genuine Honda Motor Oil" or "Premium-grade 0W-20 detergent oil with an API Certification Seal on the container". The manual also says "You may use synthetic motor oil if it is labeled with the API Certification Seal and is the specified viscosity grade".

As for changing the oil, the manual wants me to change oil when the "Maintenance Minder" tells me to, or per the fine print, "If a message SERVICE does not appear more than 12 months after the display is reset, change the engine oil every year".

Does the "Maintenance Minder" go off when I reach a certain amount of miles or engine hours or does the engine have some sort of sensor that monitors the condition of the oil?

In the past I have averaged anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year on my car and if I would only need to change the oil once a year, well that would be a bonus for me.

Will the "Maintenance Minder" give me credit for using synthetic oil or will it want me to change it at the same intervals as dino oil?

When I bought the Honda, the dealer was really pushing a pre-payed oil change package that included a synthetic blend oil (I didn't buy it). Would the "Genuine Honda Motor Oil" or their "Synthetic Blend" be any better, worse or just the same as any other of the shelf API motor oil that I can buy?

If the Honda oil will give me better protection and quieter engine operation than other oils, then I'll watch for a deal and pick up a few cases when I see a good deal. On the other hand, if another oil that will only need to be changed every 12 months will also give me better protection and quiet engine operation, well then that is the way I would prefer to go.

Another thing to keep in mind. I have seen some discussion online questioning the new Honda "Direct Injection" and some wonder if it will be raising the oil contamination level with fuel like some other D.I. engines have.

If it turns out that my new D.I. engine does indeed add higher levels of fuel contamination to the oil, will any certain type of oil give me better protection than another or will I just be faced with more oil changes a year?

If there is an oil and a filter that will give me better protection and quieter (I hate cold start engine noise) engine operation that will resist fuel contamination (should this turn out to be a problem) and will only need to be change once a year, what combination would be best for me?

Thanks again
Ken

 

[Leonardo629]

I just picked up a case of Toyota full syn 0w20 for $6.50 a bottle for my '13 Accord.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

Have you changed your oil yet?

 

[DuckRyder]

For the Accord were it me, I would order a 6 pack of A01 filters (FilTech) online and use Mobil 1 0W20 following maintenance minder at 15% oil life or so.

If you aren't into sourcing the A01's (verify it is still the correct filter for a 2013) then there are any number of nice aftermarket filters, such as Bosch Distance Plus, Purolator Synthetic and Pure One, Mobil 1 EP and Fram ULTRA. Many of these you can see cut apart in the filter section.

That would be my plan for keeping it going.

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
For the Accord were it me, I would order a 6 pack of A01 filters (FilTech) online and use Mobil 1 0W20 following maintenance minder at 15% oil life or so.

If you aren't into sourcing the A01's (verify it is still the correct filter for a 2013) then there are any number of nice aftermarket filters, such as Bosch Distance Plus, Purolator Synthetic and Pure One, Mobil 1 EP and Fram ULTRA. Many of these you can see cut apart in the filter section.

That would be my plan for keeping it going.




+1^ This would be my choice as well. i shop at walmart of meijer for oil and both stores stock M1 0w20 and most of the filters DuckRyder is talking about. Its the most economical way to get the things you need all in one place and at a fair price at least for me. Also many auto parts stores run specials on M1 oil and filter combos for a good price. If you dont like M1 or prefer another brand, almost all the name brands make an API certified 0w20 oil, so you have many options.

When im trying to decide which oil to run i usually just go to walmart and see which oil seems to stay in stock in the grade i want. and i typically use what i know is readily available to me at anytime, unless i happen to find a coupon for RP or something at pepboys or AAP.

 

[tc1446]

Ken, I'm gonna use M1 0W-20, preferably with M1-110 filter if I can catch a Mobil sale, otherwise either of the other filters mentioned above. I wouldn't mind running the first fill with Honda Blend but am not going to pay $9 qt for it...thats what I was quoted locally. Haven't decided exactly when I'll do my first change, but not less than 5000 mi, depending on what the MM tells me. In case you haven't found the MM yet, push the trip meter till it comes up with whatever % you have left. I'm at 2800 miles and its been reading %80 since 2000 mi.

 

[Zoomschwortz]

I want to thank everyone for their help and information.

It looks like M1 may be the best way for me to go and I still have a while before my 1st oil change since my MM is still at 100%.

How many miles should I run on M1 with a M1-110 filter and when I start running M1, does the MM take synthetic into account or do I just ignore the MM from that point on?

Are any synthetic oils known to be better at keeping an engine quieter than others? In the past after switching an engine from dino to syn, I noticed more engine noise when starting the engine on cold mornings.

Thanks again.
Ken